3 Socially-Driven Companies You Didn't Know Were Socially Driven

There are many companies that are known for being socially driven. Both TOMS Shoes and The Body Shop have incorporated corporate social responsibility into their brands. But there other socially driven companies whose good deeds have gone unnoticed, either because they do not publicize them, or the company is not as well-known, or bad press has drowned out the good. But here are three socially driven companies that are quietly making a difference.

Despite many controversies over whether or not Disney treats its employees right, and whether or not they use sweatshops in many of their products, Disney is a leader in corporate social responsibility. Walt Disney has made huge efforts in helping the environment and community and labor standards. Disney focuses a lot on using renewable energy in the parks and in treating their animals right. In Animal Kingdom, Disney has banned plastic straws, only using paper, to prevent harm to the animals. Disney cuts down on its paper waste by shipping their old programs and outdated paper maps to Uganda, where they are made into paper beads and paper bead jewelry that is resold in the park. Not only does this reduce paper waste, but it also helps local economies in Uganda.

They also do research for sustainable agriculture, and integrate education about the environment and the threat it faces into a lot of the park attractions. Proceeds from their three Disneynature films have planted three million trees in Brazil's threatened Atlantic Forest. The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund has also supported $20 million worth of projects to help the environment in 112 countries.

Disney also continues to donate to charity, focusing on natural disaster relief like helping Haiti in 2010.

Disney also encourages its employees to volunteer in their community as well through its VoluntEARS program. They also offered one million free tickets to people who committed to volunteering in their local community for one day. This inspired over one million people to volunteer.

CVS actually has a large and intense corporate social responsibility program. It is not known for this, however. Most consumers see CVS as another pharmacy, like Walgreens and Rite Aid, but its huge and mostly unknown culture of giving back and making the world a better place sets it apart from other pharmacies.

CVS has been working on making a better world through several projects in the past, including the now defunct Green Bag Program that gave people five cents store credit every time they declined a plastic bag. CVS has also raised millions of dollars for ALS research and made an employee home ownership program to help their employees get the resources they need to finally own a place to call home. CVS has also helped get kids with disabilities better learning opportunities. CVS does not flaunt their accomplishments, but they have a number of causes that make them a socially driven company.

This little-known socially driven travel company actually made corporate social responsibility its business model. Even when travel companies are struggling, G Adventures is succeeding with their sustainable, authentic travel experience. G Adventures caters to younger people who are looking for unpampered traveling at lower prices. Their mission is to also help stimulate local economies. G Adventures helps local economies by helping their clients find places to stay, attractions, and places to eat that normally would have been overlooked. By finding small, obscure places, G Adventures stimulate local economies while also helping their clients get authentic experiences at the best deals possible. G Adventures has been able to thrive because of it, and has helped local economies flourish through sustainable tourism.