GEW Malaysia 2020: Charity vs Social Good

A social good is something that benefits the largest number of people in the largest possible way, such as clean air, clean water, healthcare, and literacy. In recent times, social good is used to refer to corporate initiatives that aim to enhance the social contract of corporations by promoting practices that are better for the environment and overall society. Corporations gain employee trust and loyalty by providing them with a sense of purpose and loyalty in their work.

Corporations keen to promote an image of themselves as socially conscious and responsible have created programs that seek to highlight their work toward social good. Aside from the positive feelings such programs generate, doing work that benefits the social good can give a company a sense of purpose and passion.

It can help with productivity, innovation, and growth, as employees who believe in their company's mission tend to invest more of their effort and passion into their work. Working toward a social good also has the effect of building bonds with the community. In helping a community or group of people, a company may hope that their effort is rewarded with sales. Corporate investment in the social good can also help a company build and maintain its brand and its identity, as well as loyalty.

On the other hand, making social good the sole focus of a startup can be risky. Great socially conscious enterprises fail when they focus too narrowly on their social goal and lose sight of the business model. Sustainable revenue and social good need not be mutually exclusive.

Do not think of social good as compensation for your business practices that might generate criticism. Instead, focus on making those practices conform to your definition of social good, and let your customers know that you have made that conscious decision. In the short term it should help you build up a loyal and trusting customer base, and in the long run it will help you stake your claim in the ever increasingly conscious-consumer world.