Data Talks: The Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility, ESG, and Social Impact

Our friends at the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP) came out with an impressive summary around the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility that echoes a lot of the work we’ve done through our Corporate Impact Report. Each and every day, WeHero is focused on helping companies fulfill their social mission. We do this through CSR strategy consulting and implementation, volunteering, and giving. However, we only get the chance to work with businesses that already understand the importance of CSR. Although 2020 was a challenging year, we noticed more businesses starting to fully grasp the benefit of social impact. The ACCP recently came out with a valuable toolkit to help gain the support of senior leaders when launching CSR strategies. Too often we hear that senior leaders don’t understand the importance of these programs. Luckily, the ACCP has done a great job outlining a data-driven case for the benefit of social impact. We highly suggest you read the entire report, but we pulled a few of their most compelling arguments to help as you work with your company to build a CSR strategy.

Why CSR Matters for Consumers:

87% of people say, stakeholders, not shareholders, are most important to long-term company success.

When a brand has a strong purpose, consumers are 4.5x more likely to recommend it to friends and family

70% of millennials have changed purchasing habits in support of causes or social issues

Why CSR Matters for Employees & Company Culture:

93% of employees believe companies should lead with purpose

40% of millennials say they selected their job because their employer’s social impact was better than that of alternative companies

35% of employees are reconsidering their current job because their company is not doing enough to address social justice issues externally

Why CSR Matters for CEOs & Boards:

Companies that target material social and environmental issues in their social impact efforts outperform the rest of the market by 3-5% annually

80% of corporate executives believe that business has more of a responsibility than ever to address pressing social and environmental issues

Why CSR Matters for Investors:

Companies in the top quartile in terms of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) metrics:

Deliver higher return on cash invested, and these returns tend to be sustained for longer

Delivered growth approximately 40% faster than the averages of their industries over that period

Companies with high levels of purpose outperform the market by 5-7% per year

Having a built-out corporate citizenship strategy is becoming a ‘must have’ in the market rather than a ‘good to have.’ This is due to the fact that the data is in and you can’t compete in the market for employee talent or customers without having a thorough social impact strategy. We firmly believe this to be true and are focused on supporting businesses to build out these strategies. While it can be an overwhelming process, we’ve found a way to take what we’ve done with Fortune 500 clients and make it a painless and time-efficient process for our smaller clients. If you’re still having trouble convincing your senior leaders or are looking to take the first steps in designing your social impact strategy, reach out to us.