Has your company mastered the social impact assessment process? If not, you should consider making it a top priority.
The term “social impact assessment process” refers to a way of identifying, predicting, and assessing the type and scale of potential social impacts caused by or associated with any business activities your company undertakes.
In this article, we will explain why, plus provide four tips for how to create social impact goals (to make sure your company’s sustainability goals deliver maximum business value and broader societal impact).
Why Businesses Need Social Impact Goals
Setting social impact goals can do more than help companies mitigate the risks of environmental impacts caused by doing business.
The process of setting specific, measurable goals can also help companies identify opportunities for bettering the lives of local communities, bolster their brand image, and make them more attractive to potential investors.
In fact, having social impact goals can significantly improve your brand image and increase your revenue numbers.
Today’s consumers are much more likely to buy from brands that openly support the causes they care about.
As a result, if your company does not set (and publicize) social impact goals, you may fall behind competitors who do.
In addition, investors are increasingly using sophisticated, data-driven approaches to quantify the potential impact of social and environmental issues on their portfolios.
Having strong, financially integrated goals will help you attract more investment opportunities.
The Social Impact Assessment Process: 4 Tips for Setting Goals
1. Link social impact goals to business outcomes
For example, a company that operates in a water-intensive industry (e.g. food production) should consider the amount of water required to reach its growth goals.
Then, they can determine if sufficient resources will be available in regions where they do business and set goals that directly impact their supply chain.
2. Consult with local experts
Consultations with government officials, environmental organizations, and local communities can be invaluable for setting realistic, achievable goals.
3. Don’t forget the “social” aspect
Too many companies focus solely on carbon footprint reduction while forgetting about the community aspect of their social impact goals.
4. Prepare to measure your progress
Investors are paying closer and closer attention to the unpriced risks associated with environmental and social issues of companies they choose to include in their portfolios.
When setting goals, consider how you will be able to use data to link them to broader financial, societal and environmental outcomes.
How Effective Planning Affects Social Impact
Effective planning can help your company align sustainability initiatives with business goals in a way that improves performance and accountability.
From afar, sustainability issues can seem too daunting or too abstract to tackle effectively.
Setting well-designed goals will help your company break them down into smaller chunks and make measurable progress.
Plus, clear, measurable goals will act as rallying points, motivating employees and ensuring company accountability.
How NativeEnergy Can Help
Setting social impact goals is all about maximizing the environmental, social, and business value of your corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts.
If you would like to take it a step further, consider making custom carbon offset projects a part of your CSR strategy.
NativeEnergy pairs businesses with unique Help BuildTM projects that match their company goals and values, and help build a better planet, and a better future, for us all.
Contact NativeEnergy by phone at 800-924-6826 or by email at [email protected] to get started.