Even when prompted by researchers with a definition of CSR, 43 per cent of 350 small and medium-sized enterprise bosses interviewed were unaware of it, while 72 per cent said they have no CSR policy in place, with over half of these not planning to implement one.
"It was surprising to find that so many SMEs are unaware of CSR," says Sarah Connis, research director at Critical. The size of organisation determined their awareness levels, too: the larger the company, the more likely it was to have a CSR policy in place-62 per cent of companies with over 100 employees had already implemented one.
Tellingly, though, nearly one-third of SMEs believe CSR to be a gimmick or just more work: among companies unlikely to introduce a CSR policy, 38 per cent felt they were "too small to be concerned with CSR" while 16 per cent claimed they "didn't have time for it".
But further probing revealed that many of these businesses were actually practising CSR, with most just unaware of the term itself. In fact, 80 per cent of small businesses use local suppliers, 72 per cent support local charities and initiatives and 65 per cent have increased recycling. Over one-third have offset some or all of their carbon emissions and 46 per cent plan to do so.
Susan Hinchcliffe, regeneration and partnerships manager at Business in the Community (BITC), is sympathetic: "CSR is a terrible term. For a start, the word 'corporate' is associated with big businesses. The majority of small businesses are already doing something in the community-they are often born and bred there and they are the biggest fans of contributing to the community. It is just that they don't recognise it as CSR."
So, do SMEs ever need a CSR policy? Hinchcliffe believes they take a common sense approach: "For many SMEs, CSR is not a sideline or something to invest in, it is just something they are already doing as part of their business. And they don't need to worry about the term CSR-after all, it is just a label.
But Connis says there are times when a company can benefit from having a formal policy in place-including a CSR policy in a tender document, for example, may be a requirement if a director wants to win new business pitches.
Hinchcliffe admits that with or without a policy, small businesses can use CSR more cleverly: "Instead of just donating money or taking their staff on a normal team-building day, they could think about activities that would help promote their business-for example, by doing a project in the community. The businesses that do best are those that have the most connections. My advice to small businesses is to get out there and find out what's going on."
