Doing well by doing good makes sense as a strategy
Written by Shirley Lichti for The Record, October 22, 2003

In 1999 the Conference Board of Canada called corporate social responsibility the business issue of the 21st century. Since then, it has been increasingly turning up on the radar of Canadian companies.

It's no wonder. Research shows there's a correlation between doing good and doing well.

Corporate social responsibility can be defined as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large.

Environics International's 2003 CSR Monitor noted that eight in 10 Canadians surveyed say companies should go beyond their traditional economic role. In another poll, 83 per cent of Canadians agreed that business should do more than simply make a profit, create jobs and obey laws.

Reward or Punish
According to an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted in August, the importance of corporate social responsibility is underlined by the finding that a majority of Canadians have rewarded or punished a company for its corporate citizenship in the last year.

About 55 per cent said they consciously decided to buy a product or service from one company over another because they felt the company was a good corporate citizen. And 52 per cent consciously refused to support companies they felt were not socially responsible.

Many companies demonstrate their commitment to being socially responsible. For example, Ben & Jerry's, a division of Unilever that recently announced it would open 100 ice cream stores in Canada, buys only hormone free milk, uses organic fruit and nuts, and sells its ice cream in environmentally friendly containers. The company also donates 7.5 per cent of pre-tax profits to support projects for children and families, disadvantaged groups and the environment.

The Tim Hortons Children's Foundation was established in 1975 to honour Tim Horton's love for children and his desire to help those less fortunate. To support this initiative, Tim Hortons storeowners hold an annual Camp Day, donating coffee sales and collecting public donations. This year, the foundation raised $5.4 million, enabling it to send 9,000 kids from economically disadvantaged homes to camp.

Saturn Canada's Playground Program is a part of the automotive company's community-comes-first philosophy of meeting the needs of its neighbours. Employees and customers are invited to help create fun, safe places for Canadian children to play. This fall, 36 playgrounds will be built or restored playgrounds as part of Saturn's playground program. More than 220 playground projects have been completed in the past seven years.

Literacy Program
The Starbucks Foundation is committed to youth and literacy in communities where Starbucks coffee shop operators live and work. Recently it was announced that a local literacy program in Waterloo Region would receive $10,000 for a Strong Start Program, which helps children who are starting to read but show signs of lagging behind peers. The money will support five schools for a year, reaching 20 to 25 students in each school.

Although the above examples focus on large organizations, small companies can make a mark, too.

As a community-based property and casualty insurance company, Oxford Mutual, based in Thamesford, Ontario, promotes the fact that it is staffed by local residents who care about policyholders and who get involved in the community.

Planting Trees
In the early 1990s, it started a program called Trees for a Greener Future. The idea, which came out of a staff/agent meeting, was to visit different schools in the area every year to help start environmental clubs.

The program didn't represent a huge financial investment, but made a big difference, resulting in fixing up gardens, planting trees and helping students focus on the environment.

In June this year, Oxford Mutual celebrated its 125th anniversary. According to manager Bill Jellous, the company wanted to make the best use of limited funds. So rather than hold a dinner for policyholders, it decided to donate funds to local groups to thank the community for its support.

The company advertised that it would accept applications for funding and set up a committee staffed by community volunteers to evaluate them. Jellous said the program worked out "even better than we had hoped." More than 100 applications were received and $20,000 was distributed to 27 groups in the community.

Oxford Mutual received "very substantial positive feedback both from policyholders as well as from the organizations that received funding," according to Jellous, who noted that the donations were a "better use of our funds than advertising." As a result, the company has committed to running programs like this one on a regular basis.

Today all organizations, large and small, need to think about their commitment to corporate social responsibility. As Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said recently while addressing a global gathering on Business for Social Responsibility, "The opportunity to do the right thing has never been as important as it is right now. Building a sustainable enterprise is about having a conscience and having a heart."

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