It is never too late to learn more about sustainable business practices.
One of the vital parts is corporate social responsibility.

What is Corporate Social Responsibility?

Simply put, definition follows:

Corporate Social Responsibility is an ethic implemented into business processes and company culture.
Near to social responsibility, innovative good businesses do care also about environmental responsibility.

Why you should consider to build a better business?

• Allows yourself and your employees to achieve better life/work balance
  • Improves performance
  • Improves loyalty
  • Reduces fluctuation - > reduces hiring costs
  • Especially Y generation do care about meaning of the work they do. If you want to attract and retain this staff, become responsible business.
• Improves brand valuation and marketing
  • Customers nowadays care also about your business impact, not only price
  • Customers tend to choose ethical options when possible
  • You can employ *ethical marketing* and cause marketing
• Makes you more satisfied with your business and life
  • People who have thick bank account become philanthropic usually - it is just not enough to have a lot of money, people want to achieve something more and to leave something behind. So they give back. Why to wait for millions when you can start now and implement it in early stage, reinforcing your core business? You can be satisfied with your business/life from the very start and make a positive impact on the road to success.

How to start?

Well, it really depends on your current situation. If you are going to launch a new business, the best practice is to implement the principles of permaculture into your business from the very start. If you have already enrolled business, then nothing is lost and you can still implement CSR into your processes and even core business.

And it does not have to be expensive!

Simplest ways:

• Microvolunteering - for example Sparked
• Pro-bono consulting - this is a nobrainer
• Resource pooling - step into sharing economy and share your resources with nonprofits in need - it can be as simple as hosting for their website on your dedicated server.
• Donate your local community cause

Challenging ways:

• 1+1 - One product bought donates another product donated - See samples such as TOMS shoes
• Hire a CSR consultant to prepare a program for your company
• Launch social business
• Launch a foundation near to your company, offering funds for nonprofits and root causes
• Become certified B Corporation

Go for it, good luck and have fun!

What is your preferred way of doing ethical business?