Are you wasting money being a good corporate citizen?
Summary
Under mounting pressure to be socially accountable, retailers are behaving like good corporate citizens, but if their efforts go unnoticed by customers and stakeholders, they may be adding little or no value to the bottom line. Programs are often separate investments in siloed departments, which tick the box of corporate citizenship, while failing to build reputation or contribute to business growth. Longstanding retailers embedded in communities often have a large number of local partners, added piecemeal over the years, with no clear strategy or measurement. Instead of co-branding with the program delivery partner being an afterthought, brands should make the effort to apply their design system to all their collateral and use it as a conversation starter. Sustainability reports provide a platform for communications about businesses’ impact on societal wellbeing, ensuring investors and communities hear about the good work they’re doing.