While there is nothing wrong in businesses focusing all their energies on making profits, the fact remains that the employees need to be paid and the shareholders need to be rewarded for their investment and faith in your business. The real problem starts taking place when businesses start to emphasize on profits at the expense of other things.

In the recent years, stakeholders are increasingly demanding that businesses act in more socially and environmentally responsible manners. Corporate Social Responsibility has grown to turn into a global movement where a large number of brands are going out of the way to integrate ethics as a major part of their business practices.

Here are a few emerging trends adopted by responsible business organizations the world over -

€ Acceptance of Climate Change and Resiliency in Supply Chain

While there still exist a group of people that are in denial about global warming, a large number of businesses are accepting that this phenomenon could influence their supply chains. Considering that environmental disasters and extreme weathers are causing significant havoc to business and property, organizations are more sensitive to the many possibilities. Companies in the commodities and agriculture sector for instance, are finding ways to implement initiatives that improve soil fertility and prevent erosion by planting trees and improving education in various rich production regions.

€ Using New Materials

With the dauntingly rapid depletion of natural resources at hand, a number of organizations are pumping significant monies into R&D initiatives. These programs aim to find alternative materials that can be used in their products that can be more sustainable and conducive to environment protection.

€ Improved Transparency

With advancements in technology, barriers to information are significantly reducing. This along with the introduction of more stringent regulations on fair practices as well as the increasing awareness and thirst for knowledge among stakeholders compel companies to bring in higher levels of transparency into their business practices. A number of businesses are including subsections on their websites that talk about responsibility, eco-conscious use of materials, sustainable working environments, recycling processes and many other things. Companies now understand that better information results in consumers making more information choices.

€ Micro-Volunteering

Considered one of the fasting growing tends in the field of sustainability, this concept is an ingenious one that appeals to the goodwill of people and enables qualified and skilled professionals to offer small sections of their time to great causes without having to disrupt their professional or home schedules.

Conventionally, CSR programs were only developed to avoid PR nightmares and to mitigate any kind of damage to the environment that was brought about by unsustainable business operations. However, for the better, this has changed are companies are increasingly thinking about responsibility and sustainability as more than just a tool to avoid negative backlash.

With the implementation of holistic initiatives, profits are no longer made at the cost of local ecosystems and communities. By working together with the public and stakeholders businesses are able to contribute to a better world.