Post COVID-19: 5 Trends In Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility related to the organization’s regulatory, ethical and purpose-led commitment to its stakeholders. With the pandemic having a significant impact on the world’s economy and with recovery taking longer than anticipated, organizations need to revisit their priorities, operate differently and manage resources frugally. These trends, approaches and perspectives are important as corporate social responsibility takes a new turn in the post COVID-19 world.
There are upsides and downsides to the pandemic as reported by a study on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) with poverty, well-being and hunger losing steam while climate action, responsible consumption and life on land seeing partial relief. It is heartening to know that among the 130 India based organizations, of the total CSR spend by eligible listed companies in fiscal 2019, nearly 80% of the total CSR funds were spent. Over two-thirds of these spent 2% or more of their net profits, while ~10% spent 3% or more. The pandemic has also put the spotlight on values. Those organizations which have profiteered from the crisis have seen their brand image and reputation dented. While others who have stayed true to their values and supported the communities they serve, have seen more appreciation come their way. In a poll to gauge how people perceived actions taken by companies during this time, three in four Americans say they will remember the missteps in their response to the pandemic and over four in five – believed they will recognize those firms that cared for workers’ safety and protected jobs.
Key issues that surfaced during the pandemic are migration (internal migration is 2X that of international migration; in India 40 million migrants are impacted), poverty (about 71 million could be pushed to poverty in 2020 alone), inequality (half of lower-income parents struggle to pay for internet connections and worry about children not having access to education online), mental well-being (a 1% increase in unemployment rates is known to push up suicides rates by 1-1.6%), sustainable tourism (decline of 58% to 78% in international tourist arrivals for the year) and consumerism (60% of global consumers have changed their shopping behaviors). The need to invest in the healthcare system and train caregivers served as a catalyst for most of the funding from corporates during the start of the pandemic. Environmental, social and governance is also now in the forefront as countries realize the importance of impact investment for the local communities. However, a study on impact investing shows that investors in emerging markets focused on growth-stage organizations (49%) as compared to venture or seed stage ventures, indicative of the emphasis on firms to scale up.
The fallout of the pandemic also had positive effects on how people perceived the world around them. According to the 2020 Deloitte’s study among millennials, three-quarters of respondents believed the pandemic opened their eyes to fresh issues and made them more sympathetic to others’ needs not just locally but around the world.
Many recommendations were shared on how the government funds raised could overcome the crisis through emergency income support, creating a database of those losing jobs and improving healthcare facilities. However, it falls short in addressing long term value such as changing the mindset among the public towards such crises, revisiting skills needed to survive in the future, investing in social innovation and multidisciplinary collaboration ventures. Here are trends that will shape the future of corporate social responsibility.
The pandemic has surfaced issues we probably never considered important till now. How we approach the challenges and opportunities as citizens, leaders and practitioners will determine what our world will look post-COVID-19 in relation to corporate social responsibility.
Have thoughts on these trends? Any other trend in corporate social responsibility that you spot? Do share it here.
