As we no longer live in a time where people buy a product solely based on its price and value, doing business today is, in many ways, based just as much on the actions of a given company, as it is on the price/performance of the product itself.
Thanks to the explosion of information available on the Internet as well as the social awareness of the consumer, most businesses are now making addressing corporate social responsibility issues a top priority. Aside from initiatives, such as applying good governance principles and working alongside local community stakeholders, one of the most increasingly important macro-level aspects involves environmental /green initiatives and sustainability.
Simply put, consumers are demanding that products are made in as sustainable and environmentally-friendly way as possible. Looking at a 2015 Cone Communications CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Study examining the views of 10,000 people in the 9 largest economic countries of the world, a staggering 90% would switch to brands that support responsible causes, 84% buy responsibly when they can, and another 71% are willing to pay more for ethical products. Beyond the immediate purchase, the survey also shows that 80% of consumers will tell others about a company’s efforts, and more than 70% would donate time or money to a cause supported by a company they trust – and it is the role of trust in building a brand that gives it the right to exist on the market.
More than ever before, business is being shown that consumers expect more, and business is replying adequately. Taking the S&P 500 Index (representing the large US companies and accounting for over $7.8 trillion in capitalisation), in 2011, only 20% of the listed companies submitted a sustainability report, while as of 2015, that number has reached 81%.
Moreover, companies are moving from accepting social responsibility and sustainability as issues outside of the business to actually treating these issues as cores of their respective businesses. And most of this reporting is being done purely for the benefit of consumers, as opposed to being legally-required by government bodies, as in majority CSR is a voluntary initiative. Only certain capital-market-oriented companies are legally obliged to corporate social responsibility reporting. If you need additional information on the topic, read our article: ->New Sustainability Reporting Obligations – Is your company also affected by this?
Corporate social responsibility initiatives, especially regarding sustainability, not only help consumers to make an informed choice, but, moving back to business principles, they can also be powerful tools to drive businesses’ competitiveness and maximize the effectiveness of their resources and market shares.
And as conveying the message of the social responsibility actions of your company in a single language runs the risk of alienating a certain potential market segment that may communicate in another language, or potentially being blocked from entering new markets or reaching international stakeholders, our recommendation would be that you include your CSR report in your annual report and entrust the translation to a professional language services provider, thus saving on translation and printing costs and limiting environmental damages.
EVS Translations is an international translation company that supports all socially-responsible activities and business and is well experienced to responsibly translate your corporate social responsibility report.
Do you have specific questions regarding the translation of your CSR report? EVS Translations looks forward to hearing from you.
