In an era of political and economic uncertainty, corporate social responsibility (CSR) leaders face heightened scrutiny to justify their budgets while demonstrating impact. The silver lining? This is also an opportunity to innovate, align more deeply with business goals, and position your program as a critical driver of long-term value.

Here are the strategies top CSR leaders are using to not only maintain but also grow their programs and budgets in 2025.

1. Pause and Re-Align Your CSR Strategy with Business Strategy

In recent years, corporate CSR and ESG efforts have become more diversified and confusing than ever. 2025 is the year to bring focus and clarity to this strategy.

Before diving into tactics, take a moment to assess your program’s alignment with your company’s overarching business strategy. The following prompts can help you align on new opportunities:

1. What is your company’s primary business objective in the coming 3 years?

2. What are the burning priorities of your executive team?

3. How is your company recruiting and engaging employees in this pursuit?

4. What external partnerships are needed to achieve these goals?

5. How can your team help support the business, company leaders, employees, and strategic partners?

One of our tech clients, for example, has decided to focus its CSR efforts towards supporting innovative and environmentally-driven startups. Why? Because supporting these startups advances core business objectives -- by building future customers, creating partnerships in new markets, and providing valuable insights to improve the company’s own core technology. By grounding your program in your company’s priorities, you position it as indispensable, even during budget discussions or when executives retire.

2. Audit Your Assets: What Can Your Company Uniquely Contribute?

CSR initiatives disconnected from your company’s core competencies are more vulnerable to cuts. Too often, companies have languishing programs because they did not answer the question: “How are we uniquely positioned to support social good?” A good way to arrive at an answer – and generate alignment in the process – is to to the following:

1. Conduct an audit to understand how your company’s products/services, resources, and people can uniquely contribute to sustainability and equity that is in-line with the strategy discussed above.

2. Have a series of conversations with key influencers across your company to brainstorm ways that your company can create impact in ways that no other company can.

3. Find potential champions amongst leadership, and ask them for helping building a business case for programs that operate at the intersection of business strategy and your company’s assets.

Consider this example: A professional consulting firm specializing in B2B tech once supported military veterans—an admirable cause, but it didn’t align with the company’s strategy or expertise. The company also tried to “check off the basics” with earth day campaigns and fundraising initiatives for every disaster. This left them with no time to build anything truly unique. When the company’s business leadership had to shift funding during hard times, it’s mix of CSR initiatives previously catered to a CEO’s pet project were cut, and the CSR team was downsized. 

3. Propose Programs That Align with Business Imperatives

If your company has a sound strategy for the coming years, it has likely launched strategic business initiatives to achieve its aspirations. These initiatives could be things like opening new offices in new geographies to support sales, investing in more technology to fuel AI-driven innovation, managing huge-upskilling initiatives for staff, or other priorities that have CEO-level visibility and focus.

Your CSR initiatives will get more visibility – and funding – if they are seen as supportive of the company’s long-term strategy AND these short-term initiatives. 

As an example, in EY’s 2024 CSR report, you can see that talent recruitment and upskilling is a major priority to support EY’s growth and impact ambitions. CSR initiatives put funding, programs, and employee volunteers in support of developing youth in ways that are directly in-line with both societal needs and its own hiring goals.

4. Develop a Business Case Using the Right Data

Data is your secret weapon in justifying—and growing—your budget. CSR programs are proven to build bottom-line benefits in at least 5 categories that executives care about:

1. Business model innovation

2. Recruiting and engaging top talent

3. Improving regulatory and governmental relations

4. Strengthening strategic partnerships

5. Opening up new markets

Once you have the proposal for the right programs that align with long-term strategy and short-term initiatives, you’ll need to strengthen your case. There is a plethora of data out there, so find the data points that will appeal to your executives and help tell the story of how your programs are good for society AND the business.

Tip: AI can help you uncover compelling data points from your industry and amongst competitors. For example, studies show that skills-based volunteering boosts employee mental health, engagement, leadership development, and even sales. You can use this prompt in a tool like perplexity.ai to find actual data points (not AI hallucinations): “My company specializes in [core assets]. Our long-term strategy is _______. Our highest priority initiatives this year are related to _______. I am looking to build a business case for our executive team to grow a couple specific CSR Programs, including _________. My executives will care the most about _______. Can you help find data points that will demonstrate the business value in investing in these specific CSR initiatives this year?” 

5. Partner Across Business Units for Greater Impact

Collaboration across departments not only strengthens your programs but also garners additional resources and advocates. Look for shared goals: as an example, if your program supports sales, partner with your Chief Revenue Officer or marketing team. Or, if your initiatives drive innovation, collaborate with product or business development teams.

These partnerships not only amplify your impact but also help secure buy-in from influential stakeholders. As an example, the CSR leader at one of our corporate partners has internal partnerships with HR, Sales, Leadership Development, and Tech units who expose their employees to skills-based volunteering programs because they see how it helps their employees remain customer centric and become more innovative.

6. Be Bold: Don’t Hide During Uncertain Times

Fear of backlash can lead to paralysis—but inaction is the greatest risk of all. As Desmond Tutu said: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” It can feel daunting to put yourself out there during a time where it seems like many initiatives are being pulled back. But take a look at our CSR Trends for 2025 – the initiatives getting cut are mainly the greenwashing and impact-light programs of yesteryear. Employees, consumers, governments, and investors are rewarding strategically aligned impact programs, so don’t let the media fool you into thinking CSR and ESG is dead. Now is the time to act – your executives do not know how to communicate social impact during this era, and you are the key to a very real pain point.

One consumer beverage company pulled back from all CSR initiatives in the U.S. due to fear of cultural backlash. The result? Programs stagnated, and the team became expendable. Great employees left, and previous beneficiaries were abandoned. On the flip side, companies that take bold, values-driven action are earning loyalty and driving meaningful impact.

7. Stay Human-Centric

At the heart of every successful CSR initiative are the people it serves. Take time to engage your employees: interview them, observe grassroots efforts, and identify what truly excites them. Programs that employees love and that align with business goals will make your team indispensable.

A Path Forward for CSR Leaders

The road ahead isn’t without challenges, but it’s also filled with opportunities. By aligning with business strategy, leveraging your unique assets, and building cross-functional partnerships, you can position your CSR program as an engine of impact and innovation. As we explained in our 2025 CSR Trends article, the most successful CSR leaders will be those who step forward with bold ideas, strategic alignment, and a commitment to meaningful change. The question isn’t whether you can grow your program—it’s how you’ll lead the charge.