The Five Key Points Underlining Social Responsibility And A Unique Sporting Example

Michel Cutait of World Obstacle provides a further look into CSR by noting down the five key points and talking through an example he has experienced during his current time with the international federation.

There is a lot of discussion about social responsibility as a necessary objective for all organizations, whether profit or non-profit, to play a more relevant role in society. 

More than just giving back to society the advantages and benefits generated by their activities, social responsibility corresponds to an ethical principle that should be one of the essential values for building a better society, besides contributing to the achievement of social welfare, dignity, and peace in the last instance. 

How to understand the concept of social responsibility in the world of sports, and more than that, how to materialize this value through sports events? 

“When thinking about a traditional sporting event, the applicability of social responsibility seems more like a nice word than a true purpose in itself.”

Obviously, any sports organization can develop specific projects that address social responsibility, but when thinking about a traditional sporting event, with games, competitions, athletes, and spectators, the applicability of social responsibility seems more like a nice word than a true purpose in itself. 

According to the most contemporary understanding, social responsibility is manifested through five dimensions, in other words, aspects that define its scope and potential:

• Firstly, the economic dimension implies an organization’s responsibility to fulfil their economic role, whether generating revenues in a large way, as well as providing profit to investors, but also ensuring that their activities are sustainable in the long term, mitigating risks and offering the necessary security to workers, investors, and society. 

• The social dimension aims to ensure that organizations play a social function, that is, they should consider the impacts of their activities on society, in such a way that they can provide benefits that contribute for developing a better society.

• Third, the environmental dimension involves the responsibility of organizations towards the environment, ensuring that their activities do not generate damages, losses and liabilities, mainly to protect the natural elements such as flora, fauna, air, water and land, besides practicing measures that intend to save energy, control waste and reduce the exploitation of non-renewable resources, among other environmental impacts. 

“It is not easy to materialize all these dimensions among all the obligations, duties, and responsibilities that organizations need to comply as a result of their activities.”

• The stakeholder dimension matches the need for organizations to seek a balanced and mitigated conflict between stakeholders, to prevent all forms of unethical behavior that can harm some to the detriment of others, and to ensure that the relationship between them remains positive, collaborative, and focused on the common purpose for the benefit of everyone. 

• Finally, the voluntariness dimension is related to an organization’s decision to provide advantages and benefits to society without any other counterpart, interest or financial purpose, often characterized by actions of philanthropy to support people, communities and society in general through projects, programs and initiatives that offer direct benefits to the recipients. 

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