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Tag: Corporate Social Responsibility Idioms

  • Put Lipstick on a Pig

    🗓️ Idiom: Put Lipstick on a Pig (v)

    💬 Meaning

    • Trying to make something bad look good without fixing the real problem.
    • Changing the outside appearance but not improving the truth underneath.

    🧠 Example Sentences

    • The company changed its logo to look more eco-friendly, but it was just putting lipstick on a pig.
    • They launched a CSR campaign while still using harmful chemicals—classic lipstick on a pig.
    • Donating to a charity doesn’t help if your factory still pollutes the river. It’s like putting lipstick on a pig.

    🏛️ Origin

    This idiom is from American English and became popular in politics and business. It uses humour to say that dressing up something ugly doesn’t make it better. A pig with lipstick is still a pig.

    📝 Practice Exercises

    1. Fill in the blank:
    The company’s green rebranding effort was just a way to ________ after years of environmental damage.

    Answer

    put lipstick on a pig

    2. Multiple choice:
    What does “put lipstick on a pig” mean?
    a) Solve a big problem
    b) Make something new
    c) Make something bad look better without real change

    Answer

    c) Make something bad look better without real change

    3. Rewrite the sentence:
    “They tried to make their harmful practices look better by creating a flashy video.”

    Answer

    They tried to put lipstick on a pig with a flashy video.

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  • Window Dressing

    🗓️ Idiom: Window Dressing (n)

    💬 Meaning

    • Making something look better on the surface but not on the inside.
    • Changing the appearance of a report, product, or action to hide problems or seem more responsible.

    🧠 Example Sentences

    • The company’s CSR report looked good, but many said it was just window dressing.
    • Adding a few solar panels for the photo was seen as window dressing, not real change.
    • The charity event was more about window dressing than about helping people.

    🏛️ Origin

    This idiom comes from the practice of decorating shop windows to attract customers. Over time, it began to mean making something look good on the outside to hide the true inside. It is now often used in business and politics.

    📝 Practice Exercises

    1. Fill in the blank:
    The company’s environmental ad campaign was just ________ to distract from its pollution record.

    Answer

    window dressing

    2. Multiple choice:
    What does “window dressing” mean?
    a) Fixing real problems
    b) Making something look better than it really is
    c) Putting products in a shop window

    Answer

    b) Making something look better than it really is

    3. Rewrite the sentence:
    “They tried to make their actions look better than they really were.”

    Answer

    They used window dressing to cover their actions.

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  • Tokenism

    🗓️ Idiom: Tokenism(n)

    💬 Meaning

    • When a company or group makes a small public effort to look responsible or caring.
    • It shows a symbolic action that is not backed by real change or serious commitment.

    🧠 Example Sentences

    • The company added a green logo, but without real action, it felt like tokenism.
    • Some businesses make a donation once a year as tokenism, but they do not engage with the community long-term.
    • Tokenism can happen when an organisation tries to look fair, but does not support real change in its policies.

    🏛️ Origin

    “Tokenism” comes from the word “token,” meaning a symbol or small sign. It began to be used in the mid-1900s to criticise organisations that made small, public actions to appear fair, caring, or responsible, without real effort behind them.

    📝 Practice Exercises

    1. Fill in the blank:
    Adding a few eco-words to a product without changing how it is made may be seen as ________.

    Answer

    tokenism

    2. Multiple choice:
    What does “tokenism” mean?
    a) Making deep and lasting changes
    b) Doing nothing at all
    c) Making a small or symbolic effort to appear responsible

    Answer

    c) Making a small or symbolic effort to appear responsible

    3. Rewrite the sentence:
    “The company was guilty of trying to look caring without any real action.”

    Answer

    The company was guilty of tokenism.

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  • Greenwashing

    🗓️ Idiom: Greenwashing(n)

    💬 Meaning

    • Pretending to be environmentally friendly while doing little or nothing to help the environment.
    • Using marketing or public relations to give a false impression of sustainability or eco-responsibility.

    🧠 Example Sentences

    • Some companies use greenwashing to attract customers without making real changes.
    • The advertisement was criticised for greenwashing because the product was not truly eco-friendly.
    • It’s important to check for real data and avoid falling for greenwashing claims.

    🏛️ Origin

    The term “greenwashing” was first used in the 1980s. It combines “green” (meaning environmentally friendly) with “whitewashing” (covering up the truth). It was originally used to describe hotels that claimed to be eco-friendly without actually reducing waste or saving energy.

    📝 Practice Exercises

    1. Fill in the blank:
    The brand was accused of ________ because its actions didn’t match its green image.

    Answer

    greenwashing

    2. Multiple choice:
    What does “greenwashing” mean?
    a) Cleaning something in a natural way
    b) Making honest environmental improvements
    c) Pretending to be eco-friendly without taking real action

    Answer

    c) Pretending to be eco-friendly without taking real action

    3. Rewrite the sentence:
    “The company tried to look eco-friendly.”

    Answer

    The company was greenwashing.

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  • A Balancing Act

    🗓️ Idiom: A Balancing Act(n)

    💬 Meaning

    • A situation where someone must manage competing demands or responsibilities carefully.
    • Trying to satisfy different goals or groups without failing in any area.

    🧠 Example Sentences

    • Running a business and protecting the environment is a balancing act.
    • The company faces a balancing act between making profits and supporting social causes.
    • Working parents often perform a balancing act between their job and family life.

    🏛️ Origin

    This idiom comes from the world of physical performance, such as circus acts or tightrope walking. A “balancing act” is a performance that requires great skill to keep from falling — it now describes situations that need careful control to avoid failure.

    📝 Practice Exercises

    1. Fill in the blank:
    Managing both financial success and ethical standards is often ________.

    Answer

    a balancing act

    2. Multiple choice:
    What does “a balancing act” mean?
    a) A simple routine
    b) A risky performance
    c) A situation where different demands must be managed carefully

    Answer

    c) A situation where different demands must be managed carefully

    3. Rewrite the sentence:
    “The company must handle many responsibilities at the same time.”

    Answer

    The company is facing a balancing act.

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  • A Drop in the Ocean

    🗓️ Idiom: A Drop in the Ocean

    💬 Meaning

    • A very small amount compared to what is needed or expected.
    • Something that seems helpful but is not enough to make a big difference on its own.

    🧠 Example Sentences

    • Donating $100 may feel like a drop in the ocean, but every bit helps.
    • Planting a few trees is a drop in the ocean compared to the scale of climate change.
    • The company’s small donation was just a drop in the ocean, but it was a good start.

    🏛️ Origin

    This idiom dates back to the 1300s and originally appeared in religious texts. It compares a small action or amount (a drop) to something massive (an ocean), showing how little impact it seems to have by itself.

    📝 Practice Exercises

    1. Fill in the blank:
    Our efforts to reduce plastic use felt like ________, but we kept going.

    Answer

    a drop in the ocean

    2. Multiple choice:
    What does “a drop in the ocean” mean?
    a) A helpful amount
    b) A very large amount
    c) A very small and possibly ineffective amount

    Answer

    c) A very small and possibly ineffective amount

    3. Rewrite the sentence:
    “Our donation seemed tiny compared to the total need.”

    Answer

    Our donation was a drop in the ocean.

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  • Pay it Forward

    🗓️ Idiom: Pay It Forward

    💬 Meaning

    • Help someone because you were helped, not by repaying the original person but by helping someone new.
    • Create a chain of kindness or support by passing on good actions to others.

    🧠 Example Sentences

    • After receiving a scholarship, she decided to pay it forward by mentoring new students.
    • Our CSR campaign encourages employees to pay it forward through community service.
    • He was helped during a tough time, and now he’s paying it forward by supporting others in need.

    🏛️ Origin

    This idiom became popular in the 20th century and was first recorded in a letter by Benjamin Franklin. It grew in use through books and movies, especially the 2000 film *Pay It Forward*, where a boy starts a movement of kindness by helping others who then help more people in return.

    📝 Practice Exercises

    1. Fill in the blank:
    After receiving help, she wanted to ________ by supporting a local charity.

    Answer

    pay it forward

    2. Multiple choice:
    What does “pay it forward” mean?
    a) Pay money in advance
    b) Help someone as a way of passing on help you received
    c) Return a favour to the same person

    Answer

    b) Help someone as a way of passing on help you received

    3. Rewrite the sentence:
    “He showed kindness to others because he had received kindness in the past.”

    Answer

    He payed it forward after others were kind to him.

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  • Give Back

    🗓️ Idiom: Give Back

    💬 Meaning

    • Return help, support, or value to a group, community, or society.
    • Contribute time, money, or effort to help others, especially after receiving success or benefits.

    🧠 Example Sentences

    • The company gives back by funding clean water projects.
    • Many successful entrepreneurs choose to give back to their local communities.
    • As part of our CSR program, we give back through volunteering and donations.

    🏛️ Origin

    This idiom developed in American English in the mid-1900s. It began as a way to describe returning value to society, especially through charity or community service. It is now commonly used in business and nonprofit contexts.

    📝 Practice Exercises

    1. Fill in the blank:
    Our company wants to ________ by supporting local education programs.

    Answer

    give back

    2. Multiple choice:
    What does “give back” mean?
    a) Take more from others
    b) Return support or help
    c) Sell company products

    Answer

    b) Return support or help

    3. Rewrite the sentence:
    “The business helps the community as a way to show thanks.”

    Answer

    The business gives back to the community.

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  • Make a Difference

    🗓️ Idiom: Make a Difference

    💬 Meaning

    • To have a positive effect or create meaningful change.
    • It shows that someone’s actions help people, the environment, or the community.

    🧠 Example Sentences

    • Our company wants to make a difference by supporting local farmers.
    • Even small changes in packaging can make a difference to the environment.
    • Volunteering as a team helped us make a difference in our community.

    🏛️ Origin

    This idiom comes from everyday English in the late 1900s. It combines “make” (to create or cause) and “difference” (a change). It became popular in social and political movements to describe actions that bring real, positive change in the world.

    📝 Practice Exercises

    1. Fill in the blank:
    The new recycling program will ________ in reducing waste.

    Answer

    make a difference

    2. Multiple choice:
    What does “make a difference” mean?
    a) Do nothing important
    b) Cause a positive change
    c) Change your opinion

    Answer

    b) Cause a positive change

    3. Rewrite the sentence:
    “Their support had a big impact on the local school.”

    Answer

    Their support made a difference to the local school.

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  • Do the Right Thing

    🗓️ Idiom: Do the Right Thing

    💬 Meaning

    • To make an honest, fair, or morally correct decision, even if it is difficult.
    • It shows acting with integrity, especially when choices affect other people.

    🧠 Example Sentences

    • The company did the right thing by donating supplies to the local school.
    • In difficult times, strong leaders try to do the right thing.
    • Even though it cost more, they chose to do the right thing and use eco-friendly materials.

    🏛️ Origin

    This phrase is based on the idea of choosing what is morally or ethically correct. It has long been used in personal and business situations to describe actions that reflect honesty and care for others.

    📝 Practice Exercises

    1. Fill in the blank:
    The manager decided to ________ and report the mistake honestly.

    Answer

    do the right thing

    2. Multiple choice:
    What does “do the right thing” mean?
    a) Follow orders without thinking
    b) Make a morally good choice
    c) Take the easiest path

    Answer

    b) Make a morally good choice

    3. Rewrite the sentence:
    “The company acted responsibly, even when it was difficult.”

    Answer

    The company did the right thing.

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