Photos by Adrian Schwarz, Michael Paredes, Cristina Gottardi, Liu Zai Hou, Vadim Sherbakov, Brian Suh, Hreaw, Andrew Haimerl, and Warren Wong on Unsplash.
Lights, lights, lights! They’re beautiful, and in an array of colors, add much festivity to this season where the world celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, and Kwanzaa.
But the question is: How can we enjoy them while minimizing the cost to our pockets?
Imagine that your power company ran an energy saving competition earlier this year, challenging you to find numerous ways that you and your neighbors could reduce your energy consumption. Prizes were given to winners who revealed creative solutions like turning off lights not being used, unplugging devices not currently in use, devising energy saving laundry strategies with washing machines and ironing. Other incentives were given to install timers on refrigerators and deep freezes, security lights and more, so that they would only run during the most needed hours. Other long-term cost-saving strategies encouraged involved using LED bulbs, purchasing appliances with the energy saving star, and installing solar panels.
Would you continue to support them for their efforts to encourage energy efficiency in the future?
The research answers for you, and gives a resounding, “Yes!”
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is defined as “the practice of producing goods and services in a way that is not harmful to society or the environment” (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/social-responsibility). A study by Cone Communications in 2017 showed that more than 60 percent of Americans hoped that businesses would lead the social and environmental change. Eighty-seven percent of customers indicated that they would buy from a company that supported an issue they cared about. On the other hand, almost 4 of every 5 customers (76%) would refuse to buy from a company if they discovered that they violated issues that concerned them.
The issue is even deeper as revealed by corporate leaders. Susan Cooney, head of global diversity, equity and inclusion at Symantec, said that “The next generation of employees is seeking out employers that are focused on the triple bottom line: people, planet and revenue.” Besides environmental efforts, other CSR strategies include philanthropy, volunteerism and ethical labor practices (https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4679-corporate-social-responsibility.html).
So, in this season of light festivals, let’s help each other, corporations and individuals to celebrate without burning a light hole in our pockets.
Ultimately, we must maximize what we have to transform our world!
Check out a few of the ways that I have tried to energize your world this holiday with offerings at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/KeishaAMitchellPhD and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQUw2eanKAA .
Photos by Kevin Bhagat, Kari Shea, and Daniil Silantev on Unsplash.
