Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability: “A Review of Google LLC CSR Initiatives, Barriers and Steps Taken for Accomplishment”(Volume II)

Introduction

The Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) is the organizational plans and policies which are context-specific that considers the stakeholder's expectation and the triple bottom domains (economic, environmental and social) (Feng, Wang, & Kreuze, 2017). In layman terms, it is the process of giving back to the society by the organization. Though diverse school of thoughts for and against the CSR prevails, in the recent corporate environment most of the business entities are amalgamating CSR into their methodologies. This paper is objectified to analyze the CSR initiative of Google LLC, the methodologies incorporated to make it sustainable, the action undertaken to make it happen and barriers that came across their implementations.

Discussion

Initiated 20 years back by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google LLC is stationed corporately at Mountain View, California. As echoed by Jack Ma, a founder of Alibaba Group at World Economic Forum, 2018 “Data is the power”, Google has also concretized its overall operations on those global data that it gets, so called the “Big Data”. But Yannis Varoufakis, former finance minister of Greece has argued, Google is building its data repository(capital) in the social inputs that we add, each time we use the Google globally (Dennis, 2017). Hence, it would not be wrong to except global CSR initiatives from the company.

            It could not be denied, Google has always been awesome when it comes about CSR and its sustainability approaches. A paradigm shift can be observed, (McPherson, 2017) states companies are undertaking newer initiative on CSR, basically the global behemoths are breaking down the organizational wall and advocating for global solutions around the issues like poverty, illiteracy, climate change, human rights et cetera. Rhetorically, hyper-competition has not only made the product and services outdated, unequivocally, CSR initiatives are also being obsolescent. CSR is not only about philanthropy, but these school of thought is also replaced. Each time, the companies must think beyond the box, invoking and initiating newer approaches to CSR and its sustainability.

Timeline retrospection of Google CSR activities

            Google LLC is well positioned in the global arena when it comes to handling its employee, the perks and benefits packages, the energy efficient operational activities and the profitability, these alignments of company aligns with Milton Friedman concept of CSR for profitability (Thiel, 2016). Now, Google is moving beyond the silver lining where the companies used to be euphoric for stock price and earning per share. Google is analyzing, practicing, learning, collaborating and cooperating numerous CSR initiatives which juxtapose the essence of “Trippel Bottom Theory” and “The Stakeholder Theory”.

A global vocalist of circular economy and contractor of green energy.

An equally important domain of CSR and sustainability is environment, Google has been carbon neutral since 2007. The Reputation Institute, pioneering in Reputational Intelligence(RI) grades the global companies on the basis of workplace, citizenship, and governance. Google ranked the first position with the score of 75.4 (Miceli, 2015). Google has committed more than $ 1billion for renewable energies and it claims, its data center only uses 50% of the energy in comparison to other data centers. These not only promotes environment but also reduces the operational expenses of the company.

Google is shifting from linear to the circular economy (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015), its initiative to focus on reuse, recycle, remanufacturing and refurbishing is acknowledgeable. In 2017, the company diverted 91% of waste from the global data center operations away from landfills (Google, 2018). Similarly, as per the report, the Google is world largest purchaser of renewable energies, totaling of 3 GW, it has incentivized local communities and government to invest in renewal energies ultimately leading to develop ancillary industries and helping create hundreds and thousands of jobs. These activities of Google emphasizes the environmental domain of “Trippel Bottom Line” theory.

Google on the social progress:

The company through its “Google.org”, a charitable sister concern of Google is working with Pratham Books since 2013 in India. Total funding made till date is $3.85 million. The Project entitled “Pratham Books’ StoryWeaver” is an open source technology where openly licensed stories are translated into the native language making it easier for the students, guardian, and teacher to read. India is culturally diversified; the books are not published in all the local language and also people can’t afford to purchase the books. The project aims of having more than 500,000 active users(Google.org), these will help to cope with higher illiteracy rate prevailed in margined area of populated India.

Another overwhelming project is “Learning Equality”, which helps in taking the digital content offline for the students without the internet. The “Kolibri Platform” organizes the content in the cloud-based library, which can be downloaded and used offline. The project began in 2016, till date the company has supported $7.3 million. The project covers India, Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa. These endeavor of Google stresses in social wellbeing, socio-economic dimension of CSR and Sustainability. 

Google on inclusiveness and equality

Data is the human nature, it’s a power for decision making throughout the continuum. Google supports organization that uses data science and innovative new approach to understand inclusion and justice for all. In America, 1 in 3 black American can expect to be imprisoned in their lifetime (Knafo, 2013) which is also stated in the Google’s website. Center for Policing Equity(CPE) projects empower the law enforcement agencies with data and tools to improve relation with communities they serve and track the national statistics on police behavior against the public. The project began in 2016 and has invested $5000,000 till date, these project intensified Google’s principle of enhancing and supporting social responsiveness and transparency.

Responding in crises

The application like Google Person Finder has helped to track and find people in the time of disasters. As per the Google.org, in an average, a refugee spends 17 years in exile. Since 2015, the company has invested more than $20 million in grants supporting innovative solutions to support refugees.  It includes giving refugee access to connectivity and devices, building mobile platform to provide refugee with reliable information, deploying portable media kits with educational contents for refugee students.

“Project Loon” is Googles internet connectivity through the balloon project. Its success will make the internet available to the most remote and difficult terrains where the traditional optical fibers would not reach. Numerically, still, 4 billion peoples are away from the internet from internet accessibility. 

Progressing to make workforce more diversified

            Though sexism and racism never had happened in Google, it has been hard for the internet behemoth to reduce the gender gap. Still, majority of the higher positions of the organization charts are occupied by males. “Thomas Returns” a Canadian Mass media company created the diversity and inclusion(D&I) Index, the company stated diverse companies are more innovative and productive and has better financial returns but ironically, the Google was not able to be within the top 25 of the index (Mc Girt, 2017). But still, the company is constantly working to make the workforce more diversified, as per Google diversity report 2018, 30.9% of the workforce is female and 69.1% male similarly, 74.5% of leadership representation is occupied by male and 25.5% by female.

Google on environmentalism

The company has signed 2.5 gigawatts of wind and solar energy worldwide and its investing $2.5 billion in renewal energy (Wang, 2016). Working in an integrative manner is the essence of Google working methodology. The company most of the time coordinates and collaborates with other firms and industries to produce innovative and social uplifting products and services. “Prediction” reduces the carbon emission, it is an application developed by Google which will help automobiles determine where we are driving. Google satellite services provide the information to the indigenous tribes about deforestation so that they can tackle the issue.

                                      Sustainability of Google CSR initiatives

Deloitte, multinational consulting firm states sustainably is the responsibility for the impact the firm exerts on surrounding, environment, business, and social terms. Similarly, as per Burtland Commission Report sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs (Delai & Takahashi, 2011). We can infer that sustainability is consuming the resources in the responsible manner so that it will positively impact the upcoming progeny or generations.

Googles’ sustainability is based on the smart use of the scarce earth’s resources. Rather its CSR initiatives are related to environments, social or economic dimensions, they are functioning in an optimistic manner. Since 2007, Google has spent more than Euro 3.2 billion to build and operate four data centers in Europe. As Google grows, its communities also grow, it comes with added jobs to the community which enhances the standard of living. Since 2017, its global operations are operated by 100 percent renewal energies (Google, 2018). The circularity through reuse, recycle, refurbished and remanufacturing has supported the Google to prolong the life and use of the products. As per Google sustainability report, 2016, 22% of components Google used were refurbished, 36% were remanufactured and as per Google Sustainability report, 2018 18% of the servers were remanufactured, 2.1 million components were sold in the secondary market.

The used of heighten level of technologies like artificial intelligence(AI), Block Chain along with the pool of big data has helped Google to go beyond its internet business. The company is collaborating, cooperating and coordinating with any local, regional, NGO’s, INGO’s and government to come across positive social impacts. Google Maps provided 1 billion km of transit results per day help liming the carbon emission by helping drivers get the most optimum route. The report further states, the Google data center in Europe has supported economic activity worth Euro 490 million per year in their GDP.

The incorporation of the circular economic model has intensified the use and reuse of technical and biological resources, the same way socio-economic progress in the rural communities of underprivileged through Google supports can be seen. The above-mentioned projects like “Pratham Books’ StoryWeaver”, “Learning Equality” and “Center for Policing Equity(CPE)” has brought social welfare. In overall, all CSR initiatives have brought social, economic and environmental augmentation in a sustainable manner.

Immediate action required to implement initiatives

CSR requires action so that the formulated plans can be implemented well.  CSR budgeting is an evidence-based planning, it helps the organization to have prior plans, procedures, and strategies to implement CSR initiatives. The company should not attempt to solve all the issues in diversified sector all at a once. It has to be systemic and progressive and should be feedback read loop.

As per Google environmental report (2018) it has envisioned its priorities and incorporated environmental accountability into its corporate philosophies, the company is designing energy efficient data centers, providing sustainable workplaces, empowering users with technology, managing water stewardship, embedding circular economy and engaging the supply chain on human rights and safety and environment concerns.

 Defining the message, properly setting the target area, assessing the resources and expertise accounts for the success of CSR initiatives (Bamford, 2017). After reviewing numerous literature review and article published in McKinsely Quartely(2009), below are some of the actions required to carry CSR in well-planned manner.

Define your messaging and map CSR initiatives

Google CSR initiatives focus on the sustainability. It has clearly given a message to its stakeholder about its CSR actions. It helps to define the target scope and anticipate outcome. Google focuses on environmentalism, inclusiveness, sustainability, and equality.

Set the target area

              Setting the target helps to capitalize the resources in the same track. From the very beginning, Google targets in minimization of the energy consumption, substituting fossil fuels by renewal energies, refusing and recycling the materials and emphasizes the use of data and technology for prompt decision making.

Produce CSR reports

Google publishes various CSR report entitled sustainability, inclusiveness, circular economy et cetera. These report helps to create transparency and fairness in its CSR initiatives.

Coordinating with governmental and local agencies

Google advancement in Taiwan for renewal energy created new frontier depicting their commitment to alternate energies and decreasing footprints. The Taiwanese government amended its Electricity Act to allow the direct purchase of renewable energies from the producer

Nevertheless, human bias often happens, it can be within and out of the company, it hampers the CSR initiatives. Google conducts Unconscious Bias workshops to all “” Noogler (new Googler) to inform them the negative impact of biases. 84% of the Google’s people manager has taken unconscious bias training (Google, 2018). It has also carried series of interactive lab to discuss about racial biases and impact of stereotypes. The company made the parental benefits gender-neutral so that the new parents, regardless of gender, receives up to 12 weeks of paid leave. Google is prompting more women inclusion in technical positions, Google project, “Made with Code” promotes, invests and funds to reduce the gender gap which it has been blamed for.

Except the above mentioned, Google could take following actions to implement its CSR initiatives in multi-stake dimension.

·       Regardless of any political change, the organization should remain committed to the CSR and its sustainability.

·       Behemoth like Google, Amazon, Facebook should step up across any social issues and act to solve those problems

·       Corporation should shift from corporate social responsibility to social impact

·       Focus on the transition of the company from the linear to circular economy.

·       Lastly, coordinating with INGO’s like the United Nations to achieve Sustainable Development Goal(SDG) as these companies are blessed with the diversity in financial and technical resources that other lacks. 

Barriers to CSR initiatives

(Laudal, 2011) stated the barriers to the CSR vary with regards to the stages in the transformation of the company from small to medium or multinational enterprise. The factors like the cost to benefit ratio, sensitivity to local stakeholders and public perceptions, geographical spread, and government regulation could be influencing factors. Similarly, the lack of resources and complexity in implementing CSR initiatives are also the barriers (Arevalo & Aravind,2011)

Cultural along with government regulation and policy of the host country plays the pivotal role in implementing CSR (Vimala & Kalyani, 2017), Google is not available in China, the strength scrutiny of the government in media has abandoned Google to ripe the benefit from the most populous country in the world. Not only the macro culture and political ideologies heralds as a barrier but also the sub-culture of the local community obstructs often. The conservative political culture of North Korea has made not only Google but any other companies to work and serve there.

Though CSR comes with cost in terms of money, time, energy and expertise, these internal factors have never been a problem since the company is investing billions of dollars each year in CSR and its sustainability. But humans are consciously or unconsciously biased (Thiel, 2016), these could be barriers in implementing CSR. A video where Sergey Brin, a Google co-founder expressing his discontent on Trump's victory after 2016 juxtapose his biases towards Republicans (Wakabayashi, 2018) could often polarize the organization for and against the CSR in the areas encroached by Republicans.

Adopting the CSR sometimes could not be a linear and continuous process (Pistoni, Songini, & Perrone, 2016), they are often retaliated by the impacted sector. The “Paris Climate Agreement” was an ever-taken greatest CSR initiation for claiming down greenhouse gas but it was vehemently opposed by Trump administration. Moreover, Google is the strong advocate of “Net Neutrality”, the Trump administration pushed to roll back “Net Neutrality”, which in reality is benefiting the small and medium size business to maintain their online presence.

For the company like Google, the cost has never been an issue since CSR is the circular flow of give and take which benefits all the involved stakeholders. The more the company is into the CSR, the more it innovates itself. The philosophy of sustainability, environmentalism, circularity and minimum resource utilization has helped it to innovate newer technologies like Artificial Intelligence(AI), self-driving vehicles, Augmentation and virtual realities which has enhanced the brand image and equity of the company.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The methodologies of CSR and sustainability should change with time, as per the changing economic, environmental and social preferences and privileges. Google’s approach to CSR reconciles with the “Trippel Bottom Theory” and “Stakeholder Theory”. It is more progressive, and each time company is creating new CSR to impact the social life of peoples rather be it through new technological breakthrough or philanthropy or social innovation. For the purpose, it has strategized accordingly, manage resources, fit in expertise and also collaborated with various governmental and non-governmental national and international entities. Lastly, barrier arises while formulating and implementing CSR and it could be endogenous as well as exogenous. In the case of Google, the human biases were more of internal type whereas political ideologies, cross-cultural difference fell into the external domain

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