As a company with current best global CSR reputation, how Microsoft corporation contributed back to society?

Microsoft is one of the most well known high – tech corporations in the world.  Most of us know it from the most common PC/laptops operating system: Microsoft windows. Its other popular products can be listed as microsoft office, gaming console xbox and windows phone OS for smart phones and tablets. Basically, it developes, manufactures and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers and technological services. Microsoft is currently one of the most valuable companies.

Although its hard to find a person who never heard of this multinational tech corporation and its products, only a few know about how it contributed back to society and benefited people all over the world during all those years. Since Bill Gates established the company, Microsoft had many CSR campaigns and contributed to society for over 30 years. Steve Ballmer, co founder of Microsoft shares their mission statement: “Our commitment to citizenship is brought to life by the work we do in serving communities, championing the growth of our people and meeting our commitment to responsible business policies and practices”. After all the efforts since establishing, Microsoft was ranked 1st for CSR in Reputation Institute’s in 2012 and 2013, and is considered corporation with best CSR reputation till present.

In 2013, Microsoft reached many milestones, and accomplished many campaigns. Below are some highlights of what they achieved:

• 30th “Employee giving campaign”: Since the early days of the company, Microsoft established a campaign in which it combines its employees financial and volunteer contributions. In 2013, the total amount of this campaign reached milestone of 1 billion US dollars total contribution. During 30 years, this was contributed to more than 18,000 nonprofits companies all over the world.
• “Microsoft YouthSpark”: is a global program created to youths all over the world with educations and employment opportunities. 2013 is the first year of the campaign, and it already helped more than 100 million youth from 100 different countries.
• “Technology for good”: Microsoft donated 795 million dollars worth of their high quality software to over 70,000 non profits organizations.
• Efforts for environment: Microsoft established the internal carboon fee program in to reduce the carbon use in their operating and producing activities. This helped to minimize the environmental damage. It also has internal campaigns for water and electricity reduction.

Above are some highlights of Microsoft’s contributions. As one of the current largest corporations, Microsoft understands the importance of its responsibility to society and environment, and have done their best. Microsoft definitely made our world better place to live. You can find more information about Microsoft’s campaing here.

What do you think about Microsoft’s contributions? Do you know of any other companies that contributed to society as Microsoft? We would like to hear your opinion. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more information about CSR in technological industry!

The Progression of CSR in Technology

The corporate social responsibility movement was started in 1970 and since then a lot of work has gone into making it a fundamental part of the technology industry. This movement has made technology companies much more aware of the impacts that their products and businesses are having on society. The video below does a great job of explaining how the movement came about and the far reaching impacts that it has had on society.

It is “based on the general idea that those with great power have great responsibility, and many starting calling for the business world to be more proactive in (1) ceasing to cause societal problems and (2) starting to participate in solving societal problem” (Barnett). The Corporate Social Responsibility movement has improved the working conditions, environmental impacts, and globalization concerns within the business world, but throughout its history it has had its fair share of problems as well.

As technology has advanced over the years and become a more prevalent aspect of society, so have the privacy concerns that are associated with it. Every day, individuals around the world produce large amounts of data and personally identifiable information through their online interactions with technology businesses. Protecting this data has become one of the biggest problems plaguing technology companies today because they are constantly faced with new threats. Additionally the public is concerned about how the data is being used and the impact that tracking all these personal metrics has on society. According to a report produced by Roger Clarke, “Information privacy has been under increasing threat as a result of the rapid replacement of expensive physical surveillance by ‘dataveillance’: the systematic use of personal data systems in the investigation or monitoring of people’s actions or communications” (Clarke). The public is concerned because they are relatively unaware about the ways that technology companies are using their data. These problems are not new to the technology industry, but as data industry continues to make technological advances it is critical that they begin to address these privacy concerns and focus on the CSR related to data and online privacy.

While technological advances have had a tremendous impact on the world it is important to also keep in mind the negative effects that they have had on society so that they can be addressed. Throughout the history of the technology industry a number of issues have come about relating to the impact that technology has on privacy and the environment. The history of these issues is important to understand so that the technology industry can learn from the past and continue to focus their CSR efforts on improving society while making technological advances.

We would love to hear more about how you see the CSR movement progressing within the technology industry so please share any stories you have with us by  connecting with us on Facebook and Twitter to share your opinion on this and other stories that we will be posting on Technological Responsibility..

Tesla Takes CSR To A New Level

Large corporations, many of which are in the technology sector, are making a push to improve their corporate social responsibility.  These companies have come to the realization that profit is not always the bottom line. There is now a triple bottom line which includes people, profit, and planet and many companies are trying to improve all three.  It is our mission to bring to you the news about which technology based corporations are making a splash due to their corporate social responsibility efforts.

One such news story involves Tesla Motors, one of the leaders in automotive technology. Tesla Motors is an American company that designs, manufactures, and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components. Tesla’s mission since the beginning has been “to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible.” This mission in and of itself is to be social responsible by reducing car emissions but recently Tesla Motors went a step further. Just this past June Tesla’s chief executive officer, Elon Musk, has decided to release his company’s valuable patents. “Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology”, Elon Musk.  Musk in his blog post continues to say how the purpose behind the release of the patents was in order to reduce the number of greenhouse gasses produced by gasoline powered cars. He understands that Tesla cannot meet the global demand for electric cars and realizes that planet is more important than his company’s profit. He wants the larger automotive companies to begin using the technology Tesla developed to hopefully make the electric car more affordable.

Though many of Tesla shareholders were at first upset about the decision, it was clear that it once again Musk’s choice was the right one, as Tesla stock (TSLA) jumped from $203.52 per share on 6/12/14 to $231.67 per share on 6/17/14. In his post Musk also defended his decision with, “these days they (patents) serve merely to stifle progress, entrench the positions of giant corporations and enrich those in the legal profession, rather than the actual inventors.” In my opinion I think the decision made by Musk was risky, but one worth taking. It shows the companies devotion to corporate social responsibility and willingness to make large sacrifices for the betterment of the greater community.

What do you think? Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter to share your opinion on this and other stories that we will be posting on Technological Responsibility.

Tech Industry’s Should Care About their Reputation through CSR

There was a time when no one even thought about what a company did. The only public concern was what a company produced and how high the quality of production was. However, times have changed, and the the technology industry is now faced with maintaining a positive reputation in order to win over customers. In short, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is more important than ever.

This image comes to you courtesy of Bevil Wooding. I wanted you all to see this image because it clearly shows the correlation between CSR programs and increased everything. If the company is willing to put forward the effort to help society, their employees, and the environment, there will be monumental benefits returning to the company. The picture clearly shows that CSR is not just a one time promotional event, but rather it is a constant process that needs cultivating in order to succeed. Now I am not talking about success in terms of monetary returns, that wouldn’t really be socially responsible. The returns I’m talking about are “social dollars” (Wooding 1). These dollars can transform a company in the eyes of the public and possibly draw in more customers due to their socially responsible actions.

That being said, a positive image and CSR can help a company from a profit standpoint. According to Wooding, “forward thinking companies are increasingly engaging in more strategic social efforts. Why? Research shows consumers will pay a premium for socially responsible products” (Wooding 1). In fact, companies who are not willing to go the extra mile in responsible activities can now suffer as customers shun them for their lack of care or harming actions.

Currently, tech companies “typically allocate about 1% of pre-tax profits to social causes” (Wooding 1). This is no longer enough for a company to do. People will look for companies to do more. They expect companies to actively participate in philanthropic events that show they are invested in the community and their employees.

It is not an easy process for companies to change focus, and it is often costly. However, it is now more important than ever that tech firms learn to give back and care about the public. “The data and real-world examples show that those who invest in truly good-works can create businesses that customers, shareholders and stakeholders can trust. Even if it costs in the short-term, the long-term business and social benefits make the investment worthwhile. Now, that’s good business” (Wooding 1).

Special thanks to Bevil Wooding for posting a great piece on CSR in Tech firms. For more, read the article here.

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Google’s Latest Acquisition, Nest Home Automation, Exemplifies CSR in the Tech Industry

Corporate Social Responsibility is common practice in this day and age. Technology is an industry that is blossoming right now. Armed with these two facts, Technological Responsibilities’ goals is, “to provide coverage of a wide spectrum of technology companies, including information, hardware, cellular, and advancements in the automotive industry. We will look to deliver news in a personal format that will appeal to not only current business professionals, but also young adults looking who are focused on pursuing a technology-based job.”(Find out more about our mission statement)

For informational purposes I will use Google’s latest acquisition, Nest Home Automation. Nest is currently on the map for having built smoke alarms and thermostats that adapt to its users habits. This will help bring homes into the age known as “smart homes.” For more information about Nest Home Automation CSR goals, here is their webpage:

https://nest.com/responsibility/

The first thing you see when entering this page is their CSR mission statement, “Our company focuses on reducing waste and using energy wisely. It’s important to us to practice what we preach.” On their webpage they tell their stakeholders where they are currently in their corporate social responsible efforts:

• No hazardous substances. They’re fully compliant with RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive).
• They require ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard certification in suppliers.
• Workers safety. They are continuing to develop our auditing process for workers’ safety, and are certified in compliance with local labor laws in manufacturing regions.
• REACH Compliance. They are in accordance with this EU requirement to manage chemicals correctly and not bring certain chemicals into the country.
• Sustainability. They are working with well-known corporations overseas in order to source from companies who are committed to improving social and environmental practices.

I figured Nest would be a good place to begin our first blog post because they make an effort to want to be socially responsible in the technology industry. “We want to have a positive impact on our community. Nest strives to be a good citizen when it comes to health, pay, education, and labor practices.” (Find out more) Also Nest is on the radar now because Google bought them in the pursuit of being the first to create the smart home. Therefore Nest right now is in this weird limbo. One, they are in a place where their is not too much competition in home automation (smart homes). Although not everyone is sure what the big deal is about “Nest Home Automation.”

My personal opinion, the future is now. Homes that can adapt to our habits is amazing, and now that Nest has the backing of Google they know no bounds. I can’t wait to see what else is to come from this blossoming company.

Stay tuned on Technological Responsibility for more news like this!