Corporate social responsibility is a concept that describes a business’ commitment to maintain ethical practice within their business model and be socially accountable. This accountability within their operations pertains to the business’ stakeholders, its community and the public. There is a rising focus on considering social, economic and environmental impacts within any new or existing business organization to ensure sustainability. To preserve the global ecosystem and depleted natural resources, increased focus on sustainable practices and preserving our environment for future generations, business look to CSR to increase longevity.
CSR strategies and initiatives can address consumers, suppliers, employees, and communities in different forms. Within the logistics industry, CSR can manifest in many forms depending on the nature of the company’s business model. A variety of initiatives can be under taken: reducing the carbon foot print from direct and indirect emissions, energy consumption, water use and management, employee labour conditions, human rights and wellness programs, and community philanthropic engagements. These initiatives in turn contribute to an increased bottom line for the company.
The logistics industry and transport in particular is a large contributor to carbon emissions that adversely affect climate change. However, optimizing transport by assessing stock delivery needs and driving routes can lead to a reduction in the diesel or fossil fuel that is required to deliver the freight. Optimization leads to reduced transportation costs, increased efficiency and contributes to sustainability. Another form of CSR that sees rising prominence in the logistics industry is the quality of life of the employees and their families, namely the truck drivers. Optimizing transport contributes to less congested route usage, allowing drivers to take breaks and ensure safe driving. Traffic accidents in the logistics’ industry can often be caused by driver’s ill health due to sleep deprivation, increased working hours, stress stemming from need to meet payments on vehicle maintenance and familial commitments. Humanity to employees is a large development area for the logistics industry alongside ethical supplier selection, environmental protection, and community philanthropy.
CSR begins by identifying the social and environmental issues that align with mission and core values of the business. Companies generally opt to set specific targets in the environmental, social and sustainability space and continues to disclose any progress made within that space. This creates greater credibility and accountability for the company. CSR contributes to competitive advantage, increased brand identity, reinforcing trust and developing stronger stakeholder relationships with clients, shareholders, employees, and suppliers among others. According to the MIT Sloan School of Management, “firms increased their return on assets (ROA) by 0.7 to 0.8 percent a percentage which is slightly higher for firms involving clean technologies – after newly adopting CSR practices.” Many shareholders and employees actively seek out to conduct business with socially responsible companies, as overall awareness and drive to preserve the global ecosystem remains on the rise.
Naqla remains to committed to all its stakeholders, supporting optimization of route, the automation of orders, quotations and transportation. Naqla’s commitment to its drivers and their wellbeing is one of many areas that CSR is being addressed. While aiding the financial burden of vehicle maintenance through supportive payment plans, Naqla will continue to support its drivers in a myriad of methods. Stay tuned to hear more about Naqla’s commitment in the upcoming address to the community next week.
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