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When consumers invest in a business, they may not simply look for a great product or service. Customers may have high expectations for the way a business acts and they also look for shared value systems.
In our current environment, customers are becoming more aware of their impact in the world. When surveyed, a majority of respondents suggested that they care more about the sustainability of products that they are purchasing compared to a year ago, which may signal additional consumer trends for businesses to consider.[1]
According to recent research from Deloitte, 30% of consumers[2] stopped purchasing certain brands and products because of ethical or sustainability-related concerns. This in itself is revealing as it could show that larger proportions of consumers are taking note of the missions and ethical values of businesses. This behavior may also translate into similar investing behaviors of these same consumers.
While more consumers are translating their hopes for a sustainable future into their purchasing decisions, businesses can also align with these consumer trends and further differentiate from their competition by developing goals to create measurable positive change in the world through impact-focused initiatives.
What is Positive Social Impact?
As brands become more connected to customers and their communities, finding the most appropriate pathways to create positive impact can be a challenge. Key terms that are making headway in brand planning are environmental and social impact. Put simply, environmental and social impacts refer to the intentional methods a business implements to create positive change in the environment or society.
There are multiple ways in which brands can evolve their environmental or social impact approaches to make them increasingly more meaningful, including community and social engagement, environmental commitments, and sustainable corporate governance policies.
Here are 5 ideas to help you implement lasting positive impact into your business and further align with the values of your impact-oriented customers.
Supporting Environmental Causes
Some businesses may already have sustainability objectives in place. However, others may not be aware of how much difference they can make by further incorporating environmental impact initiatives into their operations.
Beginning with an assessment of a brand’s supply chain can be a practical place to start when considering how to support a more ecologically sustainable supply network. This may involve sourcing materials from ethically-sound suppliers who have eco-friendly production practices that help reduce carbon footprints. Over the past five years, there has been a 71% increase[3] in online searches for sustainable goods globally, indicating a stronger trend toward sustainable purchasing.
Your organization may also be able to invest in waste reduction processes to ensure that waste is not simply sent to landfill, but instead sorted for recycling, repurposing, or reuse. As more businesses promote circular economy practices, customers will likely become more aware of the brands who are committed to improving sustainability across their supply chain.
In terms of a collaborative partnership with The Impact Crowd, one key pillar of our Impact Criteria[4] is environmental impact. By contributing to improvement of environmental issues, such as pollution or toxin reductions, or investing in clean technologies, this could mean you are aligned with The Impact Crowd’s Impact Criteria and potentially eligible to raise funds as a result of this positive impact pursuit.
Volunteering in Local Communities
Companies that have a volunteer program integrated within their business may benefit on a number of levels. The support and interaction with local communities, other businesses, and charitable organizations can create closer connections that build stronger relationships with a variety of stakeholders. In fact, there has been a 57% year-over-year increase[5] in global employee volunteer participation, indicating that businesses are becoming more involved with community engagement.
Additionally, establishing a business-wide volunteering program can encourage employees to take a more active role in their own communities. This enables them and your business to create new volunteering opportunities, supporting different social impact organizations and strengthening your ability to connect and engage with wider groups of stakeholders.
Charity Partnerships
Advocating for others through an official charity partnership is another method businesses can adopt to engage with communities and causes that need more support. Businesses can use a charitable partnership as a way of emphasizing their identity as a purpose-led organization. This type of collaboration empowers businesses to better focus on a targeted social impact.
Another key pillar of our Impact Criteria[4] is pursuing a social impact. This is one path for businesses to pursue if a business wants to be eligible to seek crowdfunding investments with The Impact Crowd. If a business is working in partnership with social organizations that promote improvements in education, healthcare, workplace safety or community development, among other topics, then they could be potentially eligible for fundraising with The Impact Crowd.
Employee Well-being
Intuitively, nurturing your employees well-being leads to happier teams that are more likely to remain as loyal employees. They may also be more interested in actively promoting the positive impacts of your business across wider local and online communities.
Wellness programs have benefits for your employees, enabling them to access resources that may support their mental and physical well-being. Moreover, these employee wellness programs also benefit businesses as 67% of responding employees [6] who work for organizations with wellness programs like their jobs more, and they are just as likely to recommend the company to others.
Again, this aligns with our Impact Criteria as workplace safety and benefits are one way to be eligible to fundraise with The Impact Crowd. When employees are happy and willing to share positive aspects about their company with customers and their communities, this can also benefit businesses as their brand presence becomes more appealing.
Policies that Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Recent research from Boston Consulting Group shows businesses that implement positive diversity, equity, and inclusion practices boost their financial performance. This data confirms that DEI initiatives can attract talent from additional pools of candidates, reduce employee attrition, and increase employee motivation.[7]
According to Boston Consulting Group, “companies with above-average diversity on their management teams also report innovation revenue 19 percentage points higher than companies with below-average leadership diversity”. DEI initiatives have been demonstrated to influence multiple positive outcomes for businesses, both for internal and external metrics of performance. For those businesses looking to fundraise with The Impact Crowd, actively integrating processes that support fairness and DEI policies could be beneficial for multiple reasons.
Set Achievable Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Goals
As more businesses and their customers are concerned about the impacts we are having on each other and the planet, businesses may view focused ESG goals as a vital part of their current strategy.
Getting ESG initiatives right can begin with researching and selecting the most appropriate benchmarks to build foundations for the development of ESG goals. Setting tangible targets that not only meet your business objectives but align with the values of your customers and stakeholders is an important consideration for this process.
Identifying key areas of sustainability, gathering data, setting standards and creating smart assessment processes will help your business set the correct goals for your employees and your customers, but also help you to pursue a meaningful difference in your communities.
The Impact Crowd Can Help
Have you identified the areas of your business dedicated to making a positive impact? This article is merely a snapshot of the variety of ways your business can incorporate ESG initiatives into your impact plans. To explore many more options available to your business, review our Impact Criteria list.
The Impact Crowd would be happy to discuss your individual business’s fundraising needs further with you, along with how you could structure your desired positive impact. You can connect with us today at fundraise@theimpactcrowd.com to explore how we can support your business’s crowdfunding plans!
And, if you are looking to invest in businesses pursuing a positive impact aligned with our criteria, join The Impact Crowd to receive notifications about our new investment opportunities as well as future articles discussing impact investing and related topics.
References:
Statista, “Share of lifestyle brand consumers who care more about the sustainability of products in 2023 than they did a year ago in selected countries”. 2024. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1312314/increase-care-for-sustainability/ [Accessed July 17, 2024]
E. Cromwell, “What consumers are doing to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle”. October 31, 2023. Available: https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/Industries/consumer/research/sustainable-consumer-what-consumers-do.html [Accessed July 17, 2024]
A. Martins, “Most Consumers Want Sustainable Products and Packaging”. March 28, 2024. Available: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15087-consumers-want-sustainable-products.html [Accessed July 17, 2024]
The Impact Crowd. “Impact Criteria”. 2023. Available: https://www.theimpactcrowd.com/impactcriteria [Accessed July 17, 2024]
Benevity. “New Benevity Report Reveals a Surge in Corporate Volunteerism”. February 6, 2024. Available: https://benevity.com/press-releases/2024-state-of-corporate-volunteering [Accessed July 17, 2024]
D. Wein. “Win With Wellness - Attract and Retain Talent”. August 29, 2018. Available: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2018/08/27/win-with-wellness-attract-and-retain-talent/?sh=7e19e2fa1648 [Accessed July 17, 2024]
Boston Consulting Group. “It’s Time to Highlight the Business Opportunity of DEI Initiatives”. March 5, 2024. Available: https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/highlighting-the-business-opportunity-of-dei-initiatives [Accessed July 17, 2024]
Disclaimer:
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