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1 Corporate Social Responsibility of Netflix

Corporate Social Responsibility of Netflix Allison Johnson Professor Thompkins BUSA 2270 June 17, 2019

2 Corporate Social Responsibility of Netflix

Abstract The following paper discusses the utilization of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in today’s businesses, but more specifically Netflix, Inc. Corporate social responsibility will be defined and explained for further understanding of how a firm is impacted and influenced by managing underneath the CSR concept. Many people have different opinions on what they can do to be socially responsible, but specifically Netflix’s CSR activities will be discussed. Netflix has great labor policies, donates unneeded goods, and actively tries to decrease their environmental impact, which are all vital components of CSR. Reporting these activities benefits the company because it allows their investors, shareholders, employees, and consumers to see their improving productivity. Reasons why one firm might want to consistently work on CSR will also be examined with the support from articles by Chen & Lee (2017) and Battal et al. (2018).

3 Corporate Social Responsibility of Netflix Corporate Social Responsibility of Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an internet entertainment service founded in 1997 that covers both domestic and international video streaming. They offer a wide variety of genres in TV shows, popular movies, documentaries and more. It used to be very popular for renting DVD’s by mail but has since expanded. Millions still utilize this by-mail service, though one might think that would have been phased out in this society. You can access Netflix’s video streaming through many devices — smartphone, tablet, TV’s, and it is even included through some cable providers. Netflix has nearly 150 million paying subscribers in nearly 200 countries, and its headquarters is in Los Gatos, California. (Netflix, Inc., 2019; Schooley, 2019) This corporation does ample work in their society, within its buildings, and for the environment, which we will see in further detail below. According to Cross and Miller (2015), corporate social responsibility is, “[combining] a commitment to good citizenship with a commitment to making ethical decisions, improving society, and minimizing environmental impact.” CSR encourages firms to hold themselves accountable for their impact to their stakeholders and to the public. There are several theories on CSR, but it is essentially a balance between company and stakeholder; companies feel they are more accepted if they actively participate in dealing with social issues (Battal et al., 2018). Netflix does several things for their social responsibility. Netflix offers their employees a fiftytwo-week paid parental leave for both parents whether they are adopting, utilizing a surrogate, or simply having the child themselves. They have also progressed on their environment impact. Netflix’s electric use is the main cause of their current carbon footprint. With their sustainability strategies, they have been able to accomplish using half as much energy to do the same things they were doing before. They have also committed to a voluntary EPA program called Green

4 Corporate Social Responsibility of Netflix Power Partnership, which is where businesses commit to using green resources for some or all of their electricity usage. According to Netflix, “… we also work to be as sustainable as we can in our day to day operations, including using compostable products, donating excess food, and reducing our single use plastics” (“A Renewable Energy Update From Us”, 2019) Corporate social responsibility is itself a management concept. Therefore, once put into place effectively, it helps improve management and involvement in the workplace. Managing the use of electricity and renewable resources could be a chore in itself, but many sustainability efforts can help lead to lower costs for the firm. Reporting the activities that they actively complete helps a particular firm track their progress over time. Keeping up with certain levels of renewable resources, for example, can help the firm see what they need to work on the next year around. From what I can tell, Netflix reports their status on the use of renewable resources every two years. They made a blog post in 2015, 2017, and 2019 letting their stakeholders, shareholders, employees, and consumers know how they are improving their carbon footprint. Because they are issuing these reports in relevant intervals of time, they are most definitely working to decrease their environmental influence year by year. Additionally, people that are investing in firms like this put more of their focus on how CSR influences the firm’s overall performance, which means businesses are constantly going to keep society’s interests in mind so they can have more investors (Chen & Lee, 2017). Netflix concluded their latest posting by saying, “There’s a lot more to do and we’re encouraged by all our friends in the space who are working to take us one step further, all the time. Until next time!” Firms that fulfil the expectations of CSR know that there are always ways that they can lessen their carbon footprint and make positive impact on both the economy and society. I believe that Netflix is doing a good job of trying to please their employees, consumers,

5 Corporate Social Responsibility of Netflix and the environment. They have excellent benefits for their employees as well as actively seeking out ways they can acquire better renewable resources to cut down electricity impact. Netflix does these things all while keeping their business prospering and keeping their investors informed.

6 Corporate Social Responsibility of Netflix References A renewable energy update from us. (2019, March 18). Retrieved from https://media.netflix.com/en/company-blog/a-renewable-energy-update-from-us BATTAL, F., YAZICI, S., ÇINAR, E., & KILIÇASLAN, Ş. (2018). The Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Reputation. Electronic Turkish Studies, 13(30), 75–88. https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.14291 Chen, R. C. Y., & Lee, C.-H. (2017). Assessing whether corporate social responsibility influence corporate value. Applied Economics, 49(54), 5547–5557. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2017.1313949 Cross, F. B., & Miller, R. L. (2015). The Legal Environment of Business: Text and Cases (9th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Hunt, N. (2017, June 14). Renewable Energy at Netflix: An Update. Retrieved from https://media.netflix.com/en/company-blog/renewable-energy-at-netflix-an-update Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) Company Profile & Facts. (2019, June 12). Retrieved from https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NFLX/profile/ Schooley, S. (2019, April 22). What Is Corporate Social Responsibility? Retrieved from https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4679-corporate-social-responsibility.html...