Corporate Societal Responsibility

By Sebastian Kogler, President of Operations at PRLab

As of Oct. 4, 2017, the Dow Jones Industrial index is higher than it has ever been. So are the Nasdaq and the S&P 500. The market value of all the companies on the S&P index alone is roughly 8 Trillion dollars. That’s enough money to pay more than two years rent in an average U.S. one bedroom apartment. Our GDP in 2016 was almost 19 Trillion dollars. We’re making more money than we ever have. So why can’t 45 million people afford to pay the rent?

What exists above is a tired mantra. It’s one that professionals hate talking about at any length, especially one that is longer than a dismissive “Well, what can you do?” or the pseudo-empathetic “It’s so sad,” or even worse, the “Poor people are lazy,” theme that successful business people (usually ones who went to private high schools and colleges) espouse. There are issues that take lifetimes to understand that must be considered before trying to equitably fix this problem. Race, gender, sexual orientation, geography, and parenting all play a role. These are deep fissures in our social fabric that will take time, societal perspective, and a whole lot of mindful discussions to heal. However, most PR Practitioners and business people in general ask the following two questions when confronted with a problem: “What is our vision?” and “What can we do today?”

The vision is an education system in America that will adequately service all children equitably. Today,  it does not implement this, costing us dearly in terms of human potential and capital.

What can we do? Donate. It’s simple. Write a check. If 5% of people earning more than $100,000 donated 5% of their income to education, the Department of Education’s budget would go up 25%. If every American earning over $100,000 donated to local school districts in need (like that would ever happen), there would be just north of $200 billion pouring into local schools. By the way, all those people taking in more than 100 grand a year? They bring in just north of $4 trillion in earnings and these are just monetary personal earnings. And, hey, who doesn’t want to be like Chance?

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This essay may seem to be a confusing post for a PR blog. We help publicize brands and issues across all sectors of the economy. However, there is a sector of PR which could do more to solve these inequities and effect a realistic version of the implausible scenario I’ve described above. However, Corporate Social Responsibility is an integral part of what PR Firms do every day. Firms with CSR arms often work hard to keep their business honest and talk about it as much as possible so people buy more stuff from them. We buy from responsible business because other businesses such as Wells Fargo and Enron are like:

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When we think we really want them to be like:

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It’s awesome to feel like a company is your best friend. I personally subscribe to tons of email lists to tell me where I can go to spend my hard-earned money after I’m stressed out from school or work or casual existential dread.  

However, the more I think about how CSR works and how low our education standard is in America compared to other countries around the world, the more I think it is up to us as communicators to use the bullhorn that is placed in our hands empower those who can’t speak up for themselves on a national stage. So now I hold this standard for any company able to give their CEO million dollar bonuses year after year.

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Contrary to what you’d expect, having companies invest in the communities they move into is like asking a company to invest in a bond. There are guaranteed returns (at a much higher rate than bonds, as it happens) from investing in community success, especially in equitable education and community engagement. Some of these benefits will include:

1: A competitive and talented applicant pool: Better people. Better work. CSR.

2: A fulfilled and connected workforce: More educated people are happier people.

3: Higher profit margins which means (surprise!) higher bonuses for everyone.

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How many times have you heard the phrase spend money to make money? This is an investment in the future growth of this country and it is undeniably good PR. The most trusted companies in the world champion education and community programs. Google, which topped the reputation institute’s ranking of companies’ CSR initiatives has an employee gift matching program which has raised $50 million and an allowance of 20 paid hours per year for volunteering, which resulted in 50,000 paid hours of community service worked by Google employees alone last year. They have more than 30 initiatives including an education focused one that provides discounted products, over 20 fellowships and support programs, and more that I can’t list because I’m running out of space. Again, they’re the most giving company in the world, people trust them more for that, and they will eventually reap the benefit of their investment with more of the most talented minds when those talents go to work for Google.

Ultimately, these numbers and the story of Google’s giving makes me want more. PR Professionals are in a unique position to align the immediate media interests with the long-term business goals of companies by suggesting that companies give, especially to education. Today, we have the biggest bullhorns in history, the most connected society ever, and a renaissance of technology and innovation. It is not enough to be socially responsible; We must become societally responsible. By investing in education, this country, and our future on a corporate level, we can help ensure that a responsible society becomes a reality. This doesn’t mean airbrushing our logos onto the sides of schools or seeing an immediate bump in our stock prices. But in 20 years, this strategy will make the U.S. the world leader in education, leadership, and ultimately, profit, once again.

(more people will, incidentally, be able to pay the rent, too)

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At PRLab, we utilize our resources to the best of our ability by organizing an annual event called PRoBono where we work for charities local to Boston in a PR Hackathon. Last year, we had more than sixty students work more than 1200 hours total over one day to get the word out about charities such as Greater Grove Hall Main Streets and Julie’s Family, both organizations working towards inclusive education and community engagement. You can sign up as a volunteer here and as a client here.