There’s a scene in Monty Python’s Holy Grail film when the plague cart trundles around the village with the cry, ‘bring out your dead’. A hapless peasant is dragged towards the cart, protesting, ‘I’m not dead, I’m feeling much better’.
It’s tempting to wonder if corporate social responsibility and social purpose are similarly hearing the wheels of the tumbril approaching. Corporate announcements of pullbacks in social purpose initiatives, particularly diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or LGBTQIA+ programs, have caused many to wonder whether the purpose-driven business era is ending. Undoubtedly, US and global companies are under pressure from a changing political climate, new legislation and a hostile administration.
But social purpose is not ready for its eulogy yet. There is plenty going on behind the scenes, and partnership people should be prepared for the changes.
Social purpose is not disappearing. Instead, it’s maturing and becoming more embedded and integrated into the way that corporates do business. Of course, there are always some organisations that took the idea of purpose and applied it superficially for easy PR. They are the ones who’ll be the first to drop their community connections, and maybe they weren’t your most reliable or best-aligned partners anyway.
The better corporates are doubling down, not walking back on social purpose. Why? They know that a strong corporate purpose can attract talent, inspire innovation, and strengthen relationships with customers, suppliers and wider stakeholders. Research from the Great Place to Work Institute in the US shows that purpose is the most influential factor in employee retention and increases propensity to stay by 2.7 times.
What should partnership people do to respond to the changes in social purpose and CSR?
1. Corporate purpose statements need to be linked to operations and performance. A lofty goal without commercial resonance will not appeal to investors or stakeholders. That means your partnership proposals need to explicitly show how you can contribute to business goals, not just benefit communities. Stop talking about your needs for funding and start emphasising how you’re aligned to their strategic ambitions. Then you’re positioned as a sound commercial investment not a risky charitable donation. (Psst: We dive deeper into how to frame your partnership approach through a commercial lens in our book, Partnerships Reimagined. It’s all about moving from charity ask to strategic asset.)
2. Corporates doubling down on purpose want real impact. Help them demonstrate that impact with robust reporting that goes beyond activity numbers. Purpose needs more than just storytelling; it requires action and measurement.
3. Help them reframe some of their activities beyond the politicised terms of DEI into something that relates better to business goals. A number of corporates have repositioned their DEI initiatives as workforce development, wellbeing, talent management, people and communities or employee experience. In general corporates are not abandoning DEI but ensuring their continuity by evolving the approach and avoiding political and legal risks.
4. One of the reasons that corporates are not abandoning social purpose is that their staff and customers are putting pressure on them to continue and grow their efforts. Corporates are caught in a bind; if they dial things up publicly they risk political and legal censure, but if they walk them back they’ll be slammed by their staff and customer base.
Over 61% of customers will actively support companies whose values align with their own. Corporate values and the actions to back them up do influence purchasing decisions. We saw this during COVID when 1 in 3 consumers had punished brands not doing enough for the community during difficult times. In the US, Target has seen its brand equity decline and has encountered consumer boycotts whilst Costco, which has so far not rolled back its purpose initiatives, now has the highest brand momentum.
Partnership people can help with the tightrope act by offering deep insights into your own audiences and their behaviours. Research your followers and find out what they’re buying and why. Show how their values are aligned to your corporate prospect. Demonstrate with case studies how you’re adding to their brand trust and customer loyalty. Identify why your cause is a pressing societal issue and how the corporate can contribute to changing the future.
Social purpose is evolving into its next phase. Whilst the negative forces of political and legal threats have put CSR and social purpose into the spotlight, this may just be the start of a more mature phase for corporates and a step away from the performative brand washing in the early days. It’s certainly not dead, or just resting, corporate partnership professionals should be prepared to evolve with it.