Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can refer to a wide range of actions that businesses may take - from donating to charity to ethical trading. One primary focus of CSR is the environment.

What is environmental CSR?

Environmental CSR aims to reduce any damaging effects on the environment from your business processes. Activities may focus on:

• energy use
• water use
• waste management
• recycling
• emissions
• eco-friendly office and business travel policies

Some of these are significant from both environmental and financial points of view.

Advantages of environmental CSR

Green CSR can reduce business risk, improve reputation and provide opportunities for cost savings. Even the simplest energy efficiency measures can generate savings and make a difference to your business. For example:

• switching off lights and equipment when not in use
• reducing the use of water
• reducing the amount of paper you waste

Caring about the environment can increase revenue too. Many customers prefer to buy from responsible companies.

How to reduce your environmental impact

You can reduce your business' environmental impact in many ways. For example, you can:

• create products that can be recycled
• optimise your product life cycle
• source responsibly (eg using recycled materials and sustainable timber)
• reduce packaging
• buy locally to save fuel costs
• create an efficient (and fuel-efficient) distribution network
• work with environmentally conscious suppliers and distributors

If you're looking for other ways to make an impact, check out these fun and creative CSR activity ideas for your business.