In today’s climate, while moral obligation may still be a contributing factor, I believe companies need to engage in a corporate social responsibility strategy just to keep up. In 2018, analysis by the Governance & Accountability Institute found that 86% of companies in the S&P 500 Index published a sustainability or corporate responsibility report.
The consumer landscape has changed dramatically since the introduction of the internet. Not only are the channels consumers use to make purchases more varied, but the reasons behind their purchasing decisions have changed. An astonishing 94% of Gen Z’ers now think a company should address pressing social and environmental issues, and 73% of Millennials, despite growing up in one of the most economically hostile climates for a generation, are still willing to pay more money for sustainably made goods.
Because of these changes, it’s important for companies to recognize the shift towards social responsibility if they wish to engage younger audiences, protect their brand from competition and attract top-tier talent to their business.
Governments
Only a few initiatives exist where CSR reporting is mandated by the government, however that’s changing rapidly. To support this, there are a variety of reporting intiatives that are using the standard of XBRL and defining their taxonomies to support reporting. Once these taxonomnies are available, our product SemansysNext can support the user in all steps of the process from Inputing data to Delivering to the reporting authority.
- CSR initiative in the EU – https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en#review
- CSR initiative in India – https://www.csr.gov.in/
- CSR initiative in the UK – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/our-commitment-to-corporate-social-responsibility-csr
Companies
As CSR has a such a large focus globally, companies have to adapt quickly to ensure they’ve met their regulatory reporting burdens. Mandates for CSR reporting are in place today depending upon your company size and industry. At a high level:
- EU for YYY companies on MM YYYY
- UK for YYY companies on MM YYYY
- US for YYY companies on MM YYYY