GOOD GOVERNANCE AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY NOTES

PURPOSE OF CSR

What is the purpose of corporate social responsibility? The purpose of corporate social responsibility
is to give back to the community, take part in philanthropic causes, and provide positive social value.
Businesses are increasingly turning to CSR to make a difference and build a positive brand around their
company.

Building A strong GSR Program

1. Identify the purpose

 The organizations doing top-notch CSR keep everything aligned.
o Their CSR work links to an overall business strategy and is focused on ways to
maximize value for the organization and the community.
 These organizations have evaluated their core values, surveyed their employees, and
conducted needs assessments with external partners to understand what the true
purpose of their CSR initiatives should be.
 That due diligence (reasonable legal steps) on the front-end pays major dividends on the
back-end.
 Consumers and employees alike can feel when an organization’s CSR efforts aren’t
aligned to its overall mission, vision, and values. But when organizations get it right, the
impact is noted across the board.
 That’s the reality your organization should strive for when scoping out its CSR agenda.
2. Build a strong team talent pipeline
 Yes, you need to build a network of internal allies to run your CSR program.That’s a
given.
 But why not think of your CSR work as a broader capacity building initiative? Why not
link your social impact work with your organization’s constant search for top talent?
That exceptional volunteer or talented team member may demonstrate skills through
CSR work that could make them a good fit for other important work within your
organization.
 It’s important to put together a cadre of employees who will represent your company
well. They should be cross-functional and interdepartmental. For God’s sake make sure
the team is diverse and representative of the company, as well as the communities with
whom you’re working.
 This crew should build upon the agenda-setting you’ve done around your core values
and the overall purpose of your CSR work. They should hone your broad CSR goals into a
draft plan for tackling specific challenges and addressing key opportunities, all while
setting clear and concrete goals to be measured along the way.
 Don’t forget about suppliers and vendors . They’re your partners in delivering goods and
services to customers and there’s no reason they can’t be incentivized to help drive your
CSR efforts forward.
3. Give employees ownership
 Building a CSR team and talent pipeline is half the battle. Giving them the tools, they
need to succeed is equally important.
 Remember that some of your most effective strategies for executing CSR will often
come from your employees. Just look at how Johnson & Johnson leveraged employee
insights to tackle its citizenship and sustainability goals.
 When you make it clear that ideas from team members will not only be supported but
integrated into CSR projects, the likelihood of them successfully completing that work
increases significantly. Such work is also a fantastic employee development opportunity
for team members at all levels.
 Don’t make the classic mistake of asking employees to execute CSR priorities that have
come down from “on high.” Give your team the agency to dream up and execute CSR
projects that matter to them and flow naturally from organizational priorities.It’ll make
a big difference.
4. Make sustainability a central goal
 The days of the one-off park cleanup in company t-shirts are over.
 Sustainability can no longer be a standalone CSR objective. It must be part of a
consistent approach to CSR that centers sustainable development as an organization-
wide priority.
 With 93% of CEOs insisting that sustainability is a key to success and 70% of CEOs
sharing that CSR is essential to the profitability of companies, the inextricable link
(cannot be saved) between CSR and sustainability is quite clear.
 Sustainability should be the filter through which all of your broader corporate initiatives
pass. Not only do environmental realities demand it), but consumers and employees can
see right through organizations that “greenwash” their work.
 We know consumers (especially Gen Z and Millennials) are looking to get their goods
and services from organizations that make sustainability a core part of their values and
practices. When it comes to modern CSR work infused with a focus on sustainability,
they’re looking for organizations that:
o Set measurable goals
o Engage local stakeholders in CSR work
o Map out sustainability opportunities across the organization
o Build sustainable systems internally
o Assess the lifecycle of their goods and services
o Report regularly on sustainability and CSR initiatives
o Embrace sustainability branding
 Taking these steps within the context of CSR work allows companies to facilitate
meaningful projects that more deeply engage consumers and employees while
achieving a truly sustainable impact when it comes to the environment.

5. Implement with fidelity (faithfulness)

 The most rewarding part of CSR is arguably when the work begins on the ground.
  Employees get so much satisfaction (morale skyrockets) from connecting with
communities and putting core values into practice. At this juncture, those initial goals
and organizational priorities are especially important.
 Balance is essential: stay flexible enough to respond to changing realities in communities
while sticking to what your organization and CSR team initially set out to accomplish. It
can be tricky, but maintaining a long-term commitment to the work will help smooth
out inevitable bumps in the road.
 This approach will also help organizations enlist local community leaders—they will
appreciate how your organization balances flexibility and fidelity in its approach. Don’t
forget that measurement becomes even more crucial once the implementation of your
CSR project has begun.
 You’ll know whether you’re staying true to initial goals through constant review of your
data. That’s how you’ll assess whether you’re achieving the impact you’ve set out to
achieve.
6. Use external and internal benchmarking
 No organization wants to lag behind when it comes to sustainability and social impact.
 For this reason, developing benchmarks that help your organization measure the
progress of CSR projects is critical.
 Internal benchmarks help different divisions within an organization understand their
progress towards specific goals, such as reducing emissions within the supply chain.
Encourage the sharing of this internal data among various divisions within the
organization to promote healthy competition (and dissemination of best practices)
towards sustainability goals.
 External benchmarks empower your organization to measure the progress of your CSR
work against that of peer organizations. Have a clear-eyed view of how other
organizations are performing their CSR work to help enrich your organization’s existing
and future initiatives.
 Sharing results from other organizations doing similar work is  another way to motivate
employees around CSR performance. Also, be sure to look at how organizations are
depicted in reputable CSR rankings like the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
 In this way, CSR performance should become a central metric for the overall
effectiveness of your organization, right up there with profitability and market share.
7. Celebrate achievements and share the knowledge
 Let’s go back to an elementary school math class for a moment: show your work.
 That’s especially true when it comes to highly effective CSR projects. Demonstrating
how your organization builds sustainability principles into its CSR work helps peer
organizations do similar good work. Contributing to the knowledge base of the entire
CSR sector is a great way to expand the impact of your CSR initiatives beyond just the
projects led by your organization.
 And don’t be shy about the media attention your CSR efforts will generate. This will
drive employee engagement, attract better candidates to your talent pool, and
encourage deeper support from consumers and investors.
  Sharing stories of powerful CSR work helps to foster more satisfied and productive
employees, which creates a virtuous cycle that feeds back into your profitability and
future community work as an organization.
 That’s how you maximize your organizational impact across the board.

A good starting point for reflection is the seven principles of social responsibility defined in
ISO 26000:
1. Accountability.
2. Transparency.
3. Ethical behavior.
4. Respect for stakeholder interests.
5. Respect for the rule of law.
6. Respect for the international norms of behavior.
7. Respect for human rights.

Best practices for creating a CSR Strategy

Understanding the role and value of a CSR strategy is an important first step. 
Now, how do you create and develop a CSR strategy that gets results? There are seven key
tactics for strategic planning that will help improve the outcomes of your business’s CSR
activities.

Best Practices

1. Link to company values

Whereas CSR was once seen as a peripheral approach to boosting business performance and
legitimacy, today’s best CSR initiatives are squarely brand-aligned and central to operational
strategy. 
Connecting CSR to business strategy is increasingly a corporate best practice, as evidenced by
the 181 CEO’s from brands like Amazon, Citigroup, and Ford who signed Business Roundtable’s
latest Statement of Purpose, indicating a commitment to “to lead their companies for the
benefit of all stakeholders—customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and shareholders.”
What it looks like to align your CSR strategy with your brand, core competencies, and
operational strategy, will be different for every company.

WarnerMedia’s Access Writers Program is a great example of a CSR initiative that clearly links
back to company values: WarnerMedia is a media corporation focused on diverse entertainment
 whose latest program seeks to improve the access marginalized community members have to
professional opportunities in television. 

2. Get insights from your various stakeholders

You’ll want to develop a strategic plan for CSR inspired by what your customers, employees, and
community members care about. You might also seek inspiration from what’s worked for other
brands already. Here’s how:
Poll your customers :

The creation of a CSR strategy is a great excuse to connect with your customer base. Build a
short, easy to access poll to collect the following information:
 Which environmental and social issues matter most to your customers?
Design your poll in alignment with your brand. For example, if you sell custom T-shirts, are
customers most interested in your sustainability, supply chain, dedication to labor and human
rights, or donations to kids in need? Focused questions will lead to more actionable results.
 What do customers know about your current giving and initiatives?  
If you have run programs in the past or currently engage in CSR, how well did you communicate
about them? Are your initiatives known for success?
 What associations do customers have with your brand?  
This is a great opportunity to collect data about your business’s image, which you can try to
influence in your new CSR strategy.

To help boost participation, consider offering an incentive to customers who complete your poll,
such as a discount or entry into a drawing. 
Collect employee feedback 
Your CSR strategy doesn’t move without your employees. Start by determining your employees’
preferences and using that information to help build your overall strategy. 
A survey is a great tool to collect this important information, combining multiple-choice and
open-ended questions. 
It’s easy to build a responsive, employee-friendly survey in Submittable’s social impact
software.
As an example, for your T-shirt company, you might have employees select between three
brand-aligned volunteer opportunities followed by an opportunity for open feedback. This
approach will you help you get the targeted data you need and also help employees feel heard
and valued. 
Assess community needs
What “community” looks like is unique for every business. Taking time to research and consider
what your community needs is a great first step towards building the partnerships your CSR
program will need to succeed. 
Community Tool Box offers great suggestions for understanding community needs and
resources, with methods that can be combined, depending on the extent of data you’re looking
to connect. 
3. Borrow great strategy
Your CSR strategy doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. Spend time exploring where other
businesses have succeeded in their sustainability, charitable giving, and employee engagement,
for example. Don’t worry about being derivative: your strategy will necessarily be unique
because your brand is unique and so are the people you care about and listen to.
One way to find brands doing the best CSR is via reports like “America’s Most Responsible
Companies” from Newsweek and Statista—and congratulations to HP, Cisco, and Dell for top
success in three focus areas: environment, social, and corporate governance. 

Harvard Business School’s Baker Library offers a comprehensive list of social responsibility
ratings and reports for companies. Of particular interest is Fortune’s “Change the World” list—
you’ll find PayPal and Zoom in the top 10 for 2020. 
Many companies have aligned their CSR activities in some way with the UN’s 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) that include issues like poverty, hunger, education, gender equality,
and action around climate change. Chevron’s corporate sustainability program, for example,
clearly lays out how the company is addressing every SDG, and Target includes an SDG index in
their 2020 corporate social responsibility report.

4. Establish internal buy-in

You’ll need your team’s support, enthusiasm, and dedication to make your social responsibility
program thrive. Engage employees early in the strategy process by being responsive and
inclusive.
Respond to team values
Once you’ve assessed what your employees care about most and where they want the company
to focus, put this data to work. 

It probably won’t be possible to incorporate everyone’s feedback in your strategy, but at the
very least, share your findings with the group. Your team will enjoy learning about what their
colleagues value.
 Use the information you’ve collected to identify top areas of interest and common suggestions
for your CSR strategy. Try to actively pursue at least one employee-sourced initiative every
quarter or fiscal year, with formal plans for addressing additional issues in the future. 
Involve employees in strategy-building
Research shows that shared leadership and employee-empowerment have a number of
benefits, including increased team effectiveness, a stronger sense of community, improved
employee perceptions of management, higher levels of employee satisfaction, and less
burnout. 
That data combined with evidence that corporate social responsibility boosts employee
motivation and increases employee engagement makes sharing the planning of your program
with staff a natural win-win.
Whether you establish an employee-led committee or include employee representatives in
planning sessions, be sure employees are actively engaged and aligned with your CSR visions
and values, missions and goals, and on-the-ground initiatives. 

5. Build external partnerships

There’s already good work going on in the communities you’re looking to empower. Seek out
the organizations and individuals doing this work early in your CSR strategy development
process. 

Many businesses are already reaping the value of partnership-driven CSR. This list from
Donorbox offers examples of 14 major brands, including Adidas, IKEA, Apple, and BMW, that
have partnered with community nonprofit organizations to better meet their CSR goals.  
Community organizations will have the knowledge and experience to put your brand’s funding,
sponsorship, or employee volunteerism, for example, to the best use. As philanthropic
leader Edgar Viallanueva recently advised, “You shouldn’t feel that you need to recreate what’s
already in place. Find organizations that have established relationships with grassroots
communities and trust them to get the money to the right people. These bridge organizations
often have the relationships and trust, but lack sufficient capital.”

Approach community partnerships with humility and take a learning stance—what do partner
organizations need most and how can your business help? In addition to deep listening, be sure
you’re establishing authentic relationships with partners. Sustainable and equitable partnerships
(as opposed to shallow partnerships for the sake of PR) require that community members hold
actual decision-making power, especially regarding campaigns that will directly affect them. 
6. Be clear and transparent
Once you’ve tackled brand-alignment, stakeholders’ concerns (including customers, employees,
and community members), and partner-driven strategy, it’s time to distill this wealth of
information into a clear communication plan.
Get specific about goals and outcomes
Your CSR strategy should be as clear and specific as possible for a few reasons:
 A clear strategy helps keep everyone on the same page
 The more focused your goals are, the easier it will be to assess if you’ve met them 
 Clarity reflects positively on your brand’s commitment to corporate social responsibility,
demonstrating rigor and care
Aim for precise language, numbered goals (each communicated in a single sentence if possible),
key strategies and initiatives for meeting each goal, and measurement tactics for assessing
progress towards each goal. Be sure to include your mission, vision, and partners.

Campbell’s Soup provides a great example of clarity and synthesis in its corporate responsibility
strategy—especially this goals chart which lists target objectives alongside current progress
displayed numerically and graphically.

Make a communications plan

Your CSR strategy shouldn’t be a secret. Think through how you’ll share this information
internally and externally to foster enthusiasm, boost stakeholder engagement, and enhance
accountability.
Your CSR strategy should include your plan for regularly and publicly discussing your CSR
initiatives—via your website, social media, newsletters, email updates, reports, and even press
releases. 

Sharing high-level corporate strategy publicly can help generate interest in your CSR programs.
It also indicates transparency and accountability—you’re sharing your plan because you intend
to follow through and be accountable.

Use the same principles for sharing your strategy that you will to talk about your active and
completed CSR campaigns, including these considerations adapted from the EMG group:
 Objectives: What do you want to accomplish with your CSR communication plan?
 Audience: Who will you communicate with? 
 Subjects and key messages: What will you tell your audience about?
 Timescales: When will you communicate about CSR?
 Channels: Where will you communicate with your audience?
 Feedback: How will your audience be able to engage with you?

Learn, respond, and improve
In the world of CSR, there is always room for improvement, because CSR is about people and
people are dynamic. Our needs change and so does the world we live in. 
Accordingly, your CSR strategy won’t be complete without a plan for learning, adjustment, and
growth—or as Global Giving puts it, the opportunity to “Listen, Act, Learn. Repeat.” 
Plan for reporting and feedback 
Data and feedback collection should be an essential part of your CSR strategy. Don’t wait for an
initiative to finish to consider how you’ll assess outcomes—planning ahead will help ensure your
whole strategy is aligned with what you hope to achieve and how you’ll demonstrate progress.
You also shouldn’t wait until the end of a campaign to begin your learning process. Establish a
timeline for collecting information at regular intervals throughout your initiative.
There are plenty of ways to collect data and feedback, including interviews, surveys and
questionnaires, observational data, focus groups, public forums, oral histories, or some
combination of these. Plan to use the tools that make the most sense for your CSR initiative. 
Whichever method you choose, be sure your strategy involves connecting with all relevant
groups and stakeholders. What results did you achieve among community members and where
could you improve? How did employees feel about your CSR program and what suggestions do
they have going forward? Were customers interested in your campaign? 
Submittable’s Advanced Reporting makes powerful impact measurement simple.
Your plan for measuring CSR performance should include how you’ll collect information and
from whom, how you’ll assess the data, how you’ll share your findings, and how you’ll
incorporate suggestions for improvement.
Be responsive to learning and to the moment
Your CSR strategy shouldn’t be iron-clad. It should evolve in response to new insight and data.
Think of your strategy as a working, living document that can and should continue to improve,
even mid-campaign, as necessary. 
Ready to meet the moment with smart CSR?
Submittable’s social impact platform can help you manage initiatives and amplify impact, easily.
LEARN MORE
As an example, the events of 2020 forced businesses to reconsider their existing CSR programs.
Many companies chose to pivot in response to COVID-19 and movements for racial justice. The
publicity around these shifts, including critiques of hollow brand statements, underscored the
importance for socially responsible companies of clearly linking action (via CSR) to rhetoric.  
According to Mark Horowitz, CEO of Moving Worlds, global events have resulted in a tipping
point for CSR, wherein business leaders are making bigger promises without changing
operations to support their proposals. More than ever, he argues, companies must respond to
the moment and take real action: “The next 10 months will define the CSR space for the next 10
years … CSR leaders within companies have the opportunity to right the position of corporations
in society.” 
While it’s vital to stay responsive, be wary of altering key goals and measurement tactics before
you’ve had time to accurately assess them. Not only do you open your company up to critique
for empty promises, but change doesn’t happen overnight and long-term objectives require
longer-term measurement. 
As Neil Buddy Shah, Managing Director at GiveWell, shared in a recent panel on impact
data, you risk good ideas failing when organizations run an impact evaluation that is too rigorous
too early.
Time for action: Bring your CSR strategy to life
A thoughtful CSR strategy requires time, thought, and teamwork to build. Make the best use of
your efforts with tools that help transform your vision into action and results, faster.
Submittable’s CSR solution can connect your business to important causes while dramatically
reducing the time it takes to oversee your corporate giving program. Manage corporate grants
and scholarships, coordinate employee volunteers and giving programs, facilitate community
sponsorships, and much more. We’d love to walk you through the platform—sign up for a free
demo toda

 Innovation: Johnson & Johnson

An excellent example of CSR on the frontline is big pharma pioneer Johnson & Johnson. They
have focused on reducing their impact on the planet for three decades. Their initiatives range
from leveraging the power of the wind to providing safe water to communities around the
world. Their purchase of a privately-owned energy supplier in the Texas Panhandle allowed the
company to reduce pollution while providing a renewable, economical alternative to electricity.
The company continues to seek out renewable energy options with the goal of having 100% of
its energy needs from renewable sources by 2025.
2. Google
Google is trusted not only for its environmentally friendly initiatives but also due to  its
outspoken CEO, Sundar Pichai. He stands up against social issues including President Donald
Trump’s anti-Muslim comments. Google also earned the Reputation Institute’s highest CSR 2018
score much in part due to their data centers using 50% less energy than others in the world.
They also have committed over $1 billion to renewable energy projects and enable other
businesses to reduce their environmental impact through services such as Gmail.
3. Coca-Cola
As a brand, Coca-Cola is putting a huge focus on sustainability. The key areas are climate,
packaging and agriculture along with water stewardship and product quality. Their message is ‘a
world without waste’, with the aim of collecting and recycling every bottle, making their
packaging 100% recyclable and replacing all water used in creating their drinks back to the
environment to ensure water security. They aim that by 2030, they will have reduced their
carbon footprint by 25%.
4. Ford Motor Company
Ford has huge plans in the area of CSR. Their mission is to ‘build a better world, where everyone
is free to move and pursue their dreams’. They have increased investment in electrification to
$22Bn (from an original $11Bn) and aim for their vehicles to be carbon neutral by 2050.  
“We’re committed to carbon neutrality”, stated Bob Holycross, Ford’s VP, Chief Sustainability,
Environment & Safety Officer. “It’s the right thing for our customers, the planet and Ford.
Ninety-five percent of our carbon emissions today come from our vehicles, operations and
suppliers, and we’re tackling all three areas with urgency and optimism,”
Interestingly, the company is also focusing on pay equity. They are conducting a diversity, equity
and inclusion audit while introducing a global salaried pay ratio (including gender) to level the
playing field for all employees.
5 & 6. Netflix & Spotify
From a social perspective, companies such as Netflix and Spotify offer benefits to support their
employees and families.
Netflix offers 52 weeks of paid parental leave to the birth parent and non-birth parent (which
includes adopted children). This can be taken at any time whether it is the first year of the
child's life or another time that suits their needs. This compares to a median of 18 weeks at
other major tech companies.
Spotify offers a similar program, although for a shorter duration of 24 weeks of paid leave. The
company believes the launch of this initiative resulted in a spike in external job
applications which has never abated. 
When it comes to social causes, Netflix and Spotify use their social media platforms to show
support for movements such as Pride month, environmental sustainability, and Black Lives
Matter. Netflix sets an example on how to target -and appeal to - niche and minority audiences
through clever social media.
7. Pfizer
When disaster strikes, emergency assistance in healthcare is crucial. To aid in these
circumstances, Pfizer has a three-pronged approach; product donations, grants and solutions to
access.  
Grants have been provided to countries such as Haiti in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew
and the global refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East. This money is provided in
cooperation with NGOs to reach as many people as possible.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, through its Global Medical Grants program, Pfizer provided $5
million to help improve the recognition, diagnosis, treatment and management of patients. In
addition, grants were made available to clinics, medical centres and hospitals to improve the
management and outcome of COVID-19 patients.
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8. Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo donates up to 1.5% of its revenue to charitable causes each year to more than
14,500 nonprofits through philanthropy such as food banks and incubators (plant science and
renewable energy) to hasten the speed to market for start-ups.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company donated $6.25 million to support a
domestic and global response. This includes $1 million for the CDC Foundation, $250,000 to the
International Medical Corps across 30 countries, and $5 million for efforts at a local level to
address community needs. 
9. TOMS
TOMS
TOMS's mission is to donate a pair of shoes for every pair they sell and has resulted in the
donation of over 100 million pairs of shoes to children in need. These profits have been used to
assist the visually-impaired by providing prescription glasses and medical treatments, provide
'safe' drinking water and build businesses in developing countries to create jobs.
Since the company came under criticism from NGOs for creating a dependency for free shoes
and collapsing local shoe making industries, TOMS has re-evaluated its strategy. Instead of
focusing on free shoes, the company now donates one third of its profits to grassroots
campaigns. This includes the COVID-19 Giving Fund and racial justice campaigns such as Black
Lives Matter.
“We learned that giving shoes, sight, and safe water for over a decade was an amazing start—
the right start — to creating meaningful change. But, the decision to give impact grants instead
will enable our community to do even more. Rather than giving shoes, we’re giving 1⁄3 of our
profits. In other words, $1 for every $3 we make, which is about as much as a company can give
while still keeping the lights on.” - TOMS Impact Report 2019-2020.
10. Bosch
Bosch set itself ambitious goals for protecting the environment, with an aim to reduce their
ecological footprint through climate action, water usage, and a circular economy.
It seems this ambition has paid off and paved the way for other global companies, as 400 of its
locations are now climate neutral. The company now wants to focus on reducing upstream
(purchased goods and services) and downstream (product use) emissions by 15% in 2030.  
“Having achieved our initial targets for scopes 1 and 2, we are now tackling scope 3 emissions
with the same degree of rigor – setting specific targets and milestones for the coming years.”
-  Torsten Kallweit, Head of EHS AND Sustainability
11. GE
It's been over a decade since General Electric launched Ecomagination, its renewable business
strategy with a mission to double down on clean technology and generate $20 billion in revenue
from green products.
As part of its ‘Ecomagination Challenge’ launched last year, GE awarded five people $100,000
each to develop their innovations such as an inflatable wind turbine, an intelligent water meter,
a cyber secure network infrastructure, and short circuiting and outage technology.   
12. Starbucks
With an eye to hiring, Starbucks wanted to diversify its workforce and provide opportunities for
certain cohorts. It has pledged to hire 25,000 US military veterans and spouses by 2025 as part
of its socially responsible efforts. Ahead of schedule, the company reached this milestone six
years early and now hires 5,000 veterans and military spouses every year.
In a further move to tackle racial and social equity, Starbucks announced a mentorship
program to connect black, indigneous, and people of colour (BIPOC) to senior leaders and invest
in partnerships. The chain also aims to have BIPOC represented at 30% in corporate roles and
40% in retail and manufacturing by 2025.    
13. New Belgium Brewing Company 
This brewing company owned entirely by its employees through a stock ownership plan is
focused on sustainability. Its Fort Collins, Colorado brewery produces its electricity through solar
panels and wastewater and aims to have all its beer carbon neutral by 2030. It also gives away
$1 of every barrel sold to support their philanthropic initiatives, values and goals. According to
Director of CSR, Katie Wallace: “We consider social and environmental well-being to be
intricately intertwined.”
14. The Walt Disney Company
Disney committed to reducing their carbon footprint in their 2020 CSR report with goals for
zero net greenhouse gas emissions, zero waste, and a commitment to conserve water. They are
actively ensuring strict international labor policies to protect the safety and rights of their
employees.
They are also active in the community and encourage employees to do the same. When their
parks closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney focused their CSR efforts on local
communities. They provided $27 million towards food donation and PPE from closed parks and
production sets and encouraged employees to participate in virtual volunteering.
15. LEGO
Lego will invest $400 million over the next three years with a focus on accelerating their efforts
in the area of sustainability. Their primary focus as a modern-day superbrand is to phase out
single-use plastic packaging for its bricks with all packaging to be sustainable by 2025. From
2021 on they will trial paper bags in boxes in partnership with the Forest Stewardship Council.
They are also investing in more sustainable products that create zero waste and are carbon
neutral.
LEGO Group CEO, Niels B Christiansen said: “We cannot lose sight of the fundamental challenges
facing future generations. It’s critical we take urgent action now to care for the planet and
future generations. As a company who looks to children as our role models, we are inspired by
the millions of kids who have called for more urgent action on climate change.”
16. The Washington Post & Tik Tok
In the wake of fake news, news outlets are taking to social media networks like TikTok to
address a new audience and tackle false information around issues such as the U.S election and
coronavirus. 
The Washington Post is one example of a news brand using TikTok successfully. Their tagline is
‘We are a Newspaper’ and their TikTok profile already has 1 million followers (and growing).
Their goal? To draw in new readers and build trust using short form video and viral content.