Categories: Expert PerspectivesInsight: Adrienne Palmer

Corporate Change-Makers

I’ve lived in San Francisco for five months now and it’s been a pretty large adjustment from my life in Cincinnati, both personally and professionally. I drive a car maybe once a week to get out of the city or make a large grocery run. I’ve learned to factor in the amount and angle of hills when walking somewhere. And I’m now working 100-percent remotely, which has definitely been the most interesting acclimatization of all.

But one thing really stands out to me when comparing my Midwest roots: the number of people experiencing homelessness in this city. As of 2017, there are 7000-plus living on the streets or in shelters. But that figure is actually less than in Cincinnati. My former home has 9000 people facing housing insecurity. Why didn’t this stand out when I lived there for six years? An easy answer is that SF is a 7 x 7-mile peninsula, and Cincinnati spans seven hills and 79.5 square miles. But it doesn’t stop me from questioning how this number got so high and what I can do to help.

I now volunteer once a month for the Burrito Project, an organization that prepares and delivers burritos to people living on the street in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and Oakland. It’s not solving the problem by any means, but it’s part of my social responsibility.

I’m sure many of you are involved in volunteer programs, enjoy mentorship roles, or diligently recycle at home. But what’s your company doing?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is when a business works toward sustainable development by implementing economic, social, and environmental benefits for all stakeholders. This can include philanthropy, ethical business practices, economic responsibility, and sustainability initiatives (see our sustainability feature for shops that are focusing heavily on this).

So, what’s your shop doing to give back to your community? Do you have a public list of principles your team sees and abides by every day? Are your prices fair and honest? Are you a member of the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership?

Just Googling CSR can be daunting when you see the myriad search results for what your business can do. Try starting small. Even a once-a-month giveback can lead to something much more.

Adrienne Palmer

Adrienne Palmer is the editor-in-chief of Big Picture and Screen Printing magazines. She joined Big Picture magazine in 2012 after graduating from Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism with a BA in magazine journalism. During her time with Big Picture, she has held the roles of assistant editor, associate editor, and managing editor; she added sister publication Screen Printing magazine to her resume in 2019. She is a 2019 Folio: Top Woman in Media; spearheads Big Picture's annual Women in Wide Format Awards and Best of Wide Format Awards as well as Screen Printing's annual Women in Screen Printing Awards; is on the board of Printing United Alliance's Women in Print Alliance and the U.N.I.T.E. Together diversity and inclusion program; hosts the Screen Saver podcast; and represents the Big Picture and Screen Printing teams at numerous industry events year-round as a speaker, moderator, and panelist.