ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CSR AND ENVIRONMENT

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS TO MY GRATITUDE TO MY TEACHER WHO GAVE

ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS WONDERFUL PROJECT ON CSR AND
ENVIRONMENT AND ALSO HELPED ME COMPLETE MY PROJECT. I CAME TO
KNOW ABOUT SO MANY NEW THINGS, I AM REALLY THANKFUL TO THEM. I
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IN FINISHING THIS PROJECT IN THE LIMITED TIMEFRAME.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a self-regulating business model that helps a
company be socially accountable to itself, its stakeholders, and the public. By practicing
corporate social responsibility, also called corporate citizenship, companies can be conscious
of the kind of impact they are having on all aspects of society, including economic, social,
and environmental.

To engage in CSR means that, in the ordinary course of business, a company is operating in
ways that enhance society and the environment instead of contributing negatively to them.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 Corporate social responsibility is a business model by which companies make a

concerted effort to operate in ways that enhance rather than degrade society and the
environment.
 CSR helps both improve various aspects of society as well as promote a positive
brand image of companies.
 Corporate responsibility programs are also a great way to raise morale in the
workplace.1 
 CSRs are often broken into four categories: environmental impacts, ethical
responsibility, philanthropic endeavors, and financial responsibilities.
 Some examples of companies that strive to be leaders in CSR include Starbucks and
Ben & Jerry's
 

Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate social responsibility is a broad concept that can take many forms depending on
the company and industry. Through CSR programs, philanthropy, and volunteer efforts,
businesses can benefit society while boosting their brands.

For a company to be socially responsible, it first needs to be accountable to itself and its
shareholders. Companies that adopt CSR programs have often grown their business to the
point where they can give back to society. Thus, CSR is typically a strategy that's
implemented by large corporations. After all, the more visible and successful a corporation
is, the more responsibility it has to set standards of ethical behavior for its peers,
competition, and industry.

Small and midsize businesses also create social responsibility programs, although their
initiatives are rarely as well-publicized as those of larger corporations.

Environmental Responsibility

Environmental responsibility is the pillar of corporate social responsibility rooted in

preserving mother nature. Through optimal operations and support of related causes, a
company can ensure it leaves natural resources better than before its operations. Companies
often pursue environmental stewardship through:
  Reducing pollution, waste, natural resource consumption, and emissions through its
manufacturing process.
 Recycling goods and materials throughout its processes including promoting re-use
practices with its customers.
 Offsetting negative impacts by replenishing natural resources or supporting causes
that can help neutralize the company's impact. For example, a manufacturer that
deforests trees may commit to planting the same amount or more.
 Distributing goods consciously by choosing methods that have the least impact on
emissions and pollution.
 Creating product lines that enhance these values. For example, a company that offers
a gas lawnmower may design an electric lawnmower

Every year, more companies are prioritizing sustainable practices, pledging to consider their
environmental impact at every stage of business. 

This can mean reducing the company’s carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions, opting
for sustainable resources by avoiding single-use plastics and keeping environmental aspects
at the heart of all operations. 

However, this environmental responsibility can extend past the company’s promise to
sustainable development. If protecting the environment is a part of your corporate mission,
you can honor that by encouraging employees to take action.

Nestlé Cares Cleanup 

To uphold their company value of protecting the planet with environmentally friendly
practices, Nestlé Switzerland organized a volunteer week event centered around corporate
environmental responsibility. 

Their cleanup week coincided with World Cleanup Day, and it gave their employees hands-
on experience in helping to protect their local environment and support communities. 

More than 100 employees participated across Switzerland over four days, with six Nestlé
sites involved. Thanks to this effort, Nestlé collected 110+ kilograms of trash and contributed
to other environmental benefits. 

For companies committed to CSR, it’s important for businesses to engage in environmentally
friendly practices. Corporations can be significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions,
pollution, waste, and natural resource depletion—but by committing to environmental
responsibility, a business takes ownership over its impact on the environment.

Depending on a business’s size and industry, environmental responsibility can take many
different forms. For some companies, it means using alternative energy sources and
sustainable materials. For others, it means enacting a company-wide recycling program or
donating to and volunteering for local environment-focused organizations.
When a business commits to socially responsible practices, it positively impacts its employee
satisfaction and retention. It’s also great for brand identity because CSR initiatives help
bolster customer trust and public respect.

And, of course, the CSR initiatives themselves have a ripple effect of positive good. With
every new sustainable business practice and every company committed to fair pay and ethical
employee treatment, more positivity is brought into the world.

Standard environmental CSR activities include:

 Recycling
 Waste reduction
 Reducing water consumption
 Reducing energy use
 Reducing plastic consumption
 Using renewable energy providers
 Reducing GHG emissions
 Adopting sustainable transport policies

Any organisation may undertake these activities to improve environmental CSR performance.
However, businesses must also look closely at those areas where their particular industry has
disproportionately negative environmental effects.

Examples of environmental CSR initiatives in specific industries include Costa Coffee’s

reusable cup incentive, which aims to reduce the waste coffee cups generated by the business
by offering customers a 25p discount on their drink if they bring a reusable cup.

Similarly, in the printer industry, most major manufacturers run recycling programmes for
toner cartridges, which are complex electronic waste. Empty cartridges are disassembled into
component materials and added back into the product lifecycle.

In the fashion industry, a pair of jeans can take almost 10,000 litres of water to manufacture,
an issue Outland Denim addresses by using innovative technology, including laser
equipment, to cut down on the amount of water needed for washing and bleaching by up to
65 per cent.

These are all laudable initiatives and feature prominently in CSR reports of the organisations
involved. There is no question that reducing consumption, cutting raw material use and
tackling waste are all activities that responsible organisations should undertake. However, the
limitation of environmental CSR – and CSR overall – lies in its often subjective, industry-
specific nature.
Companies that seek to embrace environmental responsibility can do so in several ways:

 Reducing harmful practices, such as decreasing pollution, greenhouse gas

emissions, the use of single-use plastics, water consumption, and general waste
 Regulating energy consumption by increasing reliance on renewables, sustainable
resources, and recycled or partially recycled materials
 Offsetting negative environmental impact; for example, by planting trees, funding
research, and donating to related causes

BENEFITS

 Corporate social responsibility can prove to be more profitable for companies and to
extend it survivability in markets because greater awareness on this topic, in both
social and business markets, has been in higher demand. Customers have responded
with overall satisfaction and loyalty when companies have a better CSR, especially in
countries like Spain and Brazil. Culture has an impact on the CSR ratings and studies,
as well as human values across different nations.
 This topic can also be found under sustainable development. This area is concerned
with not only protecting the environment but maintaining economical growth. There
were several agreements internationally to help adopt new business practices that held
these standards, but they were considered individual and there was no law-abiding
body to regulate nor implement them.
 One of the other factors that is considered an integral part of sustainable development
are human beings, and specific groups and their habitat. Counties and companies that
more developed would lead, and other small countries and business would slowly
make gains. It is important to recognize that just because corporate environmental
responsibility is being recognized that consumption is something that is not
discouraged.
 The idea of corporate environmental responsibility is for humans to be more aware of
the environmental impact and counteract their pollution/carbon footprint on the
natural resources. One of the main factors is to reduce carbon footprint and carbon
emissions. Many of the studies focus on trying to find a balance between economic
growth and reducing waste and cleaner environments.
 Furthermore, many firms are discovering that there is an advantage to advocating for
environmental regulations and preparing for them to be implemented before they
become law. In a recent study, the researcher found that firms support climate change
legislation as a means of gaining power over their competitors. Essentially, even if a
new regulation hurts a firm in the short term, the firm may embrace it because they
know that it will hurt their competitors even more. This allows them to come out on
top in the long run.
CONCLUSION

CRS initiatives strive to have a positive impact on the world through direct benefits to
society, nature and the community in which a business operations. In addition, a company
may experience internal benefits through the initiatives. Knowing their company is
promoting good causes, employee satisfaction may increase and retention of staff may be
strengthened. In addition, members of society may be more likely to choose to transact with
companies that are attempting to make a more conscious positive impact beyond the scope
of its business
BIBLIOGRAPHY

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