What is a Corporate Social Responsibility Report and How Should You Share it?

As consumer demand for corporate transparency and responsibility continues to rise, companies have responded with a variety of reporting strategies to share their impact with customers, employees and investors. One way for companies to communicate this information is through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting, sometimes also referred to as Corporate Sustainability Reporting.

CSR reports are documents that outline the social and environmental impact of a business, often organized into four main categories—environmental, ethical, philanthropic and economic. These documents serve as a framework to measure and report company performance against long- and short-term goals in a digestible format for internal and external stakeholders.

In some countries CSR reporting is mandatory and follows a standard outline. Although there are currently no standards or regulations for CSR reports in the US, 92% of S&P 500 companies published one in 2020.

How to create a Corporate Social Responsibility report

Since there are no set rules for CSR reporting in the US, companies have the flexibility to report what makes the most sense for their business. Typically, corporations use their ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) or GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) models to generate the outline and expand as they see fit. No matter which sustainability framework your company aligns with, the main body of the document serves to inform the audience of company goals related to societal and environmental impact, and report on progress.

For example, a CSR report outline may look something like this:

• Letter from the CEO
• Company values & messaging
• Company statistics, locations & leadership
• Summary of your CSR approach
• How it aligns with ESG guidelines
• Key goals and performance metrics
• Outlook for the future

How to share your CSR report

Once you’ve gathered your data and crafted an easy-to-read report, it’s time to share your hard work with stakeholders. Some companies choose to print them, some go fully digital and others choose a combination of the two. Your audience will likely have different preferences for reading the report, so we recommend producing both a digital-native version and a tangible printed copy. As full reports can get quite lengthy (some over 100 pages), it can also be helpful to provide a summary version, which sums up the highlights of your report into a skimmable booklet.

CSR sharing options:

• Publish a CSR section as part of your annual report or company newsletter
• Print a postcard or brochure with your CSR highlights, include instructions for how to access the full report online
• Use transpromo marketing in your transactional mail to highlight CSR initiatives with a QR code or custom link leading to the digital report
• Announce your CSR report with a direct mail campaign, use a QR code to lead recipients to a landing page with a summary of results and the full digital report download

How can Preferred Direct help

Whether you choose to publish your Corporate Social Responsibility results in an annual report, company newsletter, or a direct mail campaign, you can trust us as your premium print partner to get the job done. Contact the Preferred Direct team to learn more about our design, print and distribution capabilities and get started with your CSR report today!

Elevate Your Postcard Campaign with Specialty Print Effects

Postcards can be a powerful, direct marketing tool, but standing out in a crowded mailbox requires more than just great design. Adding specialty print effects to your postcards can transform your direct mail campaign into a high-end, tactile experience that converts.

Preferred Direct offers a variety of specialty print finishes that can add a premium feel to your direct mail postcard campaigns. Let’s take a look at some of the options available to enhance your next print campaign.

Metallic Inks – The Budget-Friendly Option to Foiling

Metallic inks contain reflective particles that mimic the look of foil without the need for expensive substrates or foil stamping methods.

These shimmering inks can enhance your premium postcard campaigns, providing an upscale, polished look. We suggest pairing metallic inks with rich, jewel-toned colors like navy, burgundy or black. It helps the metallic effect POP off the background and creates a more luxury feel.

Design inspiration:

• High-end product promotions (jewelry, luxury fashion, automotive)
• Elegant event invitations or VIP offers
• Exclusive club memberships and premium service announcements

Fluorescent Inks – A Bright Way to Catch Attention

Fluorescent inks are formulated with specialized pigments, which absorb and emit UV light to provide a glowing, neon effect.

We suggest using these inks sparingly to draw the viewers’ eyes to important information or call-to-actions (CTA’s). These bright colors are especially useful for sales advertisements or limited time offers and can give the appearance of a personalized, hand-written postcard.

Design inspiration:

• Limited-edition or limited time offers for dealerships and realtors
• High-end fitness or beauty brands with a vibrant, energetic brand voice
• Informational finance and legal postcards for clients

Tactile Coatings – A Touch of Luxury

Tactile coatings provide a textured finish to a print surface, such as soft touch coatings, grit coatings, matte varnish, embossing, and more. The most popular option is soft-touch, which creates a velvety feel across the postcard.

Add this as a flood coating to stand out immediately when recipients handle their mail pieces or add as a spot coating to draw attention to details like car leather.

Design inspiration:

• Luxury fashion, cosmetics, and high-end electronics
• Premium real estate listings
• Special event invitations

Specialty Coatings – Add Contrast and Shine

Specialty coatings are used to give visual interest to printed pieces. Popular choices include high-gloss and matte, used alone or together to create visual depth in high contrast designs.

Our favorite approach to specialty coating is giving rich, vibrant images a boost with gloss coatings and create a striking contrast with a super matte coating in non-image areas. This will add a sheen over key visuals to grab attention, while leaving the key text areas easy to read.

Design inspiration:

• Premium travel and hospitality promotions
• Upscale real estate and interior design showcases
• Gourmet food and beverage branding

A successful direct mail campaign starts with reaching your audience, but the real success lies in capturing their attention and inspiring action. Specialty print effects are a great way to add memorable details that elevate your postcards and improve your campaign ROI. Preferred Direct is proud to have recently installed a new HP Digital Press capable of running high-end, specialty printing inks and coatings for your next luxury campaign. Contact our team today for expert advice on your next campaign and explore our specialty print and postcard options.