How to promote CSR and Sustainability initiatives online

Your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability programme should be all about doing the right thing – supporting employees, local communities, and the environment so that we live in a better and kinder planet. But it is also important that the world knows about your initiatives – so you should have a good plan to promote CSR and Sustainability initiatives in your company.

In order to achieve the above, it is important to understand that CSR and Sustainability have multiple business (commercial) benefits and those make it much easier for companies to justify large investments in their environmental and community programmes. So let’s look at how a business can get the most out of promoting its CSR initiatives. 

Why It Matters

Here are the two key things to consider when promoting your initiatives:

1. Over 75% of employees would agree to take a pay cut in order to work for a corporate that is socially responsible
2. Over 80% of consumers would prefer to purchase from such a business

Now that it is clear that both your team and your clients care deeply about your Sustainability programme, the question is: where can we reach them in an easier way. And the answer is online, of course. Research shows that, currently, over 81% of businesses with an online presence have a CSR page on their website. This is also the most visited page by Millenials looking to work for your company, so it is important you keep this page as interesting and as engaging as possible. Here are a few things to consider: 

1. Make all the key information and statistics readily available
2. Do give them the option to download your CSR report (if you have one). Your key initiatives and stats should be on the main CSR page
3. Try to avoid multiple clicks and sub-pages to reach the desired information.
4. Update the page regularly

How To Promote CSR initiatives

These are the basics that a business should cover when building their CSR and Sustainability page online in order to communicate better with future recruits and clients. However, the internet and its users have evolved from single online pages, so here are a few suggestions on the boxes that your CSR and Sustainability online presence should tick:

1. A simple and elegant design in line with your company brand, messaging and colours
2. Displaying all key information, statistics and initiatives (as mentioned above)
3. Integrated with all social media channels to make sharing by your marketing team, employees, and clients as easy as possible
4. Impact reporting with real live updates from the organisations you support
5. Dynamic and recent content which gets updated on a weekly, if not daily basis
6. Pictures, videos, and stories shared and organised by your employees
7. Active tracking and presentation of any kind of initiative – from environmental and community engagement to volunteering and fundraising

Your internal IT team has its focus on your own product development and support, which usually means they would not be able to cover this much ground for your CSR page. At this point, it may be advisable to look for an external provider. Whatever you decide to do, however, make sure you find a way to communicate your CSR and Sustainability initiatives today. Don’t wait, don’t overthink it. Find the right team or the right provider. Tell the world about your philanthropy. Trust us. They care.

(KindLink is the technology platform supporting corporates in managing their CSR, offering features ranging from CSR strategy development and impact reporting to measuring SDGs, employee engagement and volunteering opportunities marketplace)