The main goal of CSR programmes at most organisations, according to a recent report by Procurement Leaders, is reducing reputational risk, far ahead of the next most important goal (71% of respondents said it was in their top three goals, compared to 49%) which was revealed to be moral obligation.
“Whether they see it or not, companies are increasingly ’pressured’ from several angles to take CSR seriously,” explained Procurement Leaders research manager and CSR lead, Maggie Slowik.
“Our study shows that companies fear to be perceived as ’laggards’ in CSR. There are only few leaders out there, most companies are doing just enough to get by.”
The survey, which took in the views of around 300 procurement officials and CSR/sustainability offers from across the globe, shows that 80% of organisations rate CSR as either ’important’ or ’very important’.
As a result, a promising 89% of organisations reported they have a written CSR policy in place, though only 43% have a dedicated CSR council/board and only 30% have a chief sustainability officer.
It was found that even though CSR presents a major business risk, for many companies, the customer was still the primary catalyst for CSR measures taken within the organisation. Of respondents, 61% said that end-customers were the biggest drivers of CSR activity, while 50% said that regulations were the most important factor and 48% related the importance of wanting to attract staff.
“The primary driver of CSR is the fear of customers abandoning their brand for behaving unethically, and even worse, taking it to social media. But the good news is that if CSR is done well, customers will reward brands by paying a premium for it,” said Slowik. “This is definitely the case for products in certain categories.”
“Our research shows that social norms are more effective at getting employees involved in CSR than financial norms. If employees are acknowledged by senior management and the wider organisation, it will drive motivation in the long-term.”
The full report is available to Procurement Leaders members. Registered users can download the executive summary here.
