Defining Innovation: Corporate Social Responsibility

How Innovation Drives The Evolution of CSR

Patagonia. Allbirds. Seventh Generation. What do these all have in common? They are Certified B Corporations, led by the B Lab, a non-profit organization. It is a certification for businesses to reach higher standards and expectations through transparency in social and environmental performance. I explored the impacts of Certified B Corps and whether sustainability & ethical transparency will become an influential factor for the future of retail. It studies who will be affected and who are the key players to make this become a successfully adopted innovation.

Skills:  Design Thinking, Futures Thinking, Open Innovation

THE CHALLENGE

Choose an innovation and explore its impact in three modules:

1. Diffusion Innovation Report - The Present: Establish a common ground and shared language for communicating and understanding how your innovation is perceived and spread within a social system. Is it an innovation and how is it innovative?

2. Legacy Map - The Past: Investigate the origins and roots of your innovation and what type of strategies individuals, corporate and public organizations, and institutions have progressively adopted it overtime.

3. Design Fiction - The Future: Envision how your innovation may evolve into the future and its long-term consequences on society, whether it be positive or negative.

APPROACH

Diffusion Innovation Report - The Present:

The innovation I originally chose was the Certified B Corporation.  I approached the research from a B2B and B2C-facing standpoint which gave me unique perspectives of the certification.

Hypothesis: B Corps are a productive innovation for businesses and consumers. In the rise of the so-called “socially conscious” movement, why haven’t businesses and consumers adopted this idea if it is better for society? Early adopter businesses would have a competitive leverage because they have a stronger foundation of morals and values, are conscious about the future, and understand the consumer shifting demands that led to the certification.

Legacy Map - The Past:

I took a step back to look at the larger space that B Corp occupied. I dug into the historical roots of corporate social responsibility and how B Corps have played a role in shifting its narrative.

Design Fiction - The Future:

Based on my insights from the previous two modules, I went the extreme route and envisioned a future asking, “What would a mandatory B Corp in a capitalist world look like?” It is 2030 and climate change has taken over and the government is rushing to find too-late quick solutions in deteriorating Earth (wow, very dark).

PROCESS

Diffusion Innovation Report - The Present:

This module focused on primary research fieldwork. Six design research methodologies focused on consumer and business behavior including:

• Instagram surveys

• Interviews with Laggard and Early Adopter companies

• Cultural Probe

• On-site observations comparing Athleta (Certified B Corp) vs Lululemon (Non-B Corp)

• A/B testing

Legacy Map - The Past:

This module focused on our secondary research. I discovered how deeply academia-based CSR actually is. There are many books, academic journals, and articles written by professors and scholars who created this phenomenon we know today. CSR was not just invented from the goodness of hearts from companies, it was crafted by these pioneers as a highly technical, intellectual business strategy.

Click here to view my Legacy Map citations

Design Fiction - The Future:

I began by writing a futures narrative and what extreme “innovative” product would derive from that world. Why don’t we appeal to the human emotion through manipulation? What if we threw price and ease out of the window? Imagine a world where consumers were forced to choose better. I then design a mock-up of my design fiction innovation.

INSIGHTS

Diffusion Innovation Report - The Present:

• My hypothesis was wrong: I do not believe the Certified B Corporation is an innovation now but an innovation for the future. Consumers and businesses are simply trying to survive living in a capitalistic society centered around profit. Competition and socio-economic factors are the true drivers of consumption for millennials & Gen Z consumers.

• The companies that are unwilling to change its entire business model to become certified are not necessarily immoral, but face the risk of profit and do not want to face bankruptcy if business turns.

• B Corps are preset for companies and consumers who can afford it; targeted towards a specific demographic, limited accessibility to all. The lack of education and awareness concerning this topic is another reason why B Corp stifles its potential to be adopted. 

Legacy Map - The Past:

• Overtime, there have been spikes of increasing awareness or demand depending on the landscape of the economy. 

• Corporations who have the funds to support CSR view it as a brief trend that is not as high priority compared to other areas within a business.

• Company’s unethical treatment or did not meet the demands of their consumers. The larger population saw what the top 1% corporates did not. They have pushed companies to be more innovative in this regard.

Design Fiction - The Future:

• Climate change and human rights should not be a political issue to begin with. If companies don’t actively take part in the change, then the system will eventually force us to in the most severe circumstances.

• Although the government indirectly controls our purchasing decisions now, it would be interesting to see how people react when the government directly controls our decisions. 

• If consumers aren’t willing to shop at B Corps, the idea of B Corps will sooner or later be required due to the environmental impacts we caused. Imagine a future where not choosing the right option will come back to haunt us.