A photo in Starbuck at UBC bookstore “For every bottle of Ethos water you buy, Starbucks will donate 10 cents to supports humanitarian programs in coffee-growing communities, providing clean, safe water to those in need.”
Although some companies take CSR as an obstacle that hinder the company from gaining huge profit, successful companies carry out CSR while earns profit from it. On Forbes, Microsoft is ranked as one of the top 10 CSR companies, followed by Sony, BMW, Apple, etc. All these companies earn “big bucks”, which enables them to further improve their CSR reputation. Therefore, it is not hard to deduce that companies that have higher CSR normally earns more as well.
Starbuck logo from wannadrinkcoffee.blogspot.com
Take Starbuck for example, it was listed as one of the 50 companies with best social responsibility reputation and has achieved a great success in business. One day, while queuing up in Starbucks, I noticed that there is a basket with bottle waters and a sigh saying that “for every 1 bottle water you buy here, we will donate 10 cents to humanitarian programs in coffee-growing communities” In this way, consumers will feel that they are not only buying a bottle water but also making some contributions to the society. So why not? Especially when the price is reasonable, people may buy a bottle water except just a cup of coffee. Therefore, Starbucks promotes its CSR while gaining extra revenue.
Additionally, by doing this, it positions its product in a higher level, that is, not only a bottle of water but also a part of funds to be donated, and will impress it s customers with its highly socially-conscious brand image. Hence, If deployed efficiently, the CSR can be a bliss rather than a hassle.
References:
The 10 Companies With the Best CSR Reputations (2014) Available at: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/efkk45mmlm/no-6-daimler-mercedes-benz/ [Accessed 10 November, 2014]
Recycling & Reducing Waste. Available at: http://www.starbucks.ca/responsibility/environment/recycling [Accessed 10 November, 2014]