Social Responsibility, not only Corporate

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

No man is an island and neither are businesses. Their success is measured by the engagement of their clients who vote with their wallets.

As no relation will thrive if the benefits are only on one side, enterprises developed in the second half of 20th century a concept of Corporate Social Responsibility. As defined by European Commision it is: “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society”.  

THAT’S FOR THE THEORY BUT SOMEHOW…

…IT GOT LOST IN TRANSLATION

And CSR became beauty contest with enterprises developing activities that brought them media applause instead of concentrating on diminishing the negative effects of their business activities on their stakeholders and environment.

This approach in recent years lead to CSR being perceived as a costly frosting on a rotten cake.

SEEMS IT’S TIME TO CUT OUT THE ‘C’ AND GO…

BACK TO BEGINNING!

Enterprises misused CSR to build their reputation while the new OPINION LEADERS use their reputation to drive

social responsibility.

Which in return builds their reputation. Win win!

HOW CAN IT WORK?

REPUTATION: EXPERT(1ST MOST TRUSTED)

Experts have the community’s trust which allows them to influence group’s behaviour and drive change.

It means that thanks to your position as a professional you can drive positive changes in your environment.

REPUTATION: PERSON LIKE ME(3RD MOST TRUSTED)

Being perceived as ‘a person like us’ can reduce distance between a professional and her surrounding and help her gain trust.

It means that engaging in social activities can positively drive your career or business forward.

IF YOU DON’T OPEN THE DOOR,YOU WON’T HAVE A SWIM.

While volunteering in help2read Ishay found one thing – kids that are hungry won’t have strength to study. And by chance she found a solution:‘I read a tweet by Kaka, the famous Brazilian and Real Madrid footballer “feeding 900 hungry children with the cost of my favorite meal. How many can YOU feed? #wefeedback” My interest piqued. I clicked on it and am so very glad I did.’‘What would you say if I said, you had the power to make an enormous difference in this world? This is the message I have been sharing with virtually each and every new person I meet. Based on the strength of this message, a group of food bloggers and myself held a series of meals during the month of August, based very much on the first one I held.’ ‘Our aim was with each meal that 500 kids ( at a cost of ZAR 1000 or 100 euro) would be fed via the Wefeedback model, which feeds children at schools in the most disaster stricken areas around the world. The premise for our project being, 1 food blogger, 1 meal, 500 kids fed. After all the meals, we were able to feed 5452 children and raised $1363 (ZAR 9541)!!’

Learn more: www.foodandthefabulous.com/world-food-programme

PROBLEM: over 11 million South Africans are ‘food insecure’ [Food Bank SA]

There’s nothing gourmet or haute about hunger. So it didn’t exist in food blogs when Ishay engaged in wefeedback program and hosted a series of international blogging dinners which led her to become 2nd Connector for Bloggers Against Hunger by WFP.

ISHAY GOVENDER-YPMAFOOD & TRAVEL WRITER (SA)

foodandthefabulous.com

PROBLEM: ~3.3 million children under 15 have HIV, 90 % in sub-Saharan Africa [UNICEF]

The teenage twins became partners of Comic Relief to drive attention to NGO’s work to fight HIV: ‘So a few weeks ago Comic Relief which is a charity

here in UK sent us a cheeky e-mail that invited us to fly to South Africa. The plan was to go out and check out some of the awesome projects they were doing in celebration of their 25th anniversary. So we put together a little film and this was our journey.’

Learn more: http://www.youtube.com/jacksgap

We live in times when everybody discriminates everybody else. The rules of being cool are very strict, so what can you do to drive changes? How about partnering with those who define cool.

JACK & FINN HARRISVLOGGERS (UK)

youtube.com/ JacksGap

PROBLEM: each year >100 000 dogs & cats are abandoned in Spain [Fundación Affinity]

While most fashion bloggers concentrate on getting ads or freebies, Malena uses her reach to drive attention to the problem of abandoned animals:‘We know that you love dogs and that recently you collaborated on a campaign launched by SPAP that promotes adopting animals. Tell us about it!When I lived in Barcelona one day I decided to visit a shelter to see if I could help and I became a volunteer. When I went to live in Madrid I also looked for a shelter where I could be a volunteer and I joined SPAP in Madrid. We decided to make a campaign before Christmas to convince people to adopt instead of buy animals. Most animals are bought before Christmas as presents for children but we have to remember that they are alive and should be taken care of.’

‘The number of animals abandoned in Spain is horrifying, do you think that the adoptions can reduce it?I think that people who are capable of abandoning animals won’t change. Thanks to promoting such initiatives each time people are more conscious that we should adopt.’

Check it: http://blogs.glamour.es/el-blog-de-malena-costa/category/la-pasion-de-mi-vida-animales/

New bag? Check! Mint nail polish? Check! Doggie on your arm? Check! Wait… Our fury little friends are not accessories – who if not a model will tell you best what’s hot in fashion?

MALENA COSTAMODEL (ES)

@MalenaCosta7

After leaving corporate world to run his own company and travel around the world looking for best wind Jacek decided to share his experience:

‘How long did you have to work to “free yourself” from working in an office? How can we do it?It’s not about “how much I had to work” but about one’s priorities, goals and lifestyle. You can have passions and fulfill yourself even if you’re working in an office. The problem starts when office and corporation become an excuse not to do anything (I don’t have enough time for biking or skiing) and you end up drinking beer in front of TV after work. It’s like a ‘Groundhog Day”. It’s a road to nowhere when I look at my friends who are the same age.This lifestyle is available to anyone, you just have to reorganize. You can’t look for excuses – it’s not for me, I’m too old, my life will end up in ruins. It’s about leaving your comfort zone.’

Learn more: gadzinowski.pl

PROBLEM: 62 % of men and 50 % of women aged 20-74 are overweight [IŻŻ]

It starts with long working hours, then there’s an all night long party, dinner at in-laws and after a while you look in the mirror and see a whale. You shrug and say ‘Not my fault’. But you can trust Jacek to put you straight.

JACEK GADZINOWSKIENTREPRENEUR & BLOGGER (PL)

gadzinowski.pl

PROBLEM: 2/3 of adults & 1/3 of children in US are overweight or obese [Harvard]

When Martha learned she’s going to have a child she partnered with fitness club to exercise regularly and provide information on benefits of pilates:‘Well, as most of you know, I’m pregnant and there are some major changes going on with me…not just wardrobe adjustments but you know, the whole making a baby process is pretty massive. Your body goes through changes and one thing I am really trying to be adamant about is staying healthy and fit during my pregnancy. This means eating a good (organic) diet, drinking plenty of water and of course, exercising.’

Learn more: http://princessmartha.com/category/preggo-talk/

Chances are you’re not a Stepford wife and even less that you’d like to be one. And as the list of what a mum should do never ends so seem the numbers of clothes’ sizes in your wardrobe.

MARTHA DOMINGUEZFASHION BLOGGER (US)

princessmartha.com

PROBLEM: 2/3 of adults & 1/3 of children in US are overweight or obese [Harvard]

‘Each week Chris starts his newsletter with sharing what he’s drinking:

‘Pull up a cup of whatever you're drinking. Me? I'm having a mix of lemon, ginger, and turmeric in hot water. It's delicious (and some kind of cleansing recipe). What about you?’‘My drink at this very moment is a hot cup of water with some lemon. What's yours?’I've got a hot cup of Yerba Mate from Samovar Tea in San Francisco. How about you? Share what you're drinking by hitting reply and letting me know directly. :) ‘‘I've got a nice hot cup of black tea merlot from Vintage Tea Works today. You? ‘

Don’t you feel like having one, too?

Learn more: Newsletters from Chrisbrogan.com

‘Papa don’t preach’ – don’t you feel like singing it anytime somebody tells you what you should eat and drink? And how many times you grabbed something just because someone told you it’s delicious? That’s because carrots always work better than sticks!

CHRIS BROGANCEO OF HUMAN BUSINESS WORKS (US)

chrisbrogan.com

Brené Brown was quite well known psychologist till her speech at TEDx Houston. Till this day her confession about depression was watched over 9 million times:

‘From your experience, what were the obstacles in embracing your own vulnerability? When did you realize that you needed to do it?

Vulnerability is basically uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. I was raised in a “get ‘er done” and “suck it up” family and culture (very Texan, German-American). The tenacity and grit part of that upbringing has served me, but I wasn’t taught how to deal with uncertainty or how to manage emotional risk. I spent a lot of years trying to outrun or outsmart vulnerability by making things certain and definite, black and white, good and bad. My inability to lean into the discomfort of vulnerability limited the fullness of those important experiences that are wrought with uncertainty: Love, belonging, trust, joy, and creativity to name a few. Learning how to be vulnerable has been a street fight for me, but it’s been worth it.’

Learn more: http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

PROBLEM: ~121 million people worldwide have some form of depression [WHO]

Did you know that if any woman had Barbie’s dimensions she’d had to crawl on 4, couldn’t lift anything and didn’t have half of internal organs? Are you still sure you want to work on your perfeccionism? Or maybe you’re ENOUGH?

BRENÉ BROWNRESEARCHER & STORYTELLER (US)

brenebrown.com

DATA2:http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sustainable-business/corporate-social-responsibility/index_en.htm 7:http://www.foodbank.org.za/what-we-do/the-problem

8:http://www.childinfo.org/hiv_aids.html 9:http://www.fundacion-affinity.org/sites/default/files/saladeprensa/notasdeprensa/fichero/NDPEstudioFundacionAffinityAbandono2010.pdf 10:http://www.medonet.pl/zdrowie-na-co-dzien,artykul,1671854,1,epidemia-otylosci,index.html 11,12:http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sugary-drinks-fact-sheet/

13:http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/how-many-people-experience-depression

QUOTES7: www.foodandthefabulous.com/world-food-programme8: http://www.youtube.com/jacksgap9: funkyPet Magazine 02/201310: http://jestkultura.pl/2013/jacek-gadzinowski-lifestyle11: http://princessmartha.com/category/preggo-talk12: Newsletters from Chrisbrogan.com13:http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2013/04/21/brene-brown-how-vulnerability-can-make-our-lives-better/

CREDENTIALS1:http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomadic_lass/6912268959/sizes/l/in/photostream/ 2:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jetpad/15834516/ 3:http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevrlndtink/314318945/sizes/m/in/photostream/ 4:http://www.flickr.com/photos/placbo/2515431803/ 5:http://www.flickr.com/photos/clevercupcakes/3927305789/sizes/m/in/photostream/ 6:http://www.flickr.com/photos/15572139@N07/3870182110/ 7:www.foodandthefabulous.com 8:http://www.facebook.com/Jacksgap 9:http://blogs.glamour.es/el-blog-de-malena-costa/ideas-para-vestir-en-noche-buena-y-premios-fundacion-affinity/ 10:http://gadzinowski.pl/komunikacja/sesja-zdjeciowa-vol-2-kite-pasja/ 11:http://princessmartha.com/ 12:http://chris.brogan.spillsthebeans.com/ 13:http://www.brenebrown.com/ 14:http://www.flickr.com/photos/28481088@N00/3975318621/sizes/l/in/photostream/ 15:http://www.flickr.com/photos/torley/

4132626526/sizes/l/in/photostream/

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