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Small Mighty CSR is here to help small business entrepreneurs become sustainability superheroes.
Sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are increasingly expected of businesses of all sizes. But it doesn't have to be hard.
In fact, implementing CSR will help you reduce costs, attract customers, keep your staff happy and productive, and give back to your community. You don't have to do it all - just focus on your business' unique superpower, that one area where you can contribute the most to a better world.
That’s what Small Mighty CSR is all about – simple, practical actions for small, medium and micro businesses that make sustainability an opportunity, not a burden.
What does Small Mighty CSR offer?
There are two key groups Small Mighty CSR serves, each with a slightly different approach:
Suppliers (B2B) to corporate or government buyers that have imposed a Supplier Code of Conduct or CSR questionnaire.
Improve your performance on CSR questionnaires and establish the policies, procedures, systems and monitoring to meet your customers’ expectations of a responsible supplier.
For more information on meeting your customers’ supplier expectations, see here.
Businesses that see a strategic opportunity to grow and engage their customers and employees through sustainable products and practices.
Identify your core sustainability vision, unique positioning (superpowers), and a roadmap to achieve your goals and communicate your approach to your customers and employees.
For more information on developing your sustainability strategy, see here.
I understand that small businesses don’t have a team of CSR professionals and budget devoted to this stuff. That’s why Small Mighty CSR is designed to be practical, powerful, and affordable. It offers three levels of service, depending on your needs and budget:
- do-it-yourself tools, templates, workbooks and training
- done-with-you coaching and workshop facilitation if you need a little more support and guidance along the way
- done-for-you with tailored consulting packages.
With over a decade of experience advising businesses and governments on how to apply CSR, I can help you achieve your business goals and meet customer expectations, without wasting time and money. Read more about my expertise here.
What is CSR and why do you need it?
Put simply, CSR is about understanding your societal and environmental impacts and opportunities as a small business, defining your goals, implementing an action plan, tracking results and communicating them with your customers, employees and other stakeholders. You can read more about the differences between CSR and sustainability and other common questions in our FAQ section.
CSR is an opportunity to build a better business –
better for people, better for the planet, and better for profits.
Expectations of businesses to be responsible corporate citizens are increasing around the world. So far the focus has mostly been on large businesses, but increasingly smaller businesses will be held to the same standards, as supply chain requirements filter down.
Consumers and employees actively seek responsible businesses.
- In 2016, Deloitte found that 56% of millennials will avoid purchasing from companies that are not operating sustainably, while 49% will refuse to work for companies that go against their personal ethics.
- In 2019, Markstein and Certus Insights found that 70% of consumers want to know what the brands they support are doing to address social and environmental issues. 73% of respondents said that their expectations around social responsibility are the same for small companies as large companies.
- See many more examples in the business case for sustainability.
And with increasing regulation and supply chain transparency, your corporate customers demand it.
- In Australia, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 requires all businesses above AU$100 million annual revenue to publicly disclose how they are managing risks in their supply chain, especially labour practices and modern slavery.
- Similar requirements exist in the UK (Modern Slavery Act 2015), California (Transparency in Supply Chains Act 2010), and France (Duty of Vigilance Law 2017).
- These large businesses are assessing the performance of their suppliers in managing these risks and others such as environmental management, health and safety, and corruption, and awarding work accordingly.
- As of January 2020, 78% of ASX50 and 64% of ASX100 companies have implemented a supplier policy or code of conduct that requires suppliers to meet environmental, social and ethical standards beyond legal requirements. (Small Mighty CSR analysis)
Being small does not excuse any business from responsibly managing and minimising their impact. Those suppliers who can meet and exceed sustainability expectations will achieve a competitive advantage in winning business, not to mention customer and staff loyalty.
Want to know more?
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You can also check out our quick explainer articles below, or check out the blog.