Consumers expect the companies from which they buy products to not only maintain detailed policies that explore their commitments to corporate social responsibility, but also to fulfill the values they express. Sometimes businesses let their customers down, but Porsche has consistently upheld their devotion to social responsibility at every turn.
Maintaining Quality and Precision Along With Sustainable Practices
Porsche believes that sustainable practices and materials are integral to corporate social responsibility. However, the company also maintains strict standards for commercial viability and quality craftsmanship. It marries the two values by finding ways to achieve their commercial and engineering goals while still protecting the environment and using the most responsible materials possible.
For instance, Porsche approaches corporate social responsibility by implementing lightweight materials in their vehicle designs. When materials weigh less, the vehicle requires less power to propel it up a mountain or down the highway. By downsizing vehicles and finding new materials for manufacturing, the company hopes to reduce their products’ impact on the environment as much as possible.
Supporting Communities and the People Within Them
In addition to product-related responsibility, Porsche also takes seriously its commitment to the communities it serves. Whether the causes are domestic or international, the company has supported several programs and initiatives that make lives better and provide renewed opportunities for children and adults alike.
For instance, Porsche has supported both leisure and professional sports, from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany to the Basketball Academy (BBA) in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Porsche also commits itself to social involvement, helping kids develop their skills in technology and engineering.
Porsche’s sponsorship range from ballet troupes to world-famous orchestras. Each sponsorship allows professionals in the arts, sports, and other sectors to spread their gifts to the rest of the world and to continue to practice what they do best.
Issuing Annual Sustainability Reports
It’s not necessarily enough to claim one’s commitment to sustainable efforts in engineering and manufacturing. Porsche seems to recognize this and has created an annual sustainability report that describes its efforts in terms of environmental protection and publishes the results of those efforts.
Porsche models its sustainability report after the standards issued by the Global Reporting Initiative, or GRI. The GRI gives Porsche’s report an A+ rating, which should build consumer confidence as well as set incredible standards for other automakers around the globe. Each report covers numerous facets of the business, from customers and the community to employees and product responsibility.
Devoting Time to Sustainability From the Top Down
Porsche doesn’t relegate the issue of sustainability to the factory floor or to the marketing department. Its C-suite executives are charged with ensuring that every arm of the company maintains corporate standards and keeps its departments accountable. Additionally, the C-suite and managers routinely initiate dialogues with stakeholders to ensure that everyone remains on the same page.
In fact, Porsche creates a stakeholder survey that it includes in its sustainability report. The company wants to know how much its stakeholders value sustainability and what stakeholders want the company to do to reach its environmental-related goals.
Contributing Cash to Research and Development
Some of the best companies in the world have robust research and development departments that continuously search for new solutions to old problems, often with sustainability and environmental consciousness at the core of those initiatives. Porsche is no exception. The first category on its sustainability report—business and customers—outlines the company’s expectations for research and development.
Essentially, the company wants to protect its place in the hierarchy of technology leadership and to maintain trust among its customers. Therefore, it authorizes high expenditures in the research and development arena. This leads to increased results for every initiative under its belt.
Increasing Energy Efficiency Across the Board
One of Porsche’s most important values is its devotion to energy efficiency. Porsche aspires to increase the efficiency of each car model by at least 20 percent. Essentially, this means that the end of each product’s life cycle inspires a new product that requires less energy to accomplish the same goal.
Porsche also attempts to reduce energy usage in its factories and other properties. If it uses less energy to conceive and create vehicles, those cars are part of a sustainable business model that will protect the environment.
While some companies might shirk these values, Porsche puts its energy into preserving corporate social responsibility at every turn. This allows customers to feel more comfortable when they buy Porsche products, whether they’re shopping for a sporty coupe or a breezy convertible.