What is the difference between environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility?

Curated Resources > Sustainability & CSR

Overview

Sustainability describes the ability to maintain various systems and processes — environmentally, socially, and economically — over time. Sustainability originated in natural resource economics, but has since gained broader currency in terms of sustainable development and social equality.

Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, usually refers to a company’s commitment to practice environmental and social sustainability and to be good stewards of the environment and the social landscapes in which they operate.

Some companies and economists rejected the idea of CSR because it implied an obligation to society and future generations beyond those contained in the binding legal requirements of business. However, most companies now embrace some notion of CSR.

Approaches to CSR vary. Some companies invest in CSR as reputation management or to sustain the profitability of a company, and some invest in CSR out of a sense of moral obligation to society. These resources focus on sustainability and CSR primarily in terms of moral obligation, and offer insight into ethics concepts relevant to economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social equity.

Begin by viewing the suggested videos for an introduction of concepts that are basic to sustainability and CSR, such as determining what factors to favor in ethical decisions, the impact of intangible factors in ethical dilemmas, and best practices for developing ethical culture in organizations.

View additional videos to learn about the ways that incentives affect economics, how the slippery slope leads to degradation, why “framing” matters, and the hallmarks of fair and equal representation. Additional videos introduce behavioral biases that impact ethical decision-making, such as the tendency to switch values based on our role and the importance of loss aversion in making moral choices.

To prompt conversation, use the discussion questions which follow each video. Each video has teaching notes for details on the ethics concept, and (often) assignment suggestions.

Read the case studies for a variety of examples to start your class discussion on issues related to economic and environmental sustainability and social equity. The recommended case studies cover these topics across a wide range of disciplines and examine sustainability and CSR in terms of fair business practices, environmental policies, advertising, consumer goods, equal representation, and freedom of speech.

Additional Videos

Additional Case Studies

The face of the business world is changing: sustainability is normalising, while buyers and investors expect to see companies transform.

In that light, many companies are taking strides to improve their communities and the world beyond. Sometimes these are serious, oftentimes more superficial. But these shifts have led to an increased focus on ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and CSR (corporate social responsibility) reporting.

You might be wondering is CSR the same as ESG? The abrupt answer is, no. Still, these terms are covered under the same sustainability umbrella. Let’s look at what the difference is between CSR and ESG, their usefulness and some noteworthy examples.

ESG vs CSR

In short, CSR is a company’s framework of sustainability plans and responsible cultural influence, whereas ESG is the assessable outcome concerning a company’s overall sustainability performance. In practical terms, you could also say:

  • CSR: a general sustainability framework, mainly used by companies
  • ESG: a measurable sustainability assessment, popular with investors

ESG is the most emergent of the two, having shot up in popularity over the past few years. Some people would even go so far as to say that ESG is replacing CSR.

What is the difference between environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility?

But that hasn’t quite happened yet because they are still quite different things. Read on for a deeper dive into the factors involved.

What is CSR?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is no longer just admirable business practice, it’s a demand. People are more socially conscious than ever before. A recent study by Business Wire revealed that more than a third of buyers globally are prepared to pay more for sustainable products.

So, what is corporate social responsibility in detail?

CSR defines the activities companies maintain to have a greater global positive impact. Developing a CSR model helps companies report its efforts to itself, stakeholders, staff, the public and the environment (local and worldwide).

But, a CSR model reaches beyond social and environmental help, it also positively impacts business reputation.

Nowadays people want to buy better products and it’s easy for people to voice outrage against businesses online. And so, prioritising corporate social responsibility is critical to a brand’s success. Sadly, if social and environmental concerns won’t encourage companies to take action, loss of profit will.

Some examples of CSR in action:

  • Lowering carbon footprint
  • Buying fair trade products
  • Investing in environmentally conscious businesses
  • Participation in volunteer work
  • Upgrading labour policies
  • Engaging in charitable projects

Companies with a strong CSR approach

From bridging the “homework gap” to ambitious carbon-neutrality goals, these companies are aiming high in the CSR sphere:

Microsoft

This multinational technology operation is several gravity moonsteps ahead of most common corporate climate commitments. Similar to other companies, Microsoft claims to become carbon neutral by 2030. But what sets Microsoft apart is its promise to, by 2050, eliminate all the carbon it has ever produced since it was founded in 1975. It plans to achieve this by:

  • Expanding internal carbon fee
  • Assisting customers and suppliers to reduce their footprints
  • Introducing an innovation fund on modern climate solutions
  • Diverting 90% of landfill waste
  • Producing fully recyclable Surface devices

At Akepa, we do find some of these lofty but distant pledges a touch questionable but it’d be great if they stick to their word.

View CSR Report

Verizon

At the start of the pandemic, this internet service provider factored in a plan to move the world forward for everyone. It specifically provided under-resourced schoolchildren with the necessary technology so they could participate in virtual learning. In doing so, Verizon Innovation Learning curbs the “digital divide” that left many disadvantaged children behind.

View CSR Report

What is ESG?

ESG is the acronym for Environment, Social, and Governance. Combined, all three facets form a structure to evaluate a company’s long-term sustainability performance. Typically, ratings agencies like S&P round-up ESG performance as a score, based on data. In that way it’s similar to CSR but more measurable.

What is the difference between environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility?

Source: S&P

While social awareness plays a significant role, financial performance also remains a key purpose of ESG valuation. The reason for this is simple: when a company’s ESG score goes up, its capital costs reduce and the company valuation improves. As a result, more investors pull up and larger pools of capital become available. In other words, ESG performance is becoming a sort of sustainability credit rating for companies and their investors.

Meanwhile, shareholders seek reflective and progressive policies in all three of these realms – not just one or two – and use it as a tool to weigh up a business’ overall sustainable performance.

It’s not surprising that ESG is a worthwhile investing strategy right now. According to Reuters, capital totalling US$649 billion flowed into ESG-linked funds in 2021. That’s a record amount that more than doubles the investment seen in 2019.

There are three main questions to address that will help companies evaluate their position within each area.

  • What impact does your business and its policies have on the environment?
  • What does your company’s relationships in its organisation look like?
  • How does leadership run the company?

To gain some perspective, here are two brands with standout ESG reports.

Companies embracing ESG reporting

Global Energy Ventures (GEV)

GEV develops a zero-emission shipping solution for the marine transport of hydrogen. The company already displays a decline in greenhouse gas emissions, according to Martin Carolan – the managing director and CEO of GEV. “It’s important that we embrace the social and governance factors to back up our environmental benefits and drive value in our company.”

View ESG Report

Oneview Healthcare (ASX: ONE)

OneView Healthcare is an interactive patient engagement system that enables patients and enhances health care experiences. With a vision to strengthen personalised care experiences, the team assists healthcare providers to empower patients and families, deliver virtual care and make patient flow more efficient.

View ESG Report

A quick summary:

What is the difference between environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility?

ESG & CSR Vs. Sustainability

One other quick question you might have is how does ESG or CSR differ from ‘sustainability’?

It’s a good question and the way to think about it is that ‘sustainability’ is an overall concept, whereas ESG and CSR are terms used to describe specific business models. ‘Sustainability’ is a slightly fluffy word whereas ESG and CSR are clear-cut corporate terms that do, nevertheless, involve sustainability in their DNA.

Sustainability itself doesn’t really have a universal definition but we’ve gone some way to defining it in this other blog post on what sustainability means.

Looking ahead…

That wraps up the basic difference between CSR and ESG with some examples. While there are differences, the bottomline for both is that a global pandemic has strengthened rather than weakened sustainability awareness. Longer-term, it will be tricky to safeguard financial success and corporate reputation without total transparency and measurable action. Still, in a world where all eyes are on sustainability, ESG may just have the edge as the more quantifiable of the two frameworks. 

And remember, although companies are shifting towards responsible activities that benefit more than their pockets, it doesn’t always indicate sincerity or success. Both CSR and ESG can be manipulated to mislead the public. Their usefulness in the age of sustainability is still up for debate. And ESG is under extra scrutiny because of its entanglement with investment.

This false brand perception is also known as “greenwashing”. Here’s another article from Akepa on the latest greenwashing cases. Have a read to see if you may have fallen victim to this sustainability subterfuge.

Are you keen to accelerate positive change with the help of a sustainable marketing agency? Get in touch with Akepa to learn how to develop a strategy that better informs customers in their sustainable choices.

Celesté Polley

Celesté is a content writer, creative photographer, pianist, avid birder, environmentalist at heart, and Earth wanderer from South Africa.

Is environmental sustainability part of CSR?

While environmental sustainability is usually a part of corporate social responsibility, CSR does not only focus on sustainability. For many companies, treating the environment well is important, and this value may be reflected in their CSR programs.

What is the relationship between CSR and sustainability?

Essentially, sustainability relates to the reduction of environmental impact through reduction of consumption (reduce, recycle, reuse). Corporate Responsibility includes Sustainability, but relates to the wider relationship between the organisation, its key stakeholder groups and the community.