Social Impact & Volunteering

11 Facts About Mid-Size Companies and CSR (Survey Results)

Apr 25, 2013 2:55 PM ET

Business4Better Blog

When we think of corporate social responsibility (CSR), so often we think of large companies with deep pockets that have dedicated staff to run employee and community engagement programs, or small start-ups that are birthed with the gene of sustainability in place.  Last month Business4Better took on the challenge of exploring just how immersed in community engagement efforts mid-size companies were.

The greatest potential for doing good is with the mid-market. “If the Middle Market were a country, its GDP would rank it as the fourth largest economy in the world,” states  Scott Vaughan in a previous B4B blog post. So we surveyed 173 business professionals from mid-size companies (100-5000 employees) about CSR to gauge the status and plans for community involvement.

Here are the facts:

  • Only 12% of mid-size companies recognize the potential CSR has for impacting the bottom line.
  • Only 33% of mid-size companies have established CSR programs.
  • 66% of mid-size companies focus their CSR initiatives within their main offices’ state.
  • Education is the #1 cause mid-size companies contribute to.
  • 40% of mid-size companies provide employees time off to volunteer.
  • 30% of mid-size companies perform pro-bono work.
  • 50% of mid-size companies report executive leadership leads CSR efforts.
  • 33% of mid-size companies state their CSR efforts are led by their HR or marketing departments.
  • Less than 10% of mid-size companies said they use CSR for employee engagement.
  • More than 40% said they measure success of CSR by employee participation or satisfaction.
  • Only 20% of mid-size companies measure their CSR programs by financial impact.

For the full results of the Business4Better mid-market survey, please see: Business4Better Survey: Mid-size Companies and Social Responsibility

I hope you’ll join me and the excellent line-up of speakers we’ll have next week at the Business4Better Conference and Expo in Anaheim, CA. Register for the conference using special promotion code ADV for $49 all-access pass. Together we can make a better world.