By Kate Olsen
I recently guest taught a MBA class on corporate social responsibility (CSR) at Georgetown. When I asked the students where they go to find out about a company’s CSR work, almost 100% said the annual report. That answer is fine for research activities, but just won’t fly when it comes to stakeholder engagement.
While many companies are getting better at creating annual reports that communicate more than data and a love letter to the shareholders (in fact some are winning awards at Cannes), annual reports are not means to drive consumer and employee loyalty. You need real storytelling that meets people where they are for that.
37% of Americans know where to find information about a company’s CSR efforts and results (Cone*)
Check out the rich content, social sharing and conversation happening at standfor.containerstore.com
- Blog posts on how The Container Store family makes a difference
- Photo gallery of employees embodying The Container Store values
- Videos about The Container Store foundation principles
- Social media feeds of customer stories
- Details on The Container Store CSR commitments
- & more…
This is what I mean when I say brands need to become better CSR storytellers. I can’t wait for the next chapter…
* 2012 Cone Communications Corporate Social Return Trend Tracker
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