From starting a café to establishing a sustainable business

Details: Running a café

Photo by Foundry Co on Pixabay

Whenever you have established your café or any other SME then it is not the time to rest and enjoy the profits. It is the entrepreneur who has

to observe the market developments continuously,
to assure a permanent quality level,
to take the corporate social responsibility.

Implementing the concept of corporate social responsibility in your daily will support your café in becoming a sustainable player on the market.

Task

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Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been defined by the European Commission as the responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society. The relevant CSR subjects are Human rights, Labour practices, The environment, Fair operating practices, Consumer Issues and Community involvement and development. CSR provides substantial benefits for enterprises such as cost savings, customer relationship, HR management and sustainability of operations. (https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/sustainability/corporate-social-responsibility_en)

Find out the benefits for your café!

Process

CSR is often related only with big companies. However, it is essential to understand that the social responsibility – which includes the responsibility for the environment and the climate – is a task for everyone. For that reason, your café is also relevant for contributing to ideas of CSR.

Go to the resources section and find the document called ‘Process’. It includes a step-by-step instruction, how to find suitable ideas for your café! It will guide through the development of your sustainable business. Finally, you will implement one new idea in your daily work.

Find even more inspiration on the topic in the sections Links and Videos.

Conclusion

Implementing new ideas on CSR in your café will support your business developments: The café will be better prepared to future challenges such as new legislations. Your staff will be committed to your enterprise, so you will be able to avoid high fluctuation of employees or sickness rates. The café will attract new consumers and involve the community – and for that reason make profits on the long run.

Good luck with running your own café!

Learning Outcomes

Competence Area 1: IDEAS & OPPORTUNITIES

1.16) I can identify practices that are not sustainable and their implications for the environment.

Competence Area 2: RESOURCES

2.19) I can persuade others by providing evidence for my arguments.

Competence Area 3: INTO ACTION

3.7) I can prioritise the basic steps in a value-creating activity.
3.12) I can critically evaluate the risks associated with an idea that creates value, taking into account a variety of factors.
3.19) I can reflect on failures (mine and other people’s), identify their causes and learn from them.

Ethical & Sustainable Thinking Mobilising Others Planning & Management Coping with Uncertainty, Ambiguity & Risk Learning through Experience