You’re probably familiar with the term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a phrase that often comes up when businesses are praised for their commitment to charitable causes and community outreach. These days, more and more companies are being lauded for their environmentally conscious policies too; having “green” business practices is definitely something that informs a company’s CSR.
According to Meeting Professionals International, CSR is defined as “the responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society, the environment and its own prosperity, known as the ‘triple bottom line’ of people, planet, and profit.” With this in mind, companies that are continually developing and utilizing environmentally sustainable business practices are just as committed to those who have, for example, donated millions of dollars to worthy causes.
Some companies with strong CSR reputations because of their commitment to the environment include New Belgium Brewing, Patagonia, and Solberg Manufacturing, to name a few. Microsoft and Google are always ranking at the top of CSR round-ups, and are competing with the thousands of companies worldwide that see the value in sustainability. Nowadays, it isn’t just the companies dedicated to green products and lifestyles that are earning CSR points, but even the companies that are rooted in industries like tech and finance.
One major company that has merged its global business practices with a commitment to environmental sustainability is Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). Explains Ken Mehlman, the company’s Global Head of Public Affairs, “It’s now part of how we think about companies, whether we should invest in them, and its part of what we think about when we go into the companies: how do we make them better including how do we cut costs and improve their environmental performance?” of how important it is for companies to be socially and environmentally conscious.
According to Daily Motion, KKR has partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), an initiative to create a Green Portfolio of companies that are working to develop sustainable business practices. Says Mehlman of the EDF partnership, “If you can figure out ways to cut costs that are also good from an environmental perspective, it’s a win-win. And that to me is what’s so interesting about this.”
If companies with enormous social impact like KKR can adopt greener policies, it’s only a matter of time before countless other companies worldwide begin to develop similar environmentally conscious practices to bolster their CSR.