There has been some skepticism about CSR. Some think that companies should only focus on shareholder value. Others believe that CSR is a marketing ploy. 2017 will be the year that corporate social responsibility becomes strategic. It’s the year that the gap will extend: companies that truly provide positive social impact will see benefits that those companies ignoring CSR or “CSRwashing” will not.
- CSR moves from mainstream to strategy: from small programs to the C-Suite to the Board of Directors.
- Companies will no longer get away with CSR marketing without CSR content. Transparency and impact measurement becomes critical in social responsibility.
- CSR becomes more important for millennials who increasingly choose employers based on positive social impact. This makes CSR integral to human resources and helps drive corporate innovation. Forget this stereotype of lazy millennials.
- Sustainability practices come under the spotlight. Every business will examine energy and pollution footprints.