How and When to Integrate Social Values into a Business
This post is part of our Voices series, featuring Net Impact leaders around the world who are making a difference on their campuses and in their careers. They’re sharing their insights and their inspirations, in their own words.
Expectations of business are shifting. Consumers increasingly choose brands that strive to embed positive social and environmental values and practices into their products, services and workplaces. In particular, millennials, who account for $1.3 trillion in spending power in the U.S., want to interact with and work for companies that not only focus on profit, but also deliver value to people – employees, communities, consumers – and the planet.
So if you are not yet thinking about social impact, when is the right time to start?
From day 1:
If you are a budding entrepreneur with a great idea, embed positive social and environmental values and practices into your company from the start. At the Net Impact Conference 2014 there were a number of highly successful mission-driven companies - Honest Tea, Greyston Bakery, Happy Family, and others - that have been that way from the start. It has not necessarily been an easy ride, however, these companies are demonstrating that is possible to be a successful business while also having a strong commitment to social good - there are many valuable lessons that can be learnt from them.
When you are big:
It is never too late to think about the social impact of your company but, if you leave it too long, it becomes harder and takes longer to change. At the Net Impact Conference, we heard from Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, who talked about the multi-year journey that the company is on as part of its comprehensive Sustainable Living Plan. The process is highly complex and requires a huge amount of vision and leadership from the business, its partners and suppliers to get there. The same is true of other multinational companies such as Nestle, Pepsico, and P&G that are on similar journeys. While these efforts should be applauded and supported, if you have the choice, why wait?
So that leaves one option...
Act now as you grow:
While your company is smaller and more agile, make the shift today and embed a strong social mission and values into the business, culture and brand. It will not happen overnight but, if done in a strategic way, taking action may benefit the growth and success of the company.
Look at Chipotle. For over a decade, it has worked hard to embed its commitment to “food with integrity” into its business and brand. Earlier this year when it was forced to remove pork supplies from a third of its restaurants due to animal welfare concerns at an estimated cost of around $2 million in sales, there was no question about what action should be taken; the company knew that standing by its values was more important. CEO, Steve Ells told investors “customers are commending us for taking action against the inhumane treatment of animals, and congratulating us for standing by our business values.”
When is the right time to think about social impact? The answer is now. Whether your company or the company you work for is new, growing or more established, the sooner you take action to meet the changing expectations of today and tomorrow’s consumers, the better position the company will be in for long-term growth and success.
Harriet Henry is a Senior Consultant at Cause Consulting and works with a range of European and Global companies helping them to integrate their business objectives with relevant social and environmental opportunities. She is passionate about the role a company’s “purpose” plays in embedding socially responsible practices into business operations.
