Giving Compass' Take:

• The author relays the message that corporate social responsibility needs to be an integral part of business, and provides various ideas on how to launch CSR initiatives in a company. 

• The author discusses the point that business owners need to make strong statements with their social beliefs.  Which companies are doing this effectively? 

• Read about the next steps of CSR: how to engage employees. 

Has your business taken environmental, social, and governance stances yet? According to research from McKinsey & Co., ESG issues are a hot-button topic in the world of corporate social responsibility. In fact, organizations have already contributed $23 trillion toward increasing their ESG initiatives.

Why all the fuss over all things CSR? Essentially, CSR has become a differentiator among otherwise similar brands. Once an afterthought, it’s now a vital conversation topic for legacy and emerging companies.

In this climate, business leaders have to make practical choices regarding social issues. In other words, they must make strong stances. Playing both sides of the fence doesn’t work, especially in an era when social media puts political, economic, interpersonal, and environmental issues front and center.

If you’re just starting to develop a CSR plan, use these ideas as launching pads:

  1. Uncover “common ground” platforms on hot-button topics.
  2. Talk about politics at the watercooler — respectfully.
  3.  Back up your business operations with your beliefs.
  4. Personalize your message occasionally.
  5. Take heated, bold statements to your personal pages.

Read the full article about corporate social responsibility by Alison Gutterman at TriplePundit