Thursday, February 10, 2005
Back to the Basics - What Is CSR?
CSR – The misunderstood concept.
CSR is a wide concept, It has taken me nearly 3 years to finally buy into the idea myself. It has severally been dismissed as corporate PR, true, but times are changing. It is to the disadvantage of business if it does not make CSR a part of its processes - it needs to in order to invest in its own future and to acquire a social license to operate, current trends suggest that past irresponsibilities have led to resource exploitation while at the same time considerably damaging business reputation, mistrust from its clients and share holders, increased business risk and weakened business performance due to one reason or more . CSR today is more and more falling out of the hands of PR and Marketing departments and falling greatly as a core strategy in all global fortune 500 companies. It has become a revolution over the past 10 years and as we know it, revolutions are always messy; Nevertheless - The revolution is formalising. CSR is also one of the most mis-understood concepts, its all about going back to the basics, it’s a reality check. What is wrong with being good and playing your part as a citizen of the society?
There isn’t exactly one single definition of what CSR is but on looking at most definitions from various stakeholder groups, the common meaning seems to surround the following key-words – and line of thought;
i) It is a collection of policies and practices linked to relationship with key stakeholders, values, compliance with legal requirements, and respect for people, communities and the environment and…
ii) It is the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable development i.e ability of current generation to meet its needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs (Source: World Bank)
CSR is about how companies manage their business processes to produce an overall positive impact in society (Source: Mallen Baker).
It is a broad issue usually surrounding Social auditing, Human rights, Transparency, Digital Divide, Corporate Citizenship, Ethical Investments, Supply chain, Stake holder engagement, Sustainable Development, Governance, Diversity, Globalisation, Environmental impact, community involvement, poverty reduction etc…….a company can choose to focus on the key ones respective of its nature and reality. Results from this are a gradual long term investment and results are not usually very visible in the short term hence the reason why many companies are hesitatant to focus on it as a core strategy.
CSR is a wide concept, It has taken me nearly 3 years to finally buy into the idea myself. It has severally been dismissed as corporate PR, true, but times are changing. It is to the disadvantage of business if it does not make CSR a part of its processes - it needs to in order to invest in its own future and to acquire a social license to operate, current trends suggest that past irresponsibilities have led to resource exploitation while at the same time considerably damaging business reputation, mistrust from its clients and share holders, increased business risk and weakened business performance due to one reason or more . CSR today is more and more falling out of the hands of PR and Marketing departments and falling greatly as a core strategy in all global fortune 500 companies. It has become a revolution over the past 10 years and as we know it, revolutions are always messy; Nevertheless - The revolution is formalising. CSR is also one of the most mis-understood concepts, its all about going back to the basics, it’s a reality check. What is wrong with being good and playing your part as a citizen of the society?
There isn’t exactly one single definition of what CSR is but on looking at most definitions from various stakeholder groups, the common meaning seems to surround the following key-words – and line of thought;
i) It is a collection of policies and practices linked to relationship with key stakeholders, values, compliance with legal requirements, and respect for people, communities and the environment and…
ii) It is the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable development i.e ability of current generation to meet its needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs (Source: World Bank)
CSR is about how companies manage their business processes to produce an overall positive impact in society (Source: Mallen Baker).
It is a broad issue usually surrounding Social auditing, Human rights, Transparency, Digital Divide, Corporate Citizenship, Ethical Investments, Supply chain, Stake holder engagement, Sustainable Development, Governance, Diversity, Globalisation, Environmental impact, community involvement, poverty reduction etc…….a company can choose to focus on the key ones respective of its nature and reality. Results from this are a gradual long term investment and results are not usually very visible in the short term hence the reason why many companies are hesitatant to focus on it as a core strategy.
Having said all this; its very important to note however that the end in mind of a company is to make profit but how CSR comes in is when it questions "How" it makes profit without compromising its environment (communities, natural resources, HR etc)
Looking foward to your additional points/criticisms
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