Corporate social responsibility is the new big thing in the corporate world. However, philanthropy has been present from a long time. Basically from the point of view of corporate organizations, it means giving back to the society. However, things have changed now. Companies incorporate CSR initiatives into their corporate activities for a number of reasons. Here are a few:

Advantages of CSR activities:

1. It can improve your corporate image. You can present your brand as a socially conscious one trying to donate liberally for social causes. There are plenty of causes to choose from. From animal rights to environmental issues, the list is endless.
2. CSR is now compulsory in many countries. In India, for instance, profit-making companies must give 2 percent of their profits for social and charitable causes.
3. CSR fetches you real return on investments. Your investors and shareholders are interested in your CSR initiatives in order to make decisions for investing in your company.
4. CSR can also affect your sales. Studies have revealed that companies indulging in CSR activities performed better than those who did not.
5. Finally, CSR activities are a great way to tie up with NGOs to support worthy causes. They also give your employees a chance of voluntarism.

Motives of CSR activities

Originally, the main motive of any CSR activity was philanthropy; however, it is now subsumed under one of the above-mentioned motives.

Economic motive: Some scholars think that profit is the main motive behind CSR. While originally this was the case, companies today tend to give more importance to philanthropy that can boost a company’s image and increase revenue in the long run.

Legal motive: Complying with all the norms and regulations of the land in regards to minimum wage, age of employment, environmental norms etc. constitutes the legal motives behind CSR activities. Compliance with rules and regulations is often overlooked by legal activists, NGOs and government officials. Compliance with laws of the land can put a company in a very positive light.

Ethical motive: The ethical motive behind CSR activities is to legitimize the corporate activities of a company. A company must be able to justify its profit-making enterprises, legally and ethically in order to maintain its brand image and increase its customer base.

It must be understood that these are overlapping fields. So ethical considerations might also be legal in nature and following the laws of the land might have an ulterior economic motive. Thus the actual motive of CSR remains multipronged.

Whatever might your justification for indulging in CSR activities, they are now made easy. There are professional agencies that can help you in your CSR activities..