By Megan Harman
Businesses today have more to think about than their products. Public expectations have emerged in recent years for businesses to look beyond their profit-seeking goals and act instead in the interests of sustainability and the communities where they operate.
“Corporate social responsibility” has become a catchphrase in the world of business. No longer a frill, it has become a basic element of the success of any company, the executive vice-president of the Council of Chief Executives told an ethics conference in Ottawa in February.
The topic arises regularly in national headlines.
Canadian mining companies’ questionable environmental and human rights practices in developing countries have recently been in the spotlight. Advocacy groups have pressured these mining and oil companies to be more responsible and establish standard ethical practices.
Cases involving large international companies like Exxon and Nestlé have come to define corporate social responsibility.
But often overshadowed are the roles that small businesses play in this area.
Regardless of size, companies that take initiatives to play positive social or environmental roles can set a standard and make a difference.
In fact, socially responsible efforts by smaller businesses can have more visible effects at local, grassroots levels than larger business efforts. Consumers in a community can witness first-hand the efforts behind initiatives that small businesses take.
Efforts by large corporations, in contrast, may be less apparent to consumers who only read about them in a newspaper, or not at all.
Many consumers have begun to consider companies’ social and environmental activities when choosing which businesses to support. Particularly when products offered by different companies are strikingly similar, a consumer’s brand choice can be determined by the extent to which businesses are environmentally friendly or their practices of donating a portion of profits to a worthy cause.
Bridgehead coffeehouses in Ottawa, for example, have established a reputation based on selling fair trade coffee. Many consumers choose this over other neighbourhood coffee shops, displaying their support for a company that buys coffee directly from small-scale farmers and ensures fair wages for these coffee producers in developing countries.
The efforts by this Ottawa chain of just eight shops may not create the same uproar as a company as large as Starbucks, but making fair trade coffee an accessible alternative in the Ottawa market and raising awareness for the cause is an accomplishment to be recognized.
Charitable donations are another way companies give back to the community. Larger companies with bigger profits clearly can donate more substantial amounts to charities they support. Major banks such as BMO Financial Group and CIBC, for example, donate millions of dollars to charitable causes ranging from arts and culture to hospital foundations.
But lower-profile donations made by smaller businesses have proven to make a difference too. Charities such as United Way have lists of sponsors that include small businesses like Centretown’s Nelligan O’Brien Payne law firm, alongside major corporations such as Telus.
Local gourmet hamburger chain The Works displayed its commitment to a good cause in January. Forfeiting revenue from an entire day’s sales, it offered free hamburgers for 24 hours in exchange for donations to the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. It raised more than $33,000, showing what four neighbourhood stores can do in just one day.
Besides charity, opportunities for businesses to become more environmentally friendly have become more prominent. While the benefits of clean production are more pronounced when practiced by larger-scale companies that pollute more, small businesses are also making efforts in sustainability.
Many Ontario businesses, large and small, purchase electricity from Bullfrog Power, a retailer that sells 100 per cent “green” renewable energy.
While Bullfrog Power is slightly more expensive than regular energy, it allows businesses such as Open Concept Consulting Inc., a Centretown website design firm, to support renewable energy resources rather than coal and nuclear. It also shows their commitment to environmental improvement.
When enough small businesses make similar efforts, the effects are significant.
Corporate social responsibility is not limited to Fortune 500 companies. The little guys are doing their part and the spotlight should be shared to give them the credit they deserve.