Corporate social responsibility

On Aug. 4, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the second and third richest men in the world,
announced that 40 American billionaires had followed their lead in pledging to give half of their
fortunes to charity. They plan to turn their efforts next to China and India.

While the top Japanese billionaire on the list, in 89th place, Mr. Tadashi Yanai, has made no
such public pledge, he did take the lead last month among large Japanese firms in announcing a
social business project in Bangladesh in cooperation with the Grameen Bank founded by Nobel
laureate Muhammad Yunus. Mr. Yanai's Fast Retailing
is already producing some clothing in that country for
sale at its Uniqlo shops in Japan and elsewhere, but the new, nonprofit venture will make goods
to be sold at around $1 each to the Bangladeshis themselves by a network of local women with
microloans from the Grameen Bank.

Along with the desire to give the poor a chance to work their way out of poverty, Mr. Yanai sees
the long-term merit of both helping build consumer markets in developing nations and being
seen to be a good corporate citizen.

Several Japanese companies are now involved in for-profit social enterprises, such as Sumitomo
Chemical Co.'s employment of some 4,000 Tanzanians to manufacture mosquito nets to fight
malaria, and Nippon Poly-Glu's sales of water purification agents in rural areas of Bangladesh.
Ajinomoto is also working in Ghana to develop a more nutritious baby food for sale in Africa.

Japanese apparel makers, inspired by similar movements abroad, are also increasingly
participating in "ethical fashion," combining fashion with charity and ecology. Casual clothing
chains Uniqlo and Right-on have been selling charity T-shirts to support causes such as
earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti and the Special Olympics, while recycling programs run by
Uniqlo and Onward permit consumers to turn in used Uniqlo and Onward clothing for
distribution to developing countries or the production of thread to manufacture work gloves and
blankets for donation to NPOs and refugee programs. A similar project recently undertaken by
Marui and six other companies will manufacture bioethanol from recycled cotton fibers.

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Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility – a mandatory for every corporate house

I have many times taught the concepts of CSR and why CSR? And what exactly companies take
back after fulfilling the CSR formalities?

But what is the better way for CSR is that the stakeholders should be able to allocate a special
place in their mind and muscle for the company who is ultimate and maintain continuity in CSR.
This alone makes a corporate to find permanent space in the mind of everyone.

CSR is a concept whereby large organizations consider the interests of society by taking
responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers,
suppliers,
employees, shareholders, communities and other stakeholders, as well as the environment.

As the world continues to analyze energy availability and the long-term effects of climate
change, businesses too are turning their attention to an area of opportunity reduction of carbon
emissions, energy conservation and supply chain sustainability.

CSR holds organizations to a higher moral and ethical standard considering the overall interests
of society in the operations of its day-to-day business
Gaining Momentum Regulatory and Social Trends

Regulatory pressures from the society and government are mounting and increasingly affecting
businesses of all sizes, from small manufacturing organizations up to Fortune 500 companies.

Many equate CSR to the reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases, but the
concept of CSR goes beyond the local impact of a business to their extended supply chain.

Many companies are now managing global supply chains and need to adhere to a more global
view of sustainability and hold themselves so that they have same regulatory and social standards
across multiple geographies.

I wish to quote an important quote of Anuj Kumar/ITvoir Network,

Criticism
According to some critics CSR programs are undertaken by companies such as British American
Tobacco (BAT), the petroleum giant BP and McDonald\’s to distract the public from ethical
questions posed by their core operations.

They argue that this will give commercial benefit by raising their reputation with the public or
with government. They suggest that corporations which exist solely to maximize profits are
unable to advance the interests of society as a whole.

National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has so far spent more than Rs 100 crore towards various
social sector development activities. Creation of infrastructure in the surrounding villages for
communication, education, healthcare and drinking water gets priority in the periphery
development plans of the company.

Nalco CMD CR Pradhan said, “As a corporate policy, Nalco has been allocating 1 per cent of its
net profit of the year for social sector activities in the succeeding year. During the 2006-07 fiscal,
Nalco made a net profit of Rs 2,381 crore and, accordingly, for the 2007-08, the company
allotted Rs 23.81 crore for various developmental activities. “Today, in any investment plans in
Orissa, the interested companies are cited Nalco’s role as a responsible corporate citizen.” –
Source http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/topics/social-support/corporate-social-
responsibility-csr

In practice, CSR involves assessing all the potential ways that the Company\’s actions and
operations may impact others. It means looking beyond our office walls and outside our
operational fence lines to consider how our decisions affect a broad range of individuals, groups
and organizations. Referred to as stakeholders, these affected interests include
Local communities
Non-governmental organizations
Investors, employees
Customers
Suppliers
Host governments and
Regulatory agencies
CSR should reflect in how companies behave? The way they invest in? Code of business conduct
and the core values that they inculcate and I am pleased to conclude by highlighting the
following gist
A company which makes profit alone is a poor kind of company – Henry Ford

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