subject: Education at the heart of Corporate Social Responsibility and environmental awareness [print this page] You can't teach an old dog new tricks as the saying goes and that is why the education of young people is such a vital issue in the UK and across the world. It is very difficult to change habits and lifestyles, especially very suddenly with new research and this is the brick wall which environmental campaigners often find themselves bumping into. One great way to change perceptions and get people on board with a new scheme or environmentally friendly product is to promote it using a famous and well-loved face or brand and this is where Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can really come into its own.
CSR is all about companies and organisations encouraging and promoting community growth as well as complying with legal, ethical and business issues that can arise in any business. It is about giving back in a structured, productive and sustainable way and not about simply offering token gestures every now and again to keep people quiet. Sceptical companies must quickly come to realise that CSR can have a really positive impact on their bottom line as well as creating great relationships with local communities, which may well result in new and loyal customers going forward.
Those which have already signed up to the idea are well ahead of the game and could already have found themselves new customers and true community support and loyalty and these are the companies that will survive the tough economic times just as long as they continue to work hard at their CSR strategy into the future and don't let it fall by the wayside. Because environmental awareness is such a hot topic, companies not only need to find ways to get the community involved in their giving back strategies but they need to do so in a way that captures the imagination and doesn't simply blend into the hundreds of thousands of other schemes. One good way of doing this is to take projects into schools and to use education as the basis for schemes that aim to change attitudes and make a real and positive difference to the environment going forward.
Education must be at the heart of CSR and environmental awareness, it is all about giving the next generation an understanding of the world and then helping them to implement positive changes without simply giving them frightening facts. These days companies, communities and individuals must all take the responsibility of teaching children and young people good habits and CSR is a great place to start for all.
