Technology Companies coding for a brighter future

Technology Companies coding for a brighter future!

More technology companies are choosing to do environmental and social good, and they’re doing so for various reasons. For example, it helps companies define their own sense of purpose, beyond generating profits. It helps to build value and loyalty to their brand. It helps to engage their employees, build a relationship with the community, and reach their target audience.

In this day and age where revenues and profits rule, philanthropic efforts are critical to a company’s overall image, not just technology companies. Consider the global brewer HEINEKEN. In collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the company is addressing global water scarcity by increasing water conservation awareness. Part of the project includes reducing water consumption by 30% in its own breweries by the year 2020. Similarly, the Coca Cola Company has a goal to replenish 100% of the water it uses by 2020. In 2017, the company reported that it had returned 1.75 billion liters of water to nature and communities across the Middle East and North Africa.

This purpose-driven, collaborative, distributed system of doing work is a shift from the traditional business-over-profit model, with more business professionals and engineers finding their mojo by working for these types of companies and organizations.

This trend for companies to make a difference by giving back is reflective of changes in society. Capitalism has created opportunities for people to become rich and successful if they desire. But, not everyone is focused on getting rich or richer at all costs. Companies are no longer looking at an IPO as the end goal. IPOs are in a sharp decline, and even the number of listed companies is falling sharply. Technology companies, in particular, don’t want to answer to shareholders who are interested only in how much their share value has increased each quarter. They want investors who can help their business move forward while maintaining their core values. In this regard, organizations seem to be experiencing a bit of course correction. They are becoming more aware of the consequences of their decisions on their consumers.

The technology companies that we describe make a difference in the world in a couple of ways. They might be solely dedicated to helping society move forward or to conserving environmental resources. Or, they might dedicate a solid portion of their time, resources, or both and collaborate with organizations that help those who are in need of resources or with groups that are committed to saving the Earth. Essentially, these companies are committed to giving back to the environment and society. They succeed through more of a holistic approach and are much about the people who own them, run them, and work for them.

These technology companies that are determined to give back distinguish themselves from other companies who are focused on the bottom line. Purpose-driven companies question who answers to whom and what the core objectives of their business are. For example, if a company’s core objective is to increase profits, the methods it uses to do that can, and often are, morally compromised out of necessity to increase profits for continued approval of its investors.

However, purpose-driven companies tend to answer to a group of people, such as clients or business partners, about their progress in developing and delivering on a product or service for the benefit of a society or community or to protect the environment. It comes down to striking the right balance.

Making a positive contribution to the world also has a bit to do with the law of attraction. People and companies that focus on doing good for others achieve more self-fulfillment. Consider this analogy. If you eat a healthy breakfast, have a balanced diet, and get enough exercise, you feel great both in mind and body. When you feel great, you have the energy to be with others and do all the things you want to do. However, if you gorge yourself with unhealthy food and drink and don’t exercise, you don’t enjoy the way you look or feel, and you just want to get through the day.

Working for a technology company that inspires you and makes you feel as though your work is valuable is a much healthier option. You get out of it what you put into it.

This article was brought to you by the team at Source Coders.