This post is in response to Melissa Ng’s post on Arising Social Responsibility Mindset of Consumers and Businesses, which can be found here.

Before reading Melissa’s post, I had not heard of the show Dragon’s Den, but I watched the whole episode and was throughly entertained and interested.

(Source)

However, I have to disagree with Melissa and with one of the TV show’s “Dragons”, Arlene Dickson. The future of business will not be centred on being socially responsible or environmentally friendly. At most, it’s a way to differentiate a company, but it won’t be the first priority of the majority of businesses. At the end of the day, most consumers will applaud companies who are eco-friendly and socially responsible, but they will buy the product that will hurt their pockets and wallets least. Unless these consumers have excessive and disposable income.

These are some significant challenges for companies who charge a premium price because of their sustainable and social practices:

• The product itself has to be very unique. Would the product be able to sell itself sans a campaign on its eco-friendliness/social responsibility?
• Can the company afford expensive celebrity endorsements? How else can the product gain so much popularity that it becomes a trend (like Toms Shoes)?

Something else to think about:

A company that is socially and environmentally responsible is able to charge a premium price. But what if a company would make more profits if it wasn’t being socially responsible (and without that premium price), would it still continue to be?