Strategic America Achieving Excellence through CSR

As you think about corporate social responsibility, it seems like a giant concept. Where do you start? What projects should you focus on? I had the privilege to talk with Lisa Holtorf from StrategicAmerica, based out of West Des Moines, Iowa, to discuss how Strategic America integrates social responsibility. Strategic America (SA) is a full-service, integrated marketing firm striving in CSR excellence.
 

Strategic America has broken down –its socially responsible practices into 3 parts.

1. responSAbility
2. WELLworks
3. commUnity 

responSAbility: Represents Strategic America’s long-term commitment to sustainability. This calendar year SA has saved 91.3 trees through recycling methods. All office paper is shredded and paper products purchased for the office, such as paper towels, are mostly made out of recycled content. Looking for a way to go green for the holidays? Strategic America holds a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner and asks all associates to bring their own silverware and plates to avoid using paper plates and plastic silverware. 

WELLworks: Wellness is another part of Strategic America's corporate social responsibility initiative. With this initiative associates have the opportunity to earn wellness points for healthy activities such as exercising, water intake, and eating fruits and vegetables. Associates also have the opportunity to go through a health screening every year to earn wellness points. Through the wellness program, the number of points associates earn determines their financial wellness benefit which can be applied to wellness and medical expenses. The more an associate is engaged in healthy activities, the more points they can earn. WELLworks serves as a financial and health benefit for all associates and is an initiative to promote a healthier, happier workforce.

commUnity: Strategic America doesn't just stop at implementing socially responsible practices internally, they get involved in the community. For the past 10 years, Strategic America has had 100% participation in United Way. The creative team designs a bra entry for Bras for the Cause, a volunteer-based organization raising funds to eradicate breast and cervical cancer. They also do pro bono work for more than a dozen non-profit organizations each year. 

I asked Lisa what incentives Strategic America offers associates to engage in socially responsible practices outside of the WELLworks point system. Lisa stressed how participation is truly embedded in the Strategic America culture, stating "It’s not about incentives, it’s about finding a better way, it’s about doing the right thing, it’s a part of who we are".

As you can see, there are numerous ways to get started or improve your company's CSR practices. Start off small and eventually you will be able to implement many different types of corporate social responsibility like Strategic America has done.