Globally, customer attention is increasingly high in the post-Covid era: everyone hopes to live in a more sustainable world, and companies know this well: one of the vectors for a brand's growth is to show ethics in their business by creating shared value in the community.
Today, the definition of business success goes beyond profitability, growth rate and brand recognition. Customers, employees and other interested parties also judge a company based on the impact of its activity on the community, the economy and the environment. In other words, by the fact that it is concerned with ethical issues and community interests, and not just with the growth of profit. Corporate social responsibility practices are one way to demonstrate the company's position on the matter.
Corporate Social Responsibility: what does it mean?
Corporate Social Responsibility, or corporate social responsibility, is a type of corporate self-regulation that aims to have a positive impact on society. Some ways in which a company can embrace social responsibility are: being attentive and proactive regarding environmental issues; promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace; treat employees with respect; redevelop some urban areas by returning important spaces for sharing and frequenting to the community.
CSR has evolved from the voluntary choices of individual companies to mandatory regulations at regional, national and international levels. However, many companies choose to go beyond legal requirements and incorporate the idea of “doing good” into their business models.
There is no one way a company can embrace CSR, but one thing is certain: to be perceived as authentic, the company's practices must be integrated into its culture and business operations. In today's socially conscious environment, employees and customers appreciate working and spending their money for companies that prioritize CSR; at the same time they are also very attentive to the greenwashing practices that some companies implement, damaging their brand.
Corporate Social Responsibility: the main categories
There are various actions that can be classified into different categories of corporate social responsibility, but to date there are still no well-defined perimeters to consider which activities are included or not. However, there are some macro-areas of intervention that can already be associated in a consolidated way with Corporate Social Responsibility:
- Environmental responsibility: it is based on respect and preservation of the environmental ecosystem. It can be pursued through, for example, the reduction of pollution, recycling of goods and materials (so-called second-life cycle), reintegration or recovery of green spaces, use of materials with low environmental impact in production processes.
- Ethical responsibility: is based on acting correctly and ethically. Companies often set their own standards, although external forces or customer demands can shape ethical goals. Cases of ethical responsibility include, for example, the fair treatment of employees, suppliers and customers regardless of age, race, culture or sexual orientation.
- Philanthropic responsibility: It is based on how a company acts and contributes to society. In its simplest form, philanthropic responsibility refers to how a company spends its resources to make the world a better place. This includes, for example: volunteering, donating part of profits to charities, sponsoring fundraising events for philanthropic causes.
- Financial responsibility: Ties the above three areas together. A company making plans to be more environmentally focused, ethically and philanthropically must engage financially through program financial investments, donations or product research. Some examples: research and development of new products that promote sustainability, recruiting different types of talent to ensure a diverse workforce, initiatives that train employees on social awareness or environmental concerns.
Corporate Social Responsibility: the advantages
In addition to bringing benefits to the environment and society, corporate social responsibility also has extremely positive consequences for the company that implements it. We are talking above all about a good return on image which consequently determines a potential increase in business, a potential increase in customers and also greater ease in establishing partnerships and relationships with stakeholders, based on the credibility and authority acquired. At the same time, internally targeted CSR actions boost employee productivity and retention. Finally, in a historical moment in which companies, to find new talent to include in the workforce, must prove themselves attractive, solid and competitive, a good CSR policy is an excellent card to play.
Corporate Social Responsibility: car sharing by E-VAI as an ally
Nowadays, many companies, from SMEs to Corporates and multinationals, own a company fleet of cars that can be booked and used by employees both for work commitments and for personal travel.
According to environmental corporate social responsibility, the cars of E-VAI for corporate car sharing they represent an optimal solution in several respects:
- environmental sustainability: they are electric, with zero CO2 emissions at the exhaust and therefore low environmental impact
- inclusiveness: they can be intended for all employees, or they can be included in the plan welfare corporate
- soil recovery: our fleet management includes not only car pooling, but also corporate car sharing; in fact, more employees can use the same car, reducing traffic in circulation, especially that which flows into large cities
Finally, E-VAI Corporate Car Sharing also takes care of the "health" of the company: it allows a rapid energy transition and real and immediate savings, thanks to the optimization of the company fleet and the elimination of extra costs linked to the movement of employees, such as fuel and Taxi.
