In order to succeed & be perceived as good corporate citizens, more organisations are integrating social & environmental concerns into their business operations, creating value & profit by producing goods & services that society demands as well as welfare for society. According to the DTI, an increasing number of companies of all sizes are realising the benefits of being socially responsible with 80% of FTSE-100 companies now providing information about their environmental performance, social impact, or both
Two global organisations that see CSR as integral to how they do business are McDonalds & Marks & Spencer. Both companies implement CSR strategies that contribute value to business and society, demonstrating their commitment by being involved in the planning, execution, measurement and reporting of their policies
Marks & Spencer has a strong tradition of CSR, & try to build good relationships with employees, suppliers and wider society. The organisation works in partnership with its stakeholders to take responsibility for the whole process of its business through the manufacture, use of & disposal of its products & to define its behaviour in a changing marketplace and society. A dedicated CSR team oversees the development & management of the organisations CSR strategies & key projects, ensuring that different policies tackle the right issues in various business areas by formulating separate strategies & action plans for each division. Issues tackled include the sustainability of the key raw materials, the use of technology, animal welfare, working conditions for employees & suppliers & the communities in which they operate. Marks & Spencer measures and reports its performance and is rated number one by Greenpeace on avoiding GM food, Friends of the Earth on pesticide reduction, the Marine Conservation Society on fish sourcing and Accountability/Insight Investment on labour standards. The organisation has also been named as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index most sustainable retailer in the world for the last 2 years.
Achievements
- One of the few retailers to be publicly calling for and contributing to a new, tougher approach to chemical regulation.
- The only retailer supporting an innovative and successful approach to fisheries management
- The only retailer able to engage civil liberties groups on the issue of using microchips to track products in supply chains.
- A world leader at managing labour standards in supply chains, working with suppliers & their workers to develop a mutually beneficial approach
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Establishing a new flagship community programme (Marks & Start) - the biggest work experience programme of its kind in the UK As McDonalds is the largest and most advertised fast food service corporation in the world, the pressure for them to operate in a socially responsible way is enourmous. McDonalds state in their CSR Report that
‘Social responsibility is an essential part of their core values’ & that the organsation
‘Incorporate good citizenship into their corporate and business strategy… putting something back into the communities where they do business…. treating people with fairness & sharing success in the communties in which they operate’. With customer, employee satisfaction, system growth & competitve advantage key aspects of the Macdonalds marketing strategy the organisation take a serious stance in the area of social responsibility, addressing issues which directly affect people such as their communities, the workplace, supply chain and the environment. The company reports continued progress around the world in its social responsibility efforts with a CSR steering committee overseeing social responsibility strategies such as environmental and sustainability initiatives, non-governmental organisation partnerships, animal welfare audits, support of children’s causes & healthy lifestyles activities
Achievements
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People: Provide well paid employment, good working conditions & training programmes for all employees worldwide, encourage affirmative action & equal opportunities. Restaurants are locally owned & operated, locally staffed & locally or regionally supplied where possible. Menus vary to accommodate local tastes & architectural styles to suit local environments.
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Community: The Ronald McDonald Children’s Charity has funded thousands of grants to support healthcare programmes, rehab facilities and education programmes, whilst the Ronald McDonald House programme provides a home away from home for families of seriously ill children.
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Environment: Issues such as managing waste, conserving & protecting natural resource & the environment, preventing animal cruelty, raising environmental awareness, promoting sustainable agricultural systems, and conserving biodiversity.
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Healthy Lifestyles: McDonalds has come under criticism in the past over its unhealthy menu choices & their ‘Supersize Me’ campaign, McDonalds has now launched the Healthy Lifestyles initiative.
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Animal Welfare: McDonald’s Europe issued comprehensive standards for all the agricultural raw materials used in McDonald’s food products, including a general policy and requirements for ensuring animal welfare from farm to slaughterhouse.
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Product Safety: McDonald’s record for toy safety exceeded the record of the toy industry.
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Supplier Social Compliance: Employees trained to prepare their facilities for compliance with the McDonalds Supplier Code of Conduct.
Macro environmental factors influence organisations business behaviour worldwide & impact upon CSR policies. Ethical considerations such as culture are a high priority for socially responsible organisations. Ethics & moral principles vary from one person or place to another & are usually decided as being right or wrong on the basis of commonly accepted principles of behaviour. The importance of ethics is enhanced by the fact that people are always involved in the production and distribution of a product. Two types of philosophy associated with marketing decisions are; Utilitarianism; maximising the greatest good for the greatest number of people & Ethical Formalism; the intentions associated with a particular behaviour and the rights of the individual. Important ethical issues can relate to the workplace, wages & benefits, labour, community development, health & safety, discrimination training/education & Human Rights. Unethical activities also relate to the marketing mix with issues such as misleading Promotion, failure to disclose risks associated with the Product, failure to disclose the full Price associated with the purchase or Distribution problems between producers and intermediaries being construed as unacceptable. As a result all aspects of the marketing mix (product, promotion, price & place) need to be adapted to ensure ethics are addressed.
Reputation is one of an organisations most valuable assets & CSR/ethical behaviour are key components of reputation. Competitive differentiators such as price, quality, service and brand are not enough as poor reputation & bad publicity can damage a company's brand rendering price, quality and service irrelevant.
With the benefits of CSR being increasingly recognised worldwide & the pressure to be good corporate citizens pushing organisations to go further than simple compliance with regulations or best practice, the future of CSR is bright. Businesses are understanding that long term success is achieved through market-oriented, responsible behaviour and that their future depends upon determining what governments, competitors and society want & incorporating CSR polcies into organisational business models, adapting values & business operations. Issues such as human rights & sustainable development will require to be focused upon in the coming years, organisations will have to understand the importance of what & how they measure & how they react to the data they collect. As CSR is here to stay & its importance will continue to heighten, organisations have no choice but to embrace CSR if they are to survive & develop in todays business environment.
Resources & Bibliography
Websites
Books
Marketing Cooncepts & Strategies Dibb, Simkin, Pride & Feral
Kotler on Marketing Philip Kotler
Marketing Strategy Sudharshan
Mastering Marketing Financial Times
The Essence of Services Marketing Adrian Payne
Value Based Marketing Doyle
Marketing Plans Malcom Macdonald
Marketing Principles and Practice Adcock, Bradfield, Halborg, Ross
Publications
Marketing Week
Recruitment & Employment Confederation
