Sunday, 4 May 2025Responsibilities not only apply to individuals and groups, but it’s also crucial to consumers and enterprises. Let’s start off with the CSR, which stands for Corporate Social Responsibility. Social responsibility means that besides maximizing shareholders’ value, businesses should operate in a way that benefits society. Its importance is increasing, especially to investors and consumers who seek investments that not only are profitable but also contribute to the welfare of society and the environment. Socially responsible companies can act responsibly in many ways, such as by promoting volunteering, making changes that benefit the environment like reducing carbon footprints, engaging in ethical labor practices, participating in fair trade and engaging in charities.
CSR helps companies to gain customer trust by caring about issues such as Earth Day, raising public awareness and encouraging social change. Like the daily-heard brand–Coca Cola. This multinational brand is putting a huge focus on sustainability, especially in packaging. They make sure every bottle is 100% recyclable and replenish all water used in producing their drinks so as to ensure water security. They aim that by 2030, they would be able to reduce their carbon footprint by 25%.
As consumers, we could make wise consumption choices by only purchasing goods and services from socially responsible companies, hence impacting their profitability. Taking the famous streaming platform Netflix and Spotify as an example, they offer benefits to support their employees and families. Netflix offers 52 weeks of paid parental leave to the birth parent and non-birth parent as well, while Spotify offers a 24-week paid leave, which is more supportive as compared to 18 weeks at other major tech companies. When it comes to social causes, Netflix and Spotify use their social media platforms to show support for movements such as environmental sustainability and Black Lives Matter. Netflix sets an example on how to target and appeal to niche and minority audiences through social media.
Consumers and corporations play different roles in society, yet all of us are responsible for making our society a better place.
Economics Club
22 November 2023