The Effects of Social Responsibility
Social responsibility is a concept that is focused on the promotion of the public benefit. Thus companies that act socially responsible must ensure that their initiatives are in accordance with the common good of the society. Hence, the effects of social responsibility are a sustainable business development, meeting the needs of the public and reasonable use of resources.
The concept of sustainability is related to the use of alternative energy sources for power production. This would be of great public benefit since it would directly reduce the impact of fossil fuels on the environment. Companies that have undertaken socially responsible business conduct, such as Siemens and Bosch, are developing some of the most massive alternative energy projects. As the concept of social responsibility is the promotion of the social well-being, the result from the sustainability initiatives would be a greener environment and energy production that would be harmless to the public.
The social responsibility concept is also linked with the idea that businesses need to promote the public benefit through ensuring a business environment that favors future development. In its case study on the Anglo American mining company, the "Times 100" magazine indicates that the organization is aiming to implement a full list of social responsibility activities. Thus the company would need to apply radical technological and organizational changes. This will open employment opportunities for the public and the corporation would directly contribute to the domestic economy. Furthermore, the development of energy plans would ensure Anglo American's interactions with other businesses, which would generate additional capital to be spent on future projects.
Reasonable use of resources is what social responsibility stands for. This idea aims to promote the use and reuse of resources that are limited and nonrenewable, as their exhaustion may lead to severe consequences affecting the public. This is the reason why businesses that act in accordance of the rules of social responsibility aim to promote and develop strategies for a more efficient use of resources. For example, the Anglo American is aiming to implement technologies that would ensure the reuse of water in its production processes and would return clean and filtered water back into the environment.
As the Economist Intelligence Unit has pointed out in its report on corporate social responsibility, a socially responsible business must take into account all of the concept's ideas when engaging in decision-making processes. Siemens, a German technology corporation, has become one of the leading socially responsible players on the current market by considering every outcome of its actions on its consumers. The company is a major constructor of alternative energy production technologies. Additionally, it supplies medical equipment, heating systems and advanced energy-saving electrical appliances. A research by the company has indicated that Siemens' customers have cut their carbon emissions by almost 210 million tonnes. In addition to these public benefits, the corporation is opening thousands of employment opportunities in the Asia Pacific region, thus contributing to developing economies such as China and Indonesia.