The social balance records the benefits and costs generated by a company's activity in its community.
The social balance is the record of the activities of an organization linked to the community where it is located. In other words, the social balance details the costs and benefits caused by the activity of a company in a society .
It is important to indicate that the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) recognizes several meanings of the term balance . In this case we are interested in its meaning as the comparison between different factors or circumstances to evaluate the development or result of something.
Social , for its part, is that linked to society : a community of people who have common interests and who interact with each other to satisfy their various needs.
Characteristics of the social balance
Thanks to this type of balance, it is possible to analyze whether a company has fulfilled its social responsibility in a certain period. The social balance must include both the positive and negative results that arise from the entity's activities.
Among the positive results that a company can mention in its social balance sheet are the creation of jobs, the generation of wealth and donations to the community (for example, financing the maintenance of a park or other public space). Measures that contribute to the reduction of social costs generated by other companies should also be included in this framework, even if it is a less direct benefit.
Social costs, for their part, can be environmental pollution (both water and air), noise and visual pollution, social conflicts (such as strikes), work accidents, excessive exploitation of natural resources ( something that in this era is associated with the concept of unsustainable development ), occupational diseases, psychological disorders due to work activity, stress, the consequences of unemployment (where we find the decrease in self-esteem and the expenses to cover subsidies) and the difficulties that working conditions may impose on workers to develop their lives normally, among many others.
The generation of jobs must be included in the social balance.
Some considerations
As we can see, the social balance is a very broad concept, of immense complexity, both due to the number of situations that are associated with it and the impact that these can generate in the life of a society. We cannot underestimate the problem of environmental pollution or the phenomenon of massive unemployment, nor the improvements that certain economic investments can bring to expand or improve a city's facilities.
Social balance begins in the life of each individual, before reaching adulthood and long before founding a company. The consequences of our actions are very important, although we are not always taught to evaluate them before taking a step; When we say a phrase that is hurtful to another person, or when we throw garbage on public roads because we refuse to take it to the nearest container, we show that we have left a fundamental issue of life in society unfinished.
Companies often try to generate social benefits to improve their image, and this is not always welcomed by the community; However, from another point of view we could say that this vain and interested attitude is preferable to the total absence of concern for the social balance. As always, the ideal situation is found halfway, in the genuine commitment to respecting the rights and needs of others, but it is not very common.
It is common for cooperatives to carry out social balances to evaluate whether their actions are in line with the principles and values of this type of organization. In this case we speak of cooperative social balance .