Why Doing Good is Good for You
In this day and age, corporate social responsibility can no longer be viewed as an after thought. We spoke to some of Riyadh’s top corporations who shared their expertise to let you know just why doing good is good for you.
- Be involved in projects you’re passionate about.
Volkswagen says, “Get involved with something you genuinely want to make a difference in. Otherwise, if you treat CSR as an administrative task that needs to be done, then it will not be helpful.”
McDonald’s Saudi Arabia says, “We don’t look at CSR as a profit factor, but more of a culture we live by. We invest a lot of time and resources to make sure we give back to our community in a rightful manner.” Third program we currently run is our annual Family Festival, which invites families to a day full of activities, games, entertainment and fun – with entrance and meals all for free.
- Engage in CSR programs that can positively impact the community and your industry.
A good example of a company addressing the social issues that aligns with its industry is the Ritz-Carlton Riyadh. Job creation and developing human capital is one of the social issues being tackled in the Kingdom. As part of Community Footprints, the hotel has opened its doors to training young Saudis in hospitality, complete with rotations within its estate.
- Treat CSR as a must do, create a culture of doing good.
It’s not enough to simply do a donation drive one day then call it a night. Studies have shown that a strong CSR can in fact influence brand recognition and stakeholder engagement. Multinational companies for example, create their CSR strategy in a way that aligns with its global values narrowed down to its local domains through executable, community-centric projects.
Volkswagen says, “As a global brand with one image and one identity there will always be an umbrella theme for any CSR program or sponsorship taken by local markets. It is local markets responsibility to cascade and reflect the brand commitment to the market.”
The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh says, “As part of IHG, there are global initiatives being run on an international level and across all hotels. Earth Hour is a good example of such an activity. We encourage everyone to share the values we have as a group and for each address, we execute it in a way that communicates best with the people and the culture.”
McDonald’s says, “In Saudi Arabia, and ever since we opened our first store in 1993, we have been contributing to our community in more ways than one. From supporting children with special needs, to organizing more than 30 blood donation campaigns with many hospitals, to supporting sports activities and grass-root football, the list goes on.”
