We recently wrote a blog post about Creating Shared Value (CSV) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the differences between the two concepts. We received some interesting feedback from Adam McSwain about this post, highlighting the company Patagonia for their outstanding efforts with CSR/CSV.

Patagonia has a positive attitude towards social and environmental responsibility and has a plethora of information about their continuing efforts in all aspects of their business.

Not long after receiving this feedback, The Guardian Sustainable Business had an article discussing B Corps and how they are redefining business for the 21st Century.

This concept is great – if you don’t know about B Corps or Benefit Corporations check them out – over 620 companies across 15 countries have signed up with them.

And Patagonia was the first to sign up in California and their annual revenue of outdoor sports apparel top $600m, making them the largest company to sign as a B Corp.

At its most basic, companies sign up and become certified through standards set out by B Corp including social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency working towards one unified goal – redefining success in business.

Patagonia produced a video explaining the careful methods they go to in the path of every material that is used in making their products. It is also great to see they are aware the work they do now can still grow and improve.

Campaigns such as Common Threads Initiative, assists customers by reducing what they buy, repairing it instead of chucking it, re-using or passing onto other and finally recycling. Their mission is to have a world ‘where we only take what nature can replace’.

What this represents is the changing of how many companies are running their everyday work and making social and environmental responsibility as a priority in every decision made as a company. It goes beyond ‘doing it for the sake of doing it’ and this is about creating value for many more outlets than the organisation itself.

It is such a positive movement and if more companies come on board and change the way they go about their business – it could potentially alter the world.

 

This concept is illustrated in the work Apricot Consulting is presently doing with North Melbourne Football Club. To develop a CSR strategy that positions the club as a leaders on the global scale we are creating a program which connects the club with its surrounding community, building a relationship where both the club and the community it is part of become strong and vibrant together.

When the community strives, so does the club and vice versa.

 

annie.french@apricotconsulting.us