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Small Actions Greater Good Blog

How Can You Do Good as a Small Business? (Categories of Social Responsibility)

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Written By Tanya Quinn

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Updated: October 1, 2024

Take a free business assessment to determine your level of Social Responsibility.

When I ask Small Business Owners, how can you do good through their business, most respond with obvious examples such as donating money to a non-profit, volunteering with an organization, or reducing the amount of waste produced.

Yes, these are fabulous ways to give back. However, there is so much more that can be done!

As part of the Small Actions Framework, I've organized social good options into four categories of social responsibility. In this article, I'll remind you what it means to do good and then present each of our four categories of social responsibility. Many will be familiar, but some may not have crossed your mind before.

What is Social Responsibility?

If you haven't read some of my other blogs, let's discuss social responsibility quickly. If you want to read in more detail, there are links to other articles at the bottom of this page.

Social responsibility, as a concept, is the theory that any individual or business can consider the greater good when making economic decisions. That there can be a balance between the economy and the ecosystem. Most of the use of social responsibility is in the context of “Corporate Social Responsibility”.

Small Actions Greater Good was created to bring more awareness to Small Business Social Responsibility which I define as:

A commitment to contribute to social good by acting as or making changes to your small business beyond your standard business operations.

Note, a key aspect to keep in mind for social responsibility – it's also taking an action that is above and beyond what is considered normal operations. In other words, something that you don't HAVE to do but something that you CHOOSE to do to contribute to the greater good.

Small Actions Framework's Four Categories of Social Responsibility

As part of the Small Actions Framework, I've organized social good options into four categories of social responsibility to make it easier for Small Business Owners. Many options will be familiar, but some may not have crossed your mind.

Why four categories? Honestly, that's how it made sense to me.

Why didn't I use the same categories as Corporate Social Responsibility programs?

There isn't one structure or standard for CSR programs! If you do research, you'll find that CSR programs typically range from 3 to 6 categories but can be many more. Almost every corporation takes a slightly different approach. But, they have the resources to take their time and create custom approaches for their unique needs.

As a Small Business Owner, I understand that is NOT typically the case for Small Businesses. Therefore, I researched CSR programs, considered small businesses, and streamlined the ways to good into four categories for the Small Actions Framework.

To be clear, a socially responsible action is doing something or making a change to your business that goes above and beyond what may be typical business standards.

When social responsibility started, being an “ethical” business was considered a socially responsible action. However, being an ethical business has now become a standard expectation. So instead, integrating detailed ethics training into your employee training would now be considered a socially responsible action.

Category 1 – Business Integrity

Actions in Category 1, Business Integrity, demonstrate your interest and dedication to conducting business in an ethical and upstanding manner. They enhance how you do business, including interacting with your customers, employees, contractors, and suppliers. 

Business Integrity actions are divided into four subcategories, including:

  • Mission and Values – incorporating your Social Responsibility goals directly into your mission and values; 
  • Business Policies – adjusting or adding to your business policies to incorporate social responsibility components; 
  • Procurement – considering the impact of or source of the products you purchase for sale, supplies, or use; and,
  • Operations – reviewing your existing business operations and making changes to incorporate social responsibility best practices.

Category 2 – Safety, Health, & Wellness

Actions in Category 2, Safety, Health, & Wellness, demonstrate your interest in the well-being of your employees and customers. They improve the safety of your work environment and the mental and physical well-being of your employees and customers.

Safety, Health, & Wellness actions are divided into three subcategories, including:

  • Safety – maximizing the safe conditions of your office or off-site activities for employees and customers; 
  • Physical Health & Fitness – encouraging and supporting the physical health and fitness of your employees; and,
  • Mental Health – encouraging and supporting the mental health of your employees.

Category 3 – Environmental Impact

Actions in Category 3, Environmental Impact, demonstrate your interest in preserving and improving the environment. They decrease the physical impact of your business on the environment, both directly from your physical location and indirectly from your operations.

Environmental Impact actions are divided into five subcategories, including:

  • Water Use Reduction – reducing the amount of water your business uses; 
  • Energy Use Reduction – reducing the amount of energy your business uses; 
  • Greenhouse Gas Reduction – reducing or offsetting the amount of greenhouse gases your business produces; 
  • Waste Reduction – reducing the amount of waste your business generates; and, 
  • Chemical Reduction – reducing the amount of harmful chemicals your business uses (and potentially releases).

Category 4 – Community Engagement

Actions in Category 4, Environmental Impact, demonstrate your interest in serving and improving your community. They make a positive contribution to your community (keeping in mind that “community” can apply to a location or group's common characteristics). 

Community Engagement actions are divided into five subcategories, including:

  • Time Donation – donating your or your employees' time to help with community events or organizations (i.e., volunteering); 
  • Monetary Donation – donating money to support community efforts or organizations; 
  • Resource Donation – donating resources you use or make to support community efforts or organizations; 
  • Resource Drive – collecting needed resources for community efforts or organizations; and,
  • Sponsorship – funding a project or organization for agreed-upon benefits.

Small Actions Directory

Want to see specific examples of action in each of the four categories and 17 subcategories?

Easy! We maintain a Small Actions Directory on our website. This directory provides ideas for small actions to do social good through your business, organized by category and subcategory.

It's an ongoing effort to update and maintain the directory. We will continue to add actions as we work with more Small Business Owners and discover more unique ways to do good.

Now What?

Hopefully, this article has introduced you to a wider list of ways you can do good and provided you with a resource to inspire more actions of your own.

But – you can do much more!

If you want to be reminded of social responsibility actions to consider for your business, you can sign up to receive weekly emails with inspirations for ideas and additional news from Small Actions Greater Good.

Doing social good is great. But doing EFFECTIVE social good is even better! If you want to learn how to take your actions and make them easier and more effective, learn how to implement the Small Actions Framework.

About This Content

This article is the last of a 7-part series that introduces foundational concepts about Small Business Social Responsibility, Small Actions Greater Good, and the Small Actions Framework. Links to these articles are provided below.

  1. What is Small Business Social Responsibility?
  2. What is the Small Actions Framework? (A Unique Social Responsibility Approach for Small Businesses)
  3. (This Article) How Can You Do Good As a Small Business? (Categories of Social Responsibility)
  4. Why Should Businesses Be Socially Responsible? (Or More Specifically Small Businesses)
  5. What Are the Potential Benefits of Social Responsibility?
  6. What’s Holding You Back? (Social Responsibility in Small Business)
  7. Doing Good is Good Business (IF You Do It Effectively)

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Tanya Quinn, Founder of Small Actions Greater Good

About Small Actions Greater Good

Small Actions Greater Good provides education, resources, and training to make it easier for Small Businesses Owners to do more effective social good that benefits their business, makes them proud of their efforts, and inspires others (also known as Small Business Social Responsibility).

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