Public affairs firm Global Strategy Group today announced the launch of its Corporate Impact Practice, a new corporate social responsibility unit that will help companies strengthen their brands through cause-related initiatives.

GSG executive vice presidents Tanya Meck and Julie Hootkin will lead the new unit.

Many communications agencies in recent years have adopted a CSR practice. Arguably once seen as an industry trend, as a growing number of Americans recognize the private sector’s ability to make immeasurable impact on current and emerging political and social issues, corporate social responsibility programs have grown to become an essential feature in the communications toolkit and an unparalleled opportunity for companies to build their brands.

Hootkin told O’Dwyer’s that expectations for corporate social responsibility are also different than they were even a few years ago.

“Today, businesses are expected to do more than donate to a cause or host a single day volunteer event," Hootkin said. "They are tackling social issues head on, implementing policies, and standing up for their employees on issues that are matter to them. Corporations have increasingly become advocates, policy supporters, and voices for employees, consumers, and the general public — and they are being rewarded for taking action.”

GSG founding partner and president Jefrey Pollock in a statement said that while the agency has engaged in CSR campaigns for years (and a number of causes and non-profit associations,including the American Heart Association, American Civil Liberties Union, MacArthur Foundation and UNICEF, among others, are counted as GSG clients), a recent uptick in businesses taking the lead on political and social causes ultimately provoked the agency to launch a formal unit dedicated to the practice.

“These companies want to understand both the political environment and its impact on their business, and they are coming to us to help them navigate this new landscape and apply a campaign approach to their own activism,” Pollock said.

GSG’s Corporate Impact Practice will also utilize a proprietary research program that involves decades worth of data from Americans on important social issues, which will be used to counsel clients and inform them on opportunity/risk assessment.

New York-based Global Strategy Group, which was founded in 1994, last year accounted for more than $31 million in net fees, according to O’Dwyer’s rankings of PR firms.