DOES CSR REALLY HAVE A MEANINGFUL IMPACT

 

Nowadays companies have distanced themselves from the idea that profit is the ultimate goal of a corporation, to adopt a more comprehensive point of view that includes the impact that their commercial and productive activities have in the world. Coming to the realization that the own company has a negative effect in different areas of society is a relatively easy thing to do, but taking measures to amend those flaws is no easy task to do. This often clashes with the interests of the company such as profitability, expansion, and responsibility to its shareholders. But in recent times almost every company has implemented a plan of corporate social responsibility which addresses the negative effects that they have on the environment, society, and economic system. These changes have been fueled by the growing demand for eco-friendly products by customers, strict regulations regarding emissions by governments, and worker's unions demanding better labor conditions.  

But how have companies incorporated these demands into their activities? Are they just using these trendy topics to promote themselves without actually implementing actual change? A new term has been coined for companies that profit from climate change without taking definitive action, greenwashing. Greenwashing can be defined as a company conveying false or misleading information regarding the environmental aspect of their products and services in order to make them sound more eco-friendly than they actually are. The problem with greenwashing is that is used as a marketing tool following a current trend disregarding the environmental responsibility attached to the new eco-friendly moment and treating it as a mere trend as one would treat bell trousers or resin rings. Greenwashing is especially prominent in social media where the demographic most concerned about climate change, Gen Z, thrives and is more likely to find these types of messages. Gen Z is consumers are more likely to spend more money on goods If said goods respect the environment in order to lower their carbon footprint. This is excellent news because it shows that the newer generations are fully embracing a new consumption model which prioritizes the planet above many other aspects such as price or brand. 

There are many examples of greenwashing but the most prominent and dangerous one might be the red herring type. This kind of greenwashing distracts the customer by presenting them with a supposedly eco-friendly product. This product can be made from recycled material, be recyclable, or reusable. But these types of products are made with absolute disregard to the sustainability of the manufacturing process often using excessive amounts of resources such as water or electricity. Another example of the use of the red herring in greenwashing is if the product itself is eco-friendly itself but the packaging is not recyclable or uses an excessive and unnecessary amount of plastic. This can be observed in many food products, where they claim to be organic, free of GMOs and pesticides but they are gathered by workers in semi-slavery working conditions or using children as labor force, these products are often shipped from places all around the world by plan adding to the carbon footprint of the product and are packaged in many layers of plastic in order to protect them although many other environmentally respectful options are available to companies. 

Green-washing is not the only example of companies failing to meet expectations regarding their corporate social responsibilities. Many multinational companies have adopted a responsible manufacturing process towards the planet but many still fail to ensure worker's rights and decent labor conditions during said manufacturing processes. It’s not uncommon to hear that a building containing a workshop has collapsed in India or Bangladesh or that children aged as low as 7 have been found sewing football equipment. Often these tragedies are swept under the rug and aren't as talked about in the media as other minor incidents. But this begs the question of what does Social Corporate responsibility answers to the real ethical problems linked to commercial activities or an effort to please the potential customers incorporating into their products aspects that concern the customer. Just because labor rights are not as popular as climate change does this mean that companies don't have to pay attention to this major problematic 

It's no secret that companies want to maximize their profit but as previously mentioned how far should they go in order to achieve this, polluting the planet, violating human rights, children rights, lobbying governments into making policies that only benefit them, and harm its citizens, lying to the public and even go as far as committing what some may consider crimes against humanity. 

This shows how very little companies care about their impact on the world and how they are driven by customer demand instead of ethical values, so one could say that Corporate Social Responsibility it’s nothing more than another shameless way to appeal to the customer and fool them into believing that they are making a positive change by purchasing products when in reality whats they are purchasing is an illusion created by late-stage capitalism. A system where everything is commodified with no respect to humanity and its core values, a system where change is very difficult to make if it's in the way of profit.  That's why society needs to demand that corporate social responsibility stops being performative and start introducing real change in the world, motivated not only by government policies, that are always encircled and are usually years behind but by a real sense of moral obligation towards society the planet and diversity.