Five CSR Trends to Watch for in 2016

Global CSR policies will create new challenges and opportunities for internal collaboration

Companies worldwide will have to navigate through new CSR requirements. In India, for instance, the India Companies Act, a legislation passed into law in 2013, mandates that companies of a certain size donate 2 percent of their net profits generated by the Indian entity to social impact initiatives. While this has created an opportunity to increase the scope of companies’ existing programs, it has also presented the challenge of determining the degree to which these investments and programs will align with corporate strategy and procedures developed at headquarters. Companies and our clients at Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) impacted by this legislation are determining if adjustments should be made to partner criteria, vetting standards and focus areas, and if so, how to create a cohesive story.

Employees will have greater influence over CSR efforts

A trend led by technology companies, but likely to expand into other sectors, is companies placing a greater emphasis on employee opinion to determine the issues they address and the partners that they choose. Organizations such as Yelp and Yahoo Employee Foundation empower their employees to “champion” an NGO they are passionate about to compete for funding. This strategy is closely aligned with research such as Deloitte’s Millenial Survey 2015, which indicates that millenials select employment opportunities based upon a sense of purpose and believe that corporate leaders should place a high priority on contributing to local communities and the wider society. With an increased proportion of millenials across sectors, employee-influenced giving and CSR is likely to grow. 

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As vice president of corporate responsibility, Maeve leads a department of 15 professionals who facilitated over $35 million in grants to nonprofit organizations in 50 countries in 2014. Maeve is responsible for the strategic direction of SVCF’s corporate responsibility work and is a member of the community foundation’s leadership team.