Eight CSR Trends to Watch Out For in 2015

Eight CSR Trends to Watch Out For in 2015

Corporate Social Responsibility IS The New Norm.

From Giving Tuesday to the Ice Bucket Challenge to Climate Week NYC, 2014 brought plenty of opportunities for companies to get creative with their corporate social responsibility initiatives and experiment with new types of engagement. As a whole, the corporate social responsibility industry continued to gain traction this year, with social impact increasingly making its way in to the C-Suite and transparency becoming the new norm. With 2015 just hours away, we asked industry experts to share their top CSR trends from 2014 as well as their predictions for the new year.   

Rich data and communication technology enables companies to solve social and environmental problems at scale.

“I strongly believe that in a world where increasingly smart devices deliver rich data and communicate with each other to exchange information and knowledge, we have a powerful new way to unite people and drive solutions that truly solve some of the biggest social and environmental issues around the globe.” - Gabi Zedlmayer, Chief Progress Officer, HP Worldwide (@GabiZed)

Diversifying the C-Suite helps companies reach their full potential to solve global problems.  Diversifying management will also drive success.

“The most successful companies in the 21st century will be led by boards of directors comprised of people with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and areas of experience and expertise, who can envision the company’s greatest potential in solving the world’s most compelling social, environmental, and economic challenges.” – Alice Korngold, Consultant and Author of “A Better World, Inc.” (@alicekorngold)

Companies step up to tackle human rights issues domestically and globally.

“2014 saw human rights continue to climb up the business agenda, which will no doubt continue next year. President Obama announced that the U.S. would develop a National Action Plan on business and human rights; over 2000 people attended the United Nations Annual Forum on Business & Human Rights in Geneva; and the U.N. Human Rights Council agreed to explore the feasibility of a legally binding treaty for corporate human rights responsibilities. Companies not already getting their collective heads around their human rights responsibilities would do well to get on board!” – Christine Bader, author of “The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist: When Girl Meets Oil” (@christinebader) 

Corporate responsibility becomes an absolute mandate.

“One of the most compelling trends CECP (The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy) sees globally is the move by countries and regions to mandate certain aspects of corporate societal engagement. Companies with a current or growing multinational footprint need to understand this evolving landscape to inform their societal investment strategy and support compliance. Some emerging markets, including Brazil and Indonesia, have regulations that determine a specific level or type of corporate societal investment, similar to India’s new ‘2 percent’ CSR requirement. In Europe the mandate trend is seen in a requirement on non-financial disclosure and reporting. CECP has resources to help companies learn more about this topic, addressed in greater detail in the free Giving Around the Globe report.” – Margaret Coady, Executive Director, CECP (@MargaretCoady)

Initiatives focused on empowering women and girls gain traction. 

“One of the trends we saw in 2014 was continued traction and collaboration around CSR programs and multi-stakeholder initiatives to advance the economic empowerment of girls and women – from education and technology access programs, to job-skills and supply chain diversity initiatives.” - Suzanne Fallender, Director, Global Girls and Women Initiative at Intel INTC -1.1% (@sfallender)

Social impact makes its way to the resume and becomes a calling card.

“In 2014, we saw a powerful trend start to emerge among our employees and the members on the LinkedIn network with people wanting to volunteer their skills to make a positive impact.  To date, more than 3.5mm LinkedIn members have signaled on their profile that they want to serve on a nonprofit board or use their skills to volunteer.  We expect to see that number rise dramatically in the new year as more people are making social impact part of their professional identity and looking for ways to find purpose at work.” – Meg Garlinghouse, Head of Social Impact, LinkedIn(@megarling)

Climate change and measurement climb to the top of the agenda. 

“I think the big trends will focus on climate change and measurement.  More specifically, I think (and am hopeful!) that you will see more countries, socially prominent leaders (from movie stars to CEOs), and corporations step up to this challenge and/or address it publically for the first time.  I think the agreement between China and the U.S. this year (WAY late in coming) is a wake-up call for all.  On measurement, I think this  coming year holds promise on companies moving forward with how we measure the sustainability value and footprint of our products, hopefully moving towards a more consistent, reliable method.”- Trisa Thompson, Chief Sustainability Officer, Dell (@TrisaDellCRO)

The language around CSR is changing–for good reason.

“Over the years, there has been a noticeable, side-stepping away from the term ‘CSR.’  Part of this is due to the negative associations it sometimes provokes. So-called ‘green- or ethics-washing,’ and real challenges to CSR as an authentic trade. This search for new language reflects our new expectations of what it means for a company to be socially responsible. In our information-rich, media savvy environment, there is no one-off philanthropic initiative that can distract from an utter lack of sustainability or responsibility in the core business operation.” – Denielle Sachs, Director of Social Impact, McKinsey (@dano129)

There’s no question that 2014 brought a great deal of progress on the CSR front—and that there’s even more in store for 2015. According to Dave Stangis (@davestangis), vice president of CSR and Sustainability for the Campbell Soup Company, “Corporate responsibility will continue to move up the hierarchy.” As Dave put it, CSR isn’t just becoming part of the CEO and board agenda; it is the CEO and board agenda.

So get ready, CSR fans, because 2015 is bound to be a formative and thrilling year for our space. We’ll see the tenets and practice continue to spread through corporate enterprises and touch each and every employee, stakeholder, investor and hopefully customer in the year(s) ahead.