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February 16, 2023 | Report
Public and private companies alike invest significant resources in philanthropic and other corporate citizenship initiatives, including $14 billion in reported charitable contributions by the S&P 500 in 2021.[1] Increasingly, companies collect data to understand and report on their societal impact. Yet, many of the same organizations do not fully measure or report on the impact their citizenship efforts have on the company’s bottom line. While citizenship programs can create lasting societal impact, they also represent significant (and discretionary) capital investment. As CEOs and senior leaders navigate economic uncertainty in 2023 and beyond, it is important to assess how citizenship initiatives are generating a return on investment and tangibly increasing firm value.
[1] Data on the S&P 500’s charitable contributions was pulled from The Conference Board’s ESG Advantage benchmarking tool, focusing on human capital and social practices benchmarking for disclosure year 2021.
