Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept that encourages businesses to voluntarily operate with consideration to society.
It involves being responsible for the impacts of all business activities on stakeholders including employees, customers, local communities – and importantly, the environment. Over recent years, CSR has extended way beyond the legislative realm, to ethical obligation. It's about ensuring the wellbeing of all your staff, doing what's right for the community and helping to improve quality of life for society at large. So where does CSR fit within the spectrum of travel management and where should businesses direct their energies?
In the business travel sector, CSR is impacting attitudes and practices at three distinctive levels through the supply chain: companies who undertake business travel, travel management companies and industry suppliers.
More organizations are now aiming to modify their travel practices and supplier partnerships in an effort to be more CSR focused. From heavy manufacturing companies to those in the service industry, the shift provides evidence of the growing role CSR now plays.
Companies are also giving higher priority to CSR in their RFPs to travel managers.
It is a trend that is beginning to shape the practices and standards not only of travel management companies, but of organizations within the supply chain including airlines, hotels and car rental companies.
Regardless of what shape or form these standards take in the future, it is clear that businesses with a genuine commitment to CSR will be those more likely to have happy employees who feel good about themselves and the company they work for.
CSR is not just about 'green travel'. It is about company initiatives that are good for its employees, good for those with whom it does business and good for the communities in which it operates. While reducing ecological impacts is important for a productive and sustainable future, it is only one aspect of a much wider and more complex CSR program. To effectively make CSR a part of your travel policy, your strategic business and cultural decisions must ensure corporate travel:
Corporate Traveller approaches CSR with the same common sense and pragmatism that applies to all aspects of our operation. Business requires face-to-face communication between different people and cultures. For many companies it is just an essential part of conducting business. The Corporate Traveller approach to CSR takes all stakeholders into consideration. It's about protecting the wellbeing of our people, customers, suppliers, other business partners and of course our natural environs. But importantly, it's about balancing environmental and commercial concerns with the needs of individual travellers.
How can you make CSR part of your business travel behaviour and what impact will this have on your stakeholders?
What is the aim of your CSR commitment in business travel? In many cases it will include:
Does your existing policy encourage CSR and enable you to achieve your objectives? Key areas of focus in your policy should include:
To protect your travellers' health and safety you need to take a proactive approach to risk management that includes:
Contributing to your community is an essential part of CSR. Corporate Traveller believes the most valuable community support is provided at the local grass-roots level. This is where your activity delivers tangible benefits and your people can develop relationships with community stakeholders. We recommend:
By introducing a blend of the above initiatives, your business can create a company-wide 'travel mindset' and culture that are genuinely CSR focused.
