Ivalua study shows how CSR is still good for business

Ivalua, a leading global spend management cloud provider, has announced the results of a commissioned study conducted on its behalf by Forrester Research.

Procurement technology company Ivalua is headquartered in California, USA, and has a revenue of $91mn. Forrester offers research and consulting to help leaders in business and technology. Forrester is based in Massachusetts, USA, and has a revenue of $461mn. 

The results show that it has paid off for companies to prioritise corporate social responsibility initiatives as part of their core business strategies. 

As consumers increasingly choose brands based on CSR values, 69% of respondents report that their organisations have generated increased sales as a result of CSR initiatives.

CSR is no longer a tradeoff, it pays off

Forrester conducted an online survey of 467 business decision-makers from organisations across the globe to evaluate how organisations are tackling corporate social responsibility. Survey participants included decision-makers in procurement in various industries, including:

• CPG
• Finance
• Telecommunications
• Technology
• Manufacturing and automotive. 

The study began in March 2021 and was completed in August 2021. It focused on evaluating the initiatives, approaches, challenges, and effective strategies global business leaders are taking to improve their CSR performance.

The results shed light on the role of supply chain operations in overcoming the challenges that emerge - after all, how businesses spend their money can help make the world better. 

The study also reveals actionable insights for businesses looking to improve CSR results. 

Here are some of the stand out findings:

• 69% of respondents reported that their organisations saw increased sales as a result of CSR initiatives
• Unsurprisingly, sustainability is the top priority, with 67% of respondents actively measuring CSR performance
• Only 33% have defined official sustainable policies and targets. Social and ethical priorities are close behind but still lag
• 35% of respondents are lacking systems to enable effective, scalable collaboration to empower supply-chain partners in support of their CSR strategies and policies

Challenges persist for CSR, but leaders are determined 

One of the main challenges that is holding organisations back,is the inability to effectively assess individual supplier CSR performance and measure supply chain performance. This is followed by a lack of systems to enable effective, scalable collaboration. 

The most effective strategy for improving sustainability was providing suppliers with more flexibility in how they meet requirements, followed by digitising supplier collaboration.

“We believe the study has reinforced the importance of CSR to business results and how much further most businesses have to go”, said David Khuat-Duy, Founder & CEO of Ivalua. “Those looking to accelerate their CSR initiatives should learn from the leaders and empower procurement teams and suppliers with the technology needed to support effective decision-making and scalable collaboration.”