Corporate Social Responsibility: What Is It?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a buzzy term these days, and for good reason: when executed well, it can help you do better business while also doing good for your employees, community and the planet. So, what is it?

In jargon: CSR is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. It functions as a self-regulatory mechanism—business monitors and ensures active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and national or international norms.

In English: CSR is a company’s initiatives to assess and take responsibility for its effect on environmental and social wellbeing, generally beyond legislative or regulatory requirements.

One popular way of evaluating CSR efforts is the notion of the triple bottom line, which refers to people, planet and profit.

People includes prioritizing fair labor practices, community and the region where the business operates. This can be through performance and accountability processes; employee education, training and communications; incident reporting and investigation; and safety. Or it can be as easy as promoting healthy living for employees, like arranging for employee discounts at local fitness centers, holding quarterly wellness-centric lunch and learns or providing more ergonomic office equipment.

Planet focuses on sustainable environmental practices. This can include reducing energy use or conserving energy, lowering emissions, reducing waste and addressing larger supply chain issues like workers’ rights and procurement transparency.

Finally, profit means that the company needs to remain financially viable. Obviously, even companies that focus on people and planet won’t be around long, despite the good they may do, if they aren’t successful financially.

Stay tuned as we highlight some of the RV businesses who are embracing CSR—some of which you saw on the floor at RVX!

Have questions on CSR? Contact Samantha Rocci at srocci@rvia.org.