The CSR Leader’s Dilemma: Stuck in the Fear Zone

Let’s be real: Being a CSR leader right now feels like being on a high-stakes game show where every answer could either win you a million dollars or send you plummeting through a trapdoor.

Between economic pressures, political minefields, and corporate legal teams seemingly programmed to say "no," the once-bold world of corporate social responsibility has become scared to take action. ESG? Too risky. DEI? Off the table. Social impact? Tread carefully.

So, where does that leave CSR professionals? Many feel frozen in place — afraid that any new proposal will get shut down before it even gets off the ground. Many others are caught in an ethical dilemma — dissolving programs and reverting messaging under pressure from executives and legal teams that are reacting to political backlash. 

Here’s the thing: You’re not alone in this fear. Your executives feel it. Your employees feel it. Even your competitors feel it. But the real risk isn’t taking a step forward — it’s standing still while the world moves on without you.

The cost of doing nothing: Why fear is the bigger risk

Let’s flip the script for a second. Yes, putting forward a new CSR initiative is scary. But you know what’s even scarier?

Losing employee engagement. People want purpose at work. Without it, they disengage. And disengaged employees don’t stick around.

Falling behind competitors. While some companies are paralyzed by fear (looking at you, Unilever and AbInBev), others are moving forward with smart, strategic impact programs that executives actually love (SAP, EY, Microsoft).

Becoming irrelevant. Social responsibility isn’t going away. The companies that navigate these tricky waters now will be the ones thriving later — not the ones that retreated into silence.

The paradox? Designing from fear leads to failure. If you build a CSR strategy focused solely on avoiding risk, you’ll create something watered-down, ineffective, and well, kind of pointless.

So, what’s the move? How do you lead through uncertainty? You don’t ignore the fear. You find a way to move forward anyway.

Redesigning the approach: What CSR leaders need to propose now

Right now, CSR leaders need to shift the conversation. Instead of trying to dodge controversy, it's time to lean into what’s wanted, what works and what wins support.

Employee expectations around purpose and social impact at work have never been higher. In a 2025 Deloitte poll of 1,000 professionals in the United States, an overwhelming 95 percent said it’s important that their employer makes a positive impact in the community, and 87 percent indicate that company-sponsored volunteer programs influence their decision to stay with their employer. In our work at MovingWorlds, managing global skills-based volunteering programs, we have seen demand double this year compared to last year, signaling increased desire of employees to do good.

Executives, too, are still prioritizing impact, as long as it’s tied to business outcomes. Despite political headwinds, leaders are expecting an increase of CSR spending by 15 percent, according to a Benevity survey. The reason? Employees want to work at companies with impactful CSR programs, and consumer demand is higher for brands that invest in CSR. And beyond these factors, 43 percent of leaders believe that these programs have a positive return on investment.

And legal departments? They’re not inherently against social good. They just want initiatives that are low-risk, brand-aligned and apolitical. This means programs need to be designed with alignment in mind, not just impact for impact’s sake but impact that flows from the company’s core strengths, people and purpose.

How do you propose a strategy that's executive-approved, employee-loved, legally safe and community-impacting?

Skills-based volunteering: The safe, smart, strategic move

If there’s one thing that will not get you a hard "no" in today’s environment, it’s skills-based volunteering. Research shows that out of 90 different types of mental well-being benefits that companies offer — education, time off policies, etc. — only one has a correlation to positive impact: volunteering. Demand for volunteering is on the rise, too. Corporate social impact teams report big jumps in participation. In a 2024 survey by the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals and YourCause, 77 percent of companies saw increased employee volunteerism compared to the previous year. That's up from 61 percent in 2023.

And executives can’t deny the return on investment. One longitudinal study of a professional services firm conducted over six years found a 36 percent lower attrition rate among employees who participated in skills-based volunteer projects, and 91 percent had a positive impact on employee engagement scores compared to peers who did not. This reinforces internal data from corporate programs.

Another report shows that employees engaged in company “purpose programs” — volunteering, giving, etc. — are 52 percent less likely to leave the company. In other words, volunteering can significantly boost retention and loyalty. It also correlates with higher on-the-job engagement. In a return on investment calculator we developed, we see an average of 4 to 6 times the return on building strategy CSR programs.

Legal won’t bat an eye, either. Unlike ESG (environmental, social and governance) or DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs, skills-based volunteering is framed as professional development and community service — safe and widely accepted. 

Skills-based volunteering helps CSR leaders deliver on all fronts: talent, brand, impact and culture. Most importantly, it’s a safe place to start building forward momentum in a moment where everything else feels risky.

Call to action: Move beyond fear and take action

CSR leaders, this is your moment. The companies that make smart moves now with programs that are business-aligned, employee-driven and community-focused will be the ones that emerge stronger and more resilient. So, where do you start?

First, lead with courage, not caution. The best CSR leaders right now aren’t the ones playing defense. They’re the ones designing for real engagement and impact. This is easier said than done in an environment that is probably auditing you, threatening to take away budget, and is full of shifting business strategies. But when there is a vacuum of leadership, people look for new leaders. So lead with a new vision for CSR that aligns with your corporate strategy, leverages what your company is “best in the world at,” and addresses a long-term team of a population you are uniquely positioned to serve. 

As a couple inspiring examples, SAP aligned its volunteering efforts to support impact businesses with the potential to build more sustainable and equitable supply chains, something that directly maps to its business offering. EY, via its Ripples program, engaged tens of thousands of employees in skills-based volunteering, helping it achieve its own social-good targets of positively impacting 1 billion people while developing its own employees to be more inclusive and innovative leaders. 

As you navigate this challenging stakeholder environment, build the business case to executives, communicate to legal teams that this is not risky and will build goodwill, and make sure your strategy is grounded in what your employees actually want. 

You don’t need to solve everything overnight, but you do need to take that first step. Right now, skills-based volunteering is a smart, strategic way to start moving forward with purpose and courage. Let’s move forward. Purpose isn’t the problem. Fear is. And you, as a CSR leader, have the power to break through it.