Embracing CSR
• Sustaining the CSR concept.
• Incorporating CSR into your event.No longer just an industry buzz word, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is here to stay and all meeting planners, regardless of company size, should be aware of the concept and practices of CSR.
  Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a practice whereby organizations decide to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment by creating business cultures that value charity and stewardship, while recognizing the interests of their stakeholders. If envisioned and implemented well, CSR is not only good business, it is smart business. Companies that consider the social implications of their actions are likely to boost their public image and goodwill, attract more customers and investors and reap benefits for their shareholders. Additionally, such behavior attracts employees wanting to be associated with a company that is concerned not only with profits, but also the welfare of society.

This corporate citizenship involves companies behaving in a socially responsible manner and doing business with others who do the same. Organizations that have integrated CSR into their corporate culture measure and report impact on a triple bottom line of people, planet and profit, not just the monetary bottom line, which is the traditional measurement of business success. Commitment to CSR varies widely between organizations and even within them. Those organizations that adopt socially responsible behavior understand that such practices make good business sense. Where the concept is well developed, CSR is integrated into the business plan, implemented by all departments, including meeting planning; supported by senior management and reported on an 
annual report to shareholders. An example of top down integration of CSR by a nationally recognized organization is The Schwan Food Company®, known as Schwan’s. “Be the Best” is the CSR mantra at Schwan’s, headquartered in Marshall, MN. Cheryl Hoffard, a 22-year manager of travel/meetings/events, proudly reports that this is implemented and measured at three levels: people, products and performance. “By best people we create a high performance culture and identify and grow talent. By best products we reduce cost to serve and become a product innovation leader and by best performance we grow loyal and profitable customers and optimize and sustain financial performance.” She added, “Overall our strategic imperatives fit well within our strategic plan of hard work, growth, helping one another and enthusiasm.” Schwan’s has found ways to incorporate CSR into their overall business practices, including meeting planning. All home service delivery trucks are filled with propane instead of gasoline. This is good for the planet. According to Hoffard, propane extends the truck life and minimizes maintenance. “In addition, the cost of propane is less than gasoline. Plus 85 percent of propane used in this country comes from domestic sources and helps reduce US dependence on imported oil and strengthens national energy security,” said Hoffard. “This is good for profit and people, which makes this one decision to use propane instead of gasoline impact the triple bottom line of planet, people and profit.”The company displays additional corporate citizenship through its weekly fundraising event: Friday Jean Day. Monies raised are matched by Schwan’s and dispersed to charities within a 30-mile radius of the company. As a company Schwan’s has also implemented the LEAN concept, a series of concepts, principles and tools designed to deliver the most value and consume the fewest resources. “I feel Schwan’s is moving in the right direction when looking at LEAN projects that tie into CSR realities,” said Hoffard. “Our company is looking at everything from packaging of our products to our home delivery service and is seeking efficiencies, cost savings and improvements for the future.”While planning over 120 meetings in 2011 for five to 1,000 people in St. Paul, Minneapolis and Bloomington, MN and CA, Hoffard continues to look for ways to eliminate waste and think about the environment. She also pairs charitable activities with teambuilding during meetings and is pleased with what the attendees remember and take away from the meetings is the CSR activity. As a company, Schwan’s has participated in Build-A-Bike Teambuilding Workshop®, where teams of employees build bikes for a local children’s charity. Schwan’s employees have also relocated and built the local food shelf in Marshall, MN and donated leftover décor and promotional items to local charities. “The attendees have embraced the CSR concept in the meetings and all want what is best for our environment and our children,” Hoffard said. Adding, “Hopefully everyone is prepared to sustain the concept of CSR not only in meetings but in their everyday life.” Hoffard looks for CSR ideas to integrate into her meeting planning by networking with her peers, reading stories on the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) website, www.mpiweb.org and reviewing meeting related articles. She shared, “I enjoy looking at what is happening in the Midwest and capturing ideas I can use to bring value to our meetings and events. I also enjoy reading stories about other companies as a benchmark to our operation internally,” she said. “Many hotels embrace the idea of CSR and share how other companies incorporate green activities into their meetings,” concluded Hoffard.CSR ideas and meeting practices for your consideration:• Follow the CSR meeting policies in your company. If these do not exist, ask to form a committee to write and implement the policy. Understand that management must be convinced that these policies will generate cost savings and make good business sense.• Inform all vendors, attendees and speakers of the CSR policy and promote it in pre-meeting communiqués.• Use electronic media to communicate about the meeting to attendees. Promotion, registration and guest satisfaction surveys can each be completed electronically.• Communicate electronically with all suppliers, vendors and speakers. All contracts, banquet orders and schedules can be shared electronically.• Pay attention to services around the lodging location. Can guests easily walk to the meeting location and other services?• Choose hotels that offer bulk dispensers for soap and shampoo and low flow plumbing fixtures.• Keep lights low during meetings and turned off when rooms are not in use.• Ask the hotel catering staff to provide condiments in bulk containers and beverages for break-out sessions in hydration stations rather than individual containers.• Provide all attendees with usable company mugs at the start of the meeting.• Ask that recycling and re-use containers be placed in each meeting room.• Use re-usable or live plants as centerpieces and decorations.• Recycle name badges.• To avoid waste and cost, allow attendees to indicate during pre-registration which meals they will be having and what size meal they’d like to have.• Offer vegetarian meals.• Donate leftover food to local soup kitchens.• Ask the chef to serve farm to table and in season products, requiring less transportation costs and aiding local growers.• Hand out meeting bags made from recyclable materials.• Create experiences and methods to give back. Arrange a teambuilding exercise that benefits the local community. • Engage in a clean-up effort, build a playground or plant a community garden.• Choose speakers who share your company’s vision and values.• Measure CSR effectiveness and report to company management.• Report on CSR in the annual report to shareholders. Share testimonials from community leaders in meeting destinations and photographs of employee teambuilding activities.