Can Your Business Be Socially Responsible?

I'm sitting at a pretty large tradeshow called Dreamforce, about 9,000 attendees. I'm listening to the head of Google.org, Larry Brilliant, talk about the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs of Google and Salesforce, where each donates 1% of profits, 1% of employee time and 1% product to non-profits. It's a pretty moving speech about how businesses need to be stepping up to socially responsible. I couldn't agree more.

I started thinking, it truly doesn't have to only be the big guys like Google and Salesforce that can step up to the plate because they have the power and the resources. In aggregate small business actually could have more power to make a real difference. Heck, VerticalResponse stepped up to the plate more than 2 years ago when we were a lot smaller than we are today. I say take the "C" out of "CSR" it scares us little guys away.

How Can You Start? 3 Simple Ways

1. If you don't have the dollars to donate or sponsor something, take a good look at what you do have. Perhaps it's your employee's time at first. That's how we started when we partnered with Salesforce for their annual community event. Even better, you get to meet new people as well as share an experience with your employees you never would have. We have teams regularly going to read to first grade classes at a local elementary school as well as teams feeding the homeless. Not one person ever leaves an event thinking they didn't make a contribution to the community, it's a great feeling.

Important note: try to peg how many of these programs are actually feasible for your business to keep running. Your business has to be your #1 priority.

2. If your product or services lend themselves to helping a non-profit, why not give it away at a discounted rate or even free to non-profit organizations and schools? Many times you'll get sponsored links in exchange for this. A great example of this is when restaurants give their dishes and employee time free at events where all proceeds go to non-profits. Another example of this is doctors donating their time to give services to the homeless.

3. Schools often are in need of computers. If you've got old computers laying around that might be somewhat out of date but still work, why not ask your local schools if they'd like to take them off of your hands. Not only is it good for the school, but it's great for the environment as well.

Is your business socially responsible? Do you give back? Give us more ideas!

Comments

[Liz Schlegel]

Social responsibility is more than just giving stuff away -it's making a commitment to the triple bottom line (company, community, environment). And it's a process - you don't ever become completely SR!

So look at all the ways your actions affect those bottom lines, and start your process of becoming more socially responsible. It doesn't always cost money - it's about time, attention and intention.