March 3rd, 2010

When CSR Stars Align

Aligning sustainability goals with organizational goals is essential for CSR success.

By SDialogue Staff

Measuring sustainability’s return on investment has always been challenging – especially for businesses that are bred in a “what’s the direct return?” environment.

And as CSR efforts become part of the DNA of some firms, carving out the costs as well as the benefits that directly relate to the sustainability aspects of those companys’ actions is becoming more difficult.

This is why it’s critical to align your company’s sustainability goals with that of the broader, corporate goals while also putting in place metrics based on that alignment. Without tying the sustainability goals to your overarching corporate goals, you’re setting yourself up for more challenges than necessary.

At the same time, you must also gauge the true costs of not evolving more sustainability. Part of this assessment process also requires exploring the quantifiable metrics that resonate with your board of directors as well as the C-suite.

In regard to measuring the success of your sustainability efforts, the individual components of the efforts are more measurable than others. For example, there are some sustainability tactics that directly relate to the bottom line – such as practices that eliminate wasting resources.

Other measurable metrics that can be examined includes the money saved from energy efficiency practices. Brand reputation and employee loyalty are other areas to consider too.

Over time, you can add more metrics – as long as the sustainability goals are aligned with corporate goals.

This post is one in a series aimed at helping you and your firm improve your CSR efforts. To learn more, click here.