Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has existed in various forms for decades. In its early stages, it existed outside of main business units tied to strategy and performance and was mostly deployed as traditional philanthropy — lump sum donations made to a specific cause, on a regular schedule.
Today’s CSR looks a lot different. When done well, it aligns a company’s purpose and performance and is measured carefully to determine the real impact it is having on communities and the environment. Simply put, corporate social responsibility is how trusted brands lead. It boosts a company’s reputation and builds loyalty among both employees and consumers.
Building a sustainable, measurable CSR strategy takes time and commitment. Here are some considerations, insights and action items to ensure your CSR strengthens your company’s reputation and business results.
CSR is a business strategy
There is no one way to position CSR within an organization, but it should maintain the influence and importance alongside any other critical business unit. CSR is not just charity. The outcomes can have ripple effects across the organization:
- Increases trust with investors, employees and customers.
- Strengthens brand reputation and competitive differentiation.
- Supports Environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and long-term growth.
The core pillars of a strong corporate social responsibility strategy
Purpose alignment: Connect your company’s CSR objectives directly to your mission and vision, so that purpose and performance are linked. As Gen-Z emerges into the primary driver of growth over the next decade, their preference for retailers that stand for something and align with their identity will create great opportunities for companies that live their purpose.
Authenticity is key. Every initiative must ladder up to a defined brand purpose or promise, which in turn becomes a key communications tool — messaging around your CSR activities allows internal and external stakeholders to understand the “why” behind what you’re doing.
Stakeholder engagement: Even if your CSR priorities are communicated well internally, there are still opportunities to bring in more voices and make your programs more impactful. Integrating perspectives from employees, customers and local partners is a good way to bring in diverse ideas and observations that may improve your program. Using surveys as constant sources of input and feedback can ensure that input never gets skipped.
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are an important lens into how employees feel about your CSR activities and can help guide future priorities. In the 2025 State of Corporate Purpose Report from Benevity Impact Labs, we reported that 87% of leaders view ERGs as a trusted source of information. You can also build social proof and peer engagement by empowering employees to create and share giving opportunities tied to causes they are passionate about. This collective approach builds a shared perspective and turns individual impact into a collective one.
Measurable impact metrics: To understand the outcomes of your CSR program, setting quantifiable targets and learning how to measure performance is key. In the Benevity Impact Labs 2025 Executive CSR Report, 47% of executives strongly agreed that their company’s CSR initiatives were creating a positive impact, but roughly the same percentage noted that these same initiatives can be difficult to push forward because of perceived low value.
Metrics that track participation are important — things like dollars donated, hours volunteered or percentage of employees that participate in the program. Measuring outcomes is equally important. These measurements might include things like the number of lives impacted, the amount of CO2 reduced or the volume of food delivered to the site of environmental disaster. Using tools like the Benevity Reporting Studio can help define, track and report on the metrics that demonstrate impact.
In 2015, the Cisco Foundation set a goal of positively impacting 1 billion lives and their work went far beyond an impressive number. They rigorously defined what a positive impact meant and how they would measure it. They chose focus areas to clarify their activities. And then they celebrated their successes by telling positive impact stories, generating even more momentum in their program.
Transparency and communication: One of the most important aspects of successful CSR programs is also one of the most difficult to do — reporting results. In the 2025 State of Corporate Purpose Report, we noted that measurement and reporting have been the fastest growing budget line item for two consecutive years for companies. And it consumes about a quarter of impact professionals’ time.
Part of overcoming this burden is simply committing to regular and transparent communication. Storytelling, supported by data, helps to motivate employee engagement and sustain momentum in your program. Formal quarterly and annual reports are also key to demonstrating a long-standing commitment to the work.
One of the most significant sources of compelling stories is nonprofits themselves — the organizations your CSR program are designed to support. Developing reporting systems together and collaborating on measurement and impact tracking not only drives storytelling, it is a great way to build long-term positive working relationships.
In the recent Benevity Impact Labs report The Grants Confidence Gap, we showed that 62% of organizations communicate granting program impact, with data, to employees, but only 41% reported that they do it effectively. By working with nonprofits to develop those stories, organizations can:
- Strengthen the business case for sustained community investment.
- Deepen employee awareness, connection and engagement.
- Elevate corporate reputation without expanding budgets.
- Increase confidence that their programs are making a positive impact.
Embedding CSR across the organization
For CSR to have a positive impact on organizations and the world, it cannot be siloed. There should be insight within an organization between impact professionals, HR, marketing and operations to ensure that a business’ entire strategy is inclusive of their social and environmental impact. The goals of CSR programs should be held up alongside other business metrics and performance goals and can even be a lever in incentive structures.
The Benevity Enterprise Impact Platform can help streamline and centralize the impact of your CSR program and be a constant source of visibility and reporting throughout your organization of the impact of your program.
Common pitfalls that undermine CSR success
While some organizations may believe that any CSR is better than no CSR at all, there is potential for a poorly planned program to have an unexpected negative impact.
- Launching without a measurement plan: Even well-intentioned CSR programs can be difficult to sustain if there’s no way to measure their impact.
- Failing to secure executive support: Garnering the support of organizational leaders is crucial to a program’s success. Even better, CSR programs are more likely to positively impact business goals when executives sponsor and participate directly in initiatives like giving and volunteering.
- Overpromising or purpose-washing results: Purpose washing is what happens when a business claims to be making a social impact, but doesn’t have the results to prove it. It may not be intentionally dishonest, but it can happen if you don’t set realistic goals and ensure you’re being transparent about what your CSR program makes possible. Inaccurate planning could inadvertently lead to the perception that your organization is promising things that it never intended to accomplish.
Turn insight into action
Here are some practical steps for CSR and ESG leaders to refine their strategies, increase engagement and embed accountability into their programs.
- Conduct an internal audit to assess how your program aligns with your company’s purpose and performance goals.
- Revisit your KPIs and reporting frameworks to ensure they are clear and measurable.
- Engage stakeholders from across your organization to ensure everyone has insight into the program and buy-in on the approach.
- Use trusted CSR software to streamline tracking and communication.
Lead with purpose, measure with impact
Corporate social responsibility is a definition, a plan and a measurement of how your brand shows up in the world. By embedding CSR into every part of your business, you not only make a difference, you attract and retain the best talent, build a loyal community of consumers and support the communities where you live and work.
Ready to strengthen your CSR strategy? Explore the Benevity Enterprise Impact Platform to see how the world’s leading brands turn purpose into performance.
