Till maybe a few years back, Corporate Social Responsibility (or CSR) was just a buzzword that sounded good thrown about in the corporate world. Very few took it seriously and even less did it seriously. But today, an increasing number of companies are committed to doing CSR in a structured and meaningful way.

India is the first country in the world to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandatory, following an amendment to the Companies Act, 2013 in April 2014. The amendment requires companies with a net worth of INR 500 crore or more, or an annual turnover of INR 1000 crore or more, or net profit of INR 5 crore or more, to spend 2 percent of their average net profits of three years on CSR. Since the applicability of mandatory CSR provision in 2014, CSR spending by corporate India has increased significantly. In 2018, companies spent 47 percent higher as compared to the amount in 2014-15, contributing INR 7,536 crores (US $1 billion) to CSR initiatives, according to a survey.

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Yet, despite being mandatory today, the true value of CSR is not clear to most people. To that end, we have laid out the
4 reasons we think everyone should and must have a clear thought to CSR in their companies:


Boost your Brand Image

Each business needs a strong and clear brand image for its products or services, to ensure successful marketing and sales and hence profit. Adding CSR to a company’s brand image is a very strong indicator of the compassionate and thought-based leaning of the company thus giving it a much-needed advantage in the eyes of a consumer or partner. CSR not only creates brand awareness among the existing consumers but also leads to a positive brand image in the minds of potential consumers.

 

Encourage Employee Commitment

Any company that engages its employees and harnesses their commitment is a successful company. To this end, if a company has a positive and measurable goal, like a CSR initiative, it is a great way to bond employees and gets them motivated to work together for a common good. It is hugely encouraging to employees to see their top leadership doing something out of a sense of passion and purpose instead of simply working towards a monetary profit for the year-end. When this passion and purpose trickles down to the whole company, it can mobilise the employees in a much more meaningful way.

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

Give back to your community

A business can only be successful if the community around them is thriving. A company that fulfils their CSR, demonstrates that they care for the community around them, and not just their bottom line. A customer when trying to choose between multiple companies with similar products or services will certainly be more encouraged to choose a company that shows that they are caring for the larger good and the people around them, vs one that doesn’t. A company seen to support the community around it or support beneficiaries in the field in which it works will always be viewed more positively by its customers.

For example, health and hygiene brand Eureka Forbes has been harnessing rainwater and has already harvested over 600 million litres of water till date. They have launched Project Jal Amrut in 2015 to augment water resources with rainwater harvesting in drought-prone areas of rural Maharashtra
Read more: https://yourstory.com/socialstory/2019/06/world-environment-day-companies-csr


All in all, CSR will not only strengthen the economy and create a positive impact in the community around you but also help boost your business and its brand image to your advantage. The world is waiting, go do your bit.

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