Corporate Social Responsibility & Citizenship: The 5 Stages
Sustainability is no doubt a primary social responsibility goal for any business in our modern era. With a race against climate change and volatile policy decisions, corporations and citizens alike must take up the challenge for sustainable processes and renewable resources. Sustainability falls under the large umbrella of corporate social responsibility -- key to defining business’ relationships with greater societal ideals. In this week’s post, let’s take the time to break down some of the stages of corporate citizenship that businesses will inevitably encounter as we enter a heightened, socially conscious world.
CSR: A Buzzword that Matters
Since the beginning of the 20th century, businesses have been adopting policies and programs to extend their efforts beyond profit-making. The term “corporate social responsibility” was coined as big business leaders were faced with criticism from the working class, largely due to their immense corporate power and rightful skepticism over their corporate ethics. However, what began as philanthropic funding and a smart PR strategy has evolved over the last decade. As more evidence and research surfaces to the public regarding the need for actionable corporate responsibility policy, the everyday consumer increasingly expects more from businesses. Today, organizations are simply expected to engage in intergovernmental agreements, sustainability audits, regulatory compliance, and active corporate citizenship, if they are to meet the standards of the average, conscious consumer.
Stages of Global Corporate Citizenship
The following summary of the CSR stages are adapted from the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship’s “Stages of Corporate Citizenship: A Developmental Framework”.
Stage 1: Elementary
When businesses are first met with the need to develop corporate responsibility policies, this is usually where they start off. With guidelines and government regulations, these businesses follow a compliance-based approach towards CSR and are reactive to social changes, not proactive. In today’s social media-based world, this form of citizenship is often described as performative and met with mild skepticism.
Stage 2: Engaged
As companies become more aware and sensitive to public expectations, they begin to recognize the need to act. This stage is often enacted when companies begin to implement formal policies, initiate conversations with their stakeholders, and start committing to tangible objectives.
Stage 3: Innovative
At this stage, companies are looking for ways to continue their work in the previous stage. Some businesses may start to realize they lack structural capacity for new, major commitments, thereby resulting in internal innovation and a reorganization of resources. Programs are launched, companies proactively audit and report their internal findings, and an open dialogue exists among stakeholders.
Stage 4: Integrated
During this fourth stage, companies are fully integrating citizenship programs, such as sustainability and diversity initiatives, into their business’ bottom line. This includes extensive work in creating partnerships with other businesses and organizations, pioneering processes and technology to improve CSR programs, and an overall more coherent corporate message towards social responsibility.
Stage 5: Transforming
In this final stage of the Global Corporate Citizenship model, companies have stepped up as leaders in their fields for social responsibility, and the pursuit for corporate citizenship is in lockstep with other primary goals of the business, such as maintaining profits. Often, these companies are working beyond borders and industries to tackle major social problems.
What does this mean for you?
No matter what stage your business may be in, RyeStrategy believes that bringing social responsibility measures to your company not only means a healthier world for everyone, but a stronger bottom line for your business as well. We understand that working towards a fully sustainable and renewable future is critical in keeping our future safe and prosperous. Together, we can achieve a more sustainable world that is prepared to meet the challenges of the climate crisis.
Learn about our affordable carbon footprint solutions for small and medium-sized businesses
Book a free strategy session to discuss your climate goals with a sustainability manager.
About RyeStrategy
Based in Seattle, RyeStrategy is a CDP-accredited, mission-oriented company specialized in carbon accounting, mitigation coaching, and climate disclosure solutions for organizations at any point in their sustainability journey. Learn how RyeStrategy helped Salesforce, Ideascale, and Wazoku achieve their sustainability goals.
From exhaustive carbon footprinting and mitigation coaching, to setting science-based targets and reporting climate data to CDP, SBTi or custom reporting platforms, RyeStrategy acts as a hands-on extension of the team, custom-tailoring services to fulfill climate disclosure requirements easily and accurately.
Meet with a sustainability specialist to learn more about RyeStrategy solutions.
