3 Simple Ways to Improve your Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility

According to Harvard Business Review, “the main goal of Corporate Social Responsibility is to align a company’s social and environmental activities with its business purpose and values”. Let us make a business case rethinking what ‘value’ is. Leverage changes in thinking, bridging CSR with marketing & revenue centers. CSR efforts and teams do not have to be limited to charitable giving, or one-off programs. Greater awareness of your company’s efforts & expansion of brand can be seen by direct reflection of your values in your core business or niche product offerings.

1. Establish a Social Mission

The first step is to establish a social mission that your company and employees align with. It is important to gather support and engagement from the entire company. By creating realistic goals and educating your employees, your organization can take a further step and move towards aligning your core business strategies with your corporate social responsibility goals. This in turn could also make work more meaningful for them when their work is creating an impact on our society.

2. Go Green!

It might be time to evaluate the companies you are getting your supplies from. For instance, Starbucks sources their coffee beans under the C.A.F.E. Practices where about 99% of their coffee beans were ethically sourced. Through this, Starbucks actively contributes to a sustainable network by upskilling farmers, empowering women and families in the tea and cocoa growing communities.

Another example could be as simple as reducing the number of single-use plastics in your manufacturing process or by replacing them with a more sustainable alternative like paper bags. In fact, this is also evident in Starbucks’ practices where strawless lids were introduced with the aim to eliminate single-use plastic straws. 

Just recently in July 2019, under Singapore's Plastic ACTion (PACT) initiative to reduce plastic use by 2030, H&M launched the 10 cent charge for plastic bags. Moreover, the proceeds generated will go directly towards funding plastic pollution and conservation projects. From these examples, it is evident that green initiatives both reduce the negative impacts on our environment and contribute to sustainable practices in the local communities through fair trade practices while supporting local conservation initiatives as well.

Starbucks Strawless Lids

Photo from Starbucks

3. Reduce Waste

The global cosmetic packaging market was valued at USD 25.9 billion in 2018. With the beauty industry touted as one of the biggest contributors to plastic packaging waste, there is a demand for companies to be greener and seek alternative or circular ways to reduce or eliminate the use of single-use plastic packaging from their products. 

Purnama’s Trinity Stripes Clutch made from upcycled tire innertube

With a cosmetic consumption of 77 billion euros annually in Europe , there is a growing trend of consumers opting for greener cosmetic products with nature-friendly packaging.1 Sustainable beauty brands like Dab Herb Makeup & Skincare and Clean-Faced Cosmetics, package their products in reusable or compostable containers such as glass or tin containers and many of their products come with refill options. Moreover, unlike typical makeup products, these beauty brands manufacture their cruelty-free products with vegan ingredients sourced from fair trade certified farmers and suppliers. 

Purnama’s Judy Clutch Bag made with repurposed plastic bags

It is important that retail brands are striving to be more environmentally conscious by incorporating little green steps amidst global climate change. The above are some of the examples your organization can use to start your own journey towards improving your corporate social responsibility. At Purnama, our products are made mostly from upcycled and repurposed materials such as plastic bags and innertube automobile tires as well as other environmentally preferred choices. We also partner with our local artisans and empower women through upskilling programmes. Being mindful of our ecological footprint and social impacts, we always strive to reach toward a zero waste mindset in our production process, and we use our proceeds to directly sponsor local community outreach programs. Are you exploring ways to make your products more sustainable? Partner to design or co-brand with Purnama to kick start your involvement in corporate social responsibility! Contact us at http://bit.ly/PartnerWithPurnama.

#SustainableFashion #FashionForGood 

References:

[1] Drobac, J., Alivojvodic, V., Maksic, P. & Stamenovic, M. (2020), "Green Face of Packaging – Sustainability Issues of the Cosmetic Industry Packaging", MATEC web of conferences, vol. 318, pp. 1022. 

[2] Ludema, J. and Johnson, A. (2018). Six CSR Strategies That Are Good For Business. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/amberjohnson-jimludema/2018/08/15/six-csr-strategies-that-are-good-for-business/?sh=2898653e50a8