Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Introduction

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is viewed as a comprehensive

set of policies, practices and programs that are integrated into
business operations, supply chains, and decision-making processes
throughout the organization -- wherever the organization does
business -- and includes responsibility for current and past actions as
well as future impacts.
CSR involves addressing the legal, ethical commercial and other
expectations society has for business, and making decisions that fairly
balance the claims of all key stakeholders. Effective CSR aims at
“achieving commercial success in ways that honor ethical values and
respect people, communities, and the natural environment.” Simply
put it means “what you do, how you do it, and when and what you
say.”

Several terms have been used interchangeably with CSR. They

include -- business ethics, corporate citizenship, corporate
accountability, sustainability and corporate responsibility.
The issues that represent an organization’s CSR focus vary by size
(small, medium and large), sector (for example, financial institutions,
infrastructure providers, textile manufacturers, agri-producers
supermarket retailers, etc.) and even by geographic region. In its
broadest categories, CSR typically includes issues related to business
ethics, community investment, environment, governance, human
rights, the marketplace and the workplace.
 Areas of Corporate Social Responsibility

Overview

Corporate social responsibility is necessarily an evolving term that

does not have a standard definition or a fully recognized set of
specific criteria. With the understanding that businesses play a key
role on job and wealth creation in society, CSR is generally
understood to be the way a company achieves a balance or
integration of economic, environmental ,and social imperatives while
at the same time addressing shareholder and stakeholder
expectations. CSR is generally accepted as applying to firms
wherever they operate in the domestic and global economy. The way
businesses engage/involve the shareholders, employees, customers,
suppliers, governments, non-governmental organizations,
international organizations, and other stakeholders is usually a key
feature of the concept. While business compliance with laws and
regulations on social, environmental and economic objectives set the
official level of CSR performance, CSR is often understood as
involving the private sector commitments and activities that extend
beyond this foundation of compliance with laws.

From a progressive business perspective, CSR usually involves

focusing on new opportunities as a way to respond to interrelated
economic, societal and environmental demands in the marketplace.
Many firms believe that this focus provides a clear competitive
advantage and stimulates corporate innovation.

CSR is generally seen as the business contribution to sustainable

development which has been defined as "development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs", and is generally understood as
focusing on how to achieve the integration of economic,
environmental, and social imperatives. CSR also overlaps and often
is synonymous with many features of other related concepts such as
corporate sustainability, corporate accountability, corporate
responsibility, corporate citizenship, corporate stewardship, etc..

CSR commitments and activities typically address aspects of a firm's

behaviour (including its policies and practices) with respect to such
key elements as; health and safety, environmental protection, human
rights, human resource management practices, corporate
governance, community development, and consumer protection,
labour protection, supplier relations, business ethics, and stakeholder
rights.

Corporations are motivated to involve stakeholders in their decision-

making and to address societal challenges because today's
stakeholders are increasingly aware of the importance and impact of
corporate decisions upon society and the environment. The
stakeholders can reward or punish corporations. Corporations can be
motivated to change their corporate behaviour in response to the
business case which a CSR approach potentially promises. This
includes:

1. stronger financial performance and profitability (e.g. through eco-

efficiency),

2. improved accountability to and assessments from the investment

community,

3. enhanced employee commitment,

4. decreased vulnerability through stronger relationships with

communities, and

5. improved reputation and branding.

Components of CSR

The emerging concept of CSR goes beyond charity and requires the
company to act beyond its legal obligations and to integrate social,
environmental and ethical concerns into company’s business
process. What is generally understood by CSR is that the business
has a responsibility – towards its stakeholders and society at large –
that extends beyond its legal and enforceable obligations. The triple
bottom line (people, planet, profit) approach to CSR emphasizes a
company’s commitment to operating in an economically, socially and
environmentally sustainable manner. The emerging concept of CSR
advocates moving away from a ‘shareholder alone’ focus to a ‘multi-
stakeholder’ focus. This would include investors, employees,
business partners, customers, regulators, supply chain, local
communities, the environment and society at large. The key
components of CSR would therefore include the following:

Corporate Governance: Within the ambit of corporate governance,

major issues are the accountability, transparency and conduct in
conformity with the laws which enable the company to realize its
corporate objectives, protect shareholder rights, meet legal
requirements and create transparency for all stakeholders.

Business Ethics: relates to value-based and ethical business

practices.
Workplace & labour relations: Human resources can help in
improving the workplace in terms of health and safety, employee
relations as well as result in a healthy balance between work and
non-work aspects of employees’ life.

Affirmative action/good practices: Equal opportunity employer,

diversity of workforce that includes people with disability, people from
the local community etc., gender policy, code of conduct/guidelines
on prevention of sexual harassment at workplace, prevention of
HIV/AIDS at workplace, employee volunteering etc. are some of the
good practices which reflect CSR practices of the company.

Supply Chain: The business process of the company is not just

limited to the operations internal to the company but to the entire
supply chain involved in goods and services.

Customers: With increased awareness and means of

communication, customer satisfaction and loyalty would depend on
how the company has produced the goods and services, considering
the social, environmental, supply-chain and other such aspects.

Environment: Merely meeting legal requirements in itself does not

comprise CSR but it requires company to engage in such a way that
goes beyond mandatory requirements and delivers environmental
benefits.

Community: A major stakeholder to the business is the community in

which the company operates. The involvement of a company with the
community would depend upon its direct interaction with the
community and assessment of issues/risks faced by those living in
the company surrounding areas.

History of CSR in India :-

India has a long rich history of close business involvement in social

causes for national development. In India, CSR is known from ancient
time as social duty or charity, which through different ages is
changing its nature in broader aspect, now generally known as CSR.
From the origin of business, which leads towards excess wealth,
social and environmental issues have deep roots in the history of
business. India has had a long tradition of corporate philanthropy and
industrial welfare has been put to practice since late 1800s.
Historically, the philanthropy of business people in India has
resembled western philanthropy in being rooted in religious belief.
Business practices in the 1900s that could be termed socially
responsible took different forms: philanthropic donations to charity,
service to the community, enhancing employee welfare and
promoting religious conduct. Corporations may give funds to
charitable or educational institutions and may argue for them as great
humanitarian deeds, when in fact they are simply trying to buy
community good will. The ideology of CSR in the 1950s was primarily
based on an assumption of the obligation of business to society.

In initial years there was little documentation of social responsibility

initiatives in India. Since then there is a growing realization towards
contribution to social activities globally with a desire to improve the
immediate environment (Shinde, 2005). It has also been found that to
a growing degree companies that pay genuine attention to the
principles of socially responsible behavior are also favored by the
public and preferred for their goods and services. This has given rise
to the concept of CSR.

After Independence, JRD Tata who always laid a great deal of

emphasis to go beyond conducting themselves as honest citizens
pointed out that there were many ways in which industrial and
business enterprises can contribute to public welfare beyond the
scope of their normal activities. He advised that apart from the
obvious one of donating funds to good causes which has been their
normal practice for years; they could have used their own financial,
managerial and human resourced to provide task forces for
undertaking direct relief and reconstruction measures. Slowly, it
began to be accepted, at least in theory that business had to share a
part of the social overhead costs of. Traditionally, it had discharged
its responsibility to society through benefactions for education,
medical facilities, and scientific research among other objects. The
important change at that time was that industry accepted social
responsibility as part of the management of the enterprise itself. The
community development and social welfare program of the premier
Tata Company, Tata Iron and Steel Company was started the
concepts of "Social Responsibility." (Gupta, 2007)

The term corporate social performance was first coined by Sethi

(1975), expanded by Carroll (1979), and then refined by Wartick and
Cochran (1985). In Sethi's 1975 three-level model, the concept of
corporate social performance was discussed, and distinctions made
between various corporate behaviors. Sethi's three tiers were 'social
obligation (a response to legal and market constraints); social
responsibility (congruent with societal norms); and social
responsiveness (adaptive, anticipatory and preventive) (Cochran,
2007).

The last decade of the twentieth century witnessed a swing away

from charity and traditional philanthropy towards more direct
engagement of business in mainstream development and concern for
disadvantaged groups in the society. This has been driven both
internally by corporate will and externally by increased governmental
and public expectations (Mohan, 2001). This was evident from a
sample survey conducted in 1984 reporting that of the amount
companies spent on social development, the largest sum 47 percent
was spent through company programs, 39 percent was given to
outside organizations as aid and 14 percent was spent through
company trusts (Working Document of EU India CSR, 2001). In India
as in the rest of the world there is a growing realization that business
cannot succeed in a society which fails. An ideal CSR has both
ethical and philosophical dimensions, particularly in India where there
exists a wide gap between sections of people in terms of income and
standards as well as socio-economic status (Bajpai, 2001).
According to Infosys founder, Narayan Murthy, 'social responsibility is
to create maximum shareholders value working under the
circumstances, where it is fair to all its stakeholders, workers,
consumers, the community, government and the environment'.
Commission of the European Communities 2001 stated that being
socially responsible means not only fulfilling legal expectations, but
also going beyond compliance and investing 'more' into human
capital, the environment and the relation with stakeholders(Bajpai,
2001). Over the time four different models have emerged all of which
can be found in India regarding corporate responsibility (Kumar et al.,
2001).

The Political Economy of Corporate Responsibility in India

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is on the rise all over the world,
and India is no exception. The history of corporate paternalism has
played an important part in shaping community expectations and
CSR practices in India. Civil society, consumers and other actors
have increased the pressure on companies to adhere to social and
environmental standards, and this new “civil regulatory” environment
has had impacts on business in India. This paper considers corporate
environmental and social behaviour in India, both in the past and the
present, in an attempt to better understand the actual impact of CSR.
The paper is divided into five broad sections with the first section
setting forth the issues in context. Section 2 covers the historical
aspects of the business and society interface in India from the middle
of the nineteenth century up to the present, and it determines the
actors and the factors that have influenced the corporate
responsibility discourse. Section 3 then presents the state of
contemporary CSR in India, by detailing perceptions of the issue, and
the initiatives undertaken by selected companies, industries, industry
associations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and trade
unions. It includes a discussion on certain codes of conduct related to
labour and environmental issues. Section 4 discusses the drivers of
corporate social and environmental responsibility in India, using a
case study of the garment sector. Voluntary initiatives are examined
in light of the macro changes unfolding in the Indian economy and
society since the early 1990s, particularly by examining the
characteristics of the labour market and the impact of labour,
environmental and other regulations on business and society. This
section also documents corporate management and governance
practices. The last section contains a brief discussion on issues
beyond voluntarism and judicial activism.

Philanthropy has been important in India since the middle of the

nineteenth century, largely due to a strong heritage of community
influence and paternalism among traders-turned-entrepreneurs. At
the same time, the larger economic governance framework that was
put in place by the state also influenced corporate practices toward
labour and society from time to time. The Indian government’s
socialistic policy agenda, which aimed at a more equitable distribution
of resources, restricted the concentration of wealth to the hands of a
few industrialists through strategies of import substitution, foreign
exchange control, reservations for and protection of small-scale
enterprises, industrial licence, and quota systems for raw material
and production. This influenced business practices of the times.
However, business was often reluctant to abide by such principles.
As a result, interest in corporate philanthropy decreased, leading to
an increase in corporate malpractice, and manoeuvring for survival
and profits. All this was facilitated by incidents of corruption in state
and national government bureaucracies. However, certain self-
enlightened businessmen practiced and advocated ethical and
responsible business behaviour, and issues of the social
responsibility of business and stakeholder engagement were debated
in India as early as the 1960s. In fact, there is evidence available of
businesses going far beyond compliance and setting best-practice
standards in labour relations and community development even
before India’s independence in 1947. Some such best practices later
became the basis for drafting related legislation after independence.

Despite the existence of trade unions, the trade union movement was
not very effective in advocating for the rights of workers beyond
issues related to wages and could not, therefore, contribute much to
the larger corporate responsibility debate. To some extent, this
shortcoming was offset by the emergence of other civil society actors
in the form of NGOs and community-based organizations from the
1970s. However, NGO activism in the early phase was limited by
government policies to the role of service delivery agents; it was only
in the 1990s, when this role broadened, that NGOs started to have
greater effect. However, they tended to influence state policies rather
than confronting business head-on. Consumer boycotts, popular in
the Western economies, have also been rare in the Indian context.

The response to corporate responsibility pressures in India has

occurred mostly in export-led sectors and where the business is part
of a global supply chain. The important issue of home-based workers
was not addressed by international instruments for a long time and
this, coupled with the lack of both the will and capability for
monitoring, meant that businesses could exploit vulnerable groups of
workers. Manufacturers catering to local markets did not experience
the same demands and pressures to practise corporate social and
environmental responsibility. Therefore, the locally developed
certification and labelling schemes failed to attract the attention of
local business.

Since the mid-1990s, CSR has been practised and debated by

businesses, industry associations, NGOs and the government.
However, there is still progress to be made. CSR is not
institutionalized as a part of business practice; instead it is more of a
“social good” left to the discretion of chief executive officers or top
management. The agenda does not yet engage with CSR in terms of
workers’ rights. Employee care is often left to employer benevolence.
And while environmental care and total quality management have
been driven by international competition as well as by legislation in
India, compliance and enforcement are slack.

The nature of corporate actions and market-friendly regulations in

India suggests that increased private sector participation in social and
environmental affairs will need more vigilance from the government,
not less. More importantly, we will need more democracy, not less, to
create the space for various actors to operate and provide support
and resistance, as required. The government will have to be re-
engineered so that its regulation and monitoring role can be
strengthened. In other words, it will need countervailing power
outside the government-industry nexus. This requires democratic
rights and institutions that can defend or advocate these rights, from
courts to civil society institutions. The challenge, therefore, is to
continue to build a vibrant set of civil institutions capable of feeding
the corporate community and their markets with signals of success
that orient companies toward social and environmental “goods”, and
away from the “bads”.

Need for CSR

While the interests of shareholders and the actions of managers of

any business enterprise have to be governed by the laws of
economics, requiring an adequate financial return on investments
made, in reality the operations of an enterprise need to be driven by a
much larger set of objectives that are today being defined under the
term CSR. The broad rationale for a new set of ethics for corporate
decision making, which clearly constructs and upholds a
organization's social responsibility, arises from the fact that a business
enterprise derives several benefits from society, which must, therefore
require the enterprise to provide returns to society as wel.l. A
business cannot succeed in a society which fails. This, therefore,
clearly establishes the stake of a business organization in the good
health and well being of a society of which it is a part. More
importantly, in this age of widespread communication and growing
emphasis on transparency, customers of any product or service are
unlikely to feel satisfied in buying from an organization that is seen to
violate the expectations of what
is deemed to be ethically and socially responsible behavior . It is
becoming increasingly evident that organizations that pay genuine
attention to the principles of socially responsible behaviour are also
finding favour with the public and are the preferred choice for their
goods and services.

Global Status of CSR

CSR in USA
The United States has had a strong tradition of corporate
philanthropy. Corporate social programs have always been very
popular. These include employee volunteering, matched giving,
involvement with organizations with a very strong local community
focus.
The Government is a quiet but key player especially in the regulation
of CSR. The USA – Community
Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulates CSR in financial services sector.
The CRA sets minimum requirements, monitors compliance,
incentives through tax credits and impacts on mergers and
acquisitions. The latest trends in the US include a stronger global
focus especially for multinationals, increasing emphasis on
sustainability, growing awareness of core business advantages of
CSR

Recent changes and development in the realm of CSR in the US

include a growth in strategic programs focusing on more than just
economic growth and examples of businesses/companies with
successful CSR implementations include IBM, Microsoft, EDS,
American Express and Cisco Systems. The trends in Canada have
been similar to those in the US

CSR is fairly developed in US. This is partly because the corporates

have to undergo very less regulation there. CSR is viewed as a
necessary than a voluntary activity. There is a prominent strain of
charity in American culture. Same time American corporates show a
considerable opposition to workers organizing themselves. This in
itself is a major deviation from the norms of 'Freedom to Associate'.
One documented case-study of CSR is of Merck Pharmaceuticals'
initiative to cure river blindness, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes
across various parts of Africa. Merck's R&D discovered that a
particular veterinary formulation of theirs could cure river blindness. It
voluntarily approached the governments of these countries and
offered them the drug at a rock bottom price. This not only worked
towards betterment of the populace but also was a big morale booster
for the employees.

CSR Asia
It was founded in Hong Kong in 2004 to provide information and
develop tools for CSR in the Asia-Pacific Region. CSR Asia, in
association with its partners (such as Centre for Social Markets , CSR
in China , etc.), publishes specialized reports, provides training and
education on CSR issues, facilitates stakeholder dialogues and
undertakes customized contract research for multinational and NGO
clients. CSR Asia also informs people about CSR issues as they arise
through their daily internet news service , online news database and
online weekly CSR Asia Newsletter

The Asia-Pacific CSR Group

The Asia Pacific CSR Group was launched in July 2004, bringing
together 9 CSR organizations in the region. Members of the Asia
Pacific CSR Group engage in active learning exchanges and
practices, networking and sharing of information with the aim of
supporting each other to achieve the vision of the members or goals
of the group. Goals include the recognition of standards and
benchmarks that may commonly apply like governance as well as
good business practices in the fields of environmental
protection/conservation, equitable human resource management
amongst others. The Group plans to undertake a study of a CSR
Index for the region to raise the level of CSR across the region and
facilitate and enhance consumer confidence through acceptable
benchmarks.

CSR in Europe
In Europe, different countries have different cultural traditions,
different styles of government (e.g. centralized versus decentralized),
but there is a definite focus on social partnerships. This means getting
business and civil society engaged in issues that are significant to all
– primarily social exclusion – through workforce participation
The governments are actively involved in this aspect– both in the EU
and in individual European countries. For instance, the aim of the
European Summit on Employment, Economic Reform and “Corporate
Social Responsibility”.
Corporate and Social Responsibility for SME’s
Corporate Social Responsibility (or more recently social
responsibility) has increased in importance around the world. Much of
the content of the reports focus on large company’s and statistical
analysis – all very well but for small lean business like mine and
yours we need a different approach.
This page aims to explore CSR - Corporate Social Responsibility
from the practical stance of the smaller business. For CSR to be
adopted as a principle, it needs not only to be understood, but
practical steps provided to make this valuable concept accessible and
sustainable - in other words - you as a manager needs to know what
and how you can do this easily and today.

Is CSR important to SME's?

Yes CSR is important, and yes it can help us be more effective,
efficient and most importantly more profitable.
In 2002 a survey of Small-Medium sized Enterprises (SME) attitudes
to CSR conducted by MORI sponsored by the DTi, it found that:
• A large number of SMEs were already engaged in social
responsibility where defined as a contribution to the community,
relations with employees and protection of the environment
• Training, employment and education were the top priorities for
SME investment
• SMEs were not yet defining social responsibility as an issue
that could be integrated into all core business activities.
So why is it relevant?
Managers and owners in smaller businesses are often heard asking...
• ‘I am increasingly being asked for information on environmental
and community issues as part of tendering for contracts and
from larger clients and I don’t know where to start.’
• ‘My business is struggling to recruit, motivate and retain good
staff.’
• ‘How can I ensure that I run an environmentally friendly
business without costing me a lot of time and money?’
• ‘I have a business to run with limited resources, so how can my
business benefit?’
Corporate Social Responsibility – a definition:
A responsible business is achieving commercial success in ways that
honour ethical values and respect people, communities and the
natural environment. These businesses minimise any negative
environmental and social
impacts and maximise the positive ones.
Approaches
• There are several approaches to Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR)
• The Three-P Approach to CSR:
o Level 1: Principles of social responsibility
o Level 2: Processes of social responsiveness
o Level 3: Products (or Outcomes) as they relate to the firm's
societal relationships

We need to adopt these as appropriate for our business. For many of

us we will only work at level one with some elements of level 2.
What does a sustainable and responsible company look like?
• It is run for and can be seen to be run for the benefit of profit,
people and planet.
• It integrates responsible business practice so that it is built in to
business purpose and strategy rather than being a bolt-on to
business operations.
• Employees value it as a great place to work.
• Customers and suppliers value it as a good business to do
business with.
• The community values it as a great neighbour.
• Investors and financiers value it as worth investing in.
• It has a good health and safety record.
• It has environmentally friendly premises.
BENEFITS OF CSR

Stronger Financial Performance and Profitability

Businesses can use CSR and corporate sustainability to produce
direct benefits for the bottom line. For example, operational
efficiencies can be achieved through reducing energy and materials
as input factors for production. Wastes can also be reduced and
materials can be recycled. These sorts of actions from eco-efficiency
can produce concurrent environmental and economic benefits for the
company and thereby contribute to stronger financial performance
and more positive profitability. Operational efficiencies can be
achieved in other facets of CSR such as streamlining the way that
information is provided to the investment community as well as to
other stakeholders that demand increased transparency. Managing
potential risks and liabilities more effectively throughCSR tools and
perspectives can also reduce costs. Using corporate responsibility
and sustainability approaches within business decision-making can
result not only in reduced costs but can also lead to recognizing new
market opportunities such as when new manufacturing processes are
developed that can be expanded to other plants, regions or markets.
There are various studies that have examined the relationship
between CSR and corporate financial performance and most of the
evidence suggests that the links are positive.

Improved Relations With the Investment Community and Better

Access to Capital
The investment community has been exploring the links between
corporate social responsibility and financial performance of
businesses. There is growing evidence (through indices such as
the Dow Jones Group Sustainability Index (DJGSI), the FTSE4 Good
indices, and the Jantzi Social Index) that companies that embrace the
essential qualities of CSR generally outperform their counterparts that
do not use features of CSR . This information is being translated into
action within the investment community (e.g. with creation of funds
such as Socially Responsible Investment, Domini Social Equity
Fund,EcoValue 21). An increasing number of mutual funds are now
integrating CSR criteria into their selection processes to screen in
sounder companies and/or screen out businesses that do not meet
certain environmental or social standards. Thus, a CSR approach by
a company can improve the stature of the company in the perspective
of the investment community, a company’s stock market valuation,
and its capacity to access capital from that community.

Enhanced Employee Relations, Productivity and Innovation

A key potential benefit from CSR initiatives involves establishing the
conditions that can contribute to increasing the commitment and
motivation of employees to become more innovative and productive.
Companies that employ CSR related perspectives and tools tend to
be businesses that provide the pre-conditions for increased loyalty
and commitment from employees. These conditions can serve to help
to recruit employees, retain employees, motivate employees to
develop skills, and encourage employees to pursue learning to find
innovative ways to not only reduce costs but to also spot and take
advantage of new opportunities for maximizing benefits, reduce
absenteeism, and may also translate into marginally less demands
for higher wages.

Stronger Relations Within Communities Through Stakeholder

Engagement
A key feature of CSR involves the way that a company engages,
involves, and collaborates with its stakeholders including
shareholders, employees, debtholders, suppliers, customers,
communities, non-governmental organizations, and governments. To
the extent that stakeholder engagement and collaboration involve
maintaining an open dialogue, being prepared to form effective
partnerships, and demonstrating transparency (through measuring,
accounting, and reporting practices), the relationship between the
business and the community in which it operates is likely to be more
credible and trustworthy. This is a potentially important benefit for
companies because it increases their "licence to operate", enhances
their prospects to be supported over the longer term by the
community, and improves their capacity to be more sustainable.
Companies can use stakeholder engagement to internalize society’s
needs, hopes, circumstances into their corporate views and decision-
making. While there are many questions about how far a company’s
responsibilities extend into communities relative to the roles of
governments and individual citizens, there is a strong argument
that CSR can effectively improve a company’s relations with
communities and thereby produce some key features that will
improve business prospects for its future

Improved Reputation and Branding

A potential benefit of CSR is that it can improve a company’s
reputation and branding and this in turn improves the prospects for
the company to be more effective in the way that it manages
communications and marketing in efforts to attract new customers
and increase market share. CSR as a concept with various tools can
help a company to position itself in the marketplace as a company
that is more responsible and more sustainable than its competitors.

A Word on CSR as an Investment

CSR can be viewed by businesses as a form of investment that helps
to differentiate a company and its goods and services.

What then is the right way to look at CSR as an investment -

particularly given that it frequently involves intangible and less
quantifiable domains. The bottom line is that a prudent business may
tend to regard CSR in the same way it treats most investment
decisions. It would be inclined to use the same systematic approach
to assess the anticipated benefits and related revenues relative to the
costs that it employs for investment proposals. A rigorous and
systematic approach to CSR investment is likely to yield the most
positive results for both the business and society as it is likely to
demonstrate the most efficient allocation of resources from the
perspective of both the firm and society.

There are many different areas where a firm can invest to

develop CSR attributes (e.g. human resource management,
environmental protection, health and safety, community involvement,
etc.). Investment decisions on CSR need to take account of various
factors and parameters as well as the anticipated cost and benefit
stream to be produced by the investment.

CSR focus on:

Policy:
Business Principles, Defining your Purpose, Innovation, Know the
law, Managing risks, Measuring success, Sharing good practice
What are the theories and business principles which drive successful
businesses?
Here you can dip into information on the law and its implications for
your business. There is also information about how to measure the
intangibles e.g. how can you measure increased customer loyalty?
Plus you'll find useful signposts and pointers as to where you can find
more information on each topic.
Practice:
Better payment, Developing skills, Diversity, Equality, Health and
safety, Managing resources, Marketing with a cause, Minimising
waste, Volunteering
If you want to save money through managing waste more effectively
how do you go about it? What about health & safety? In a recent
survey* 60% of small and medium sized business owners said that
they had been asked about their practices in this area by a large
corporate customer. Make sure you're one step ahead of the game
and start by reading the guide to health and safety contained within
this section.
Stakeholders:
Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities

Stakeholder is an umbrella term, which covers every group of

individuals you deal with as a business.
Here we focus on four stakeholders- your employees, the community,
your customers and your suppliers. By listening and talking to these
groups on a regular basis you can really improve your business's
reputation and it doesn't cost a fortune.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Corporate Responsibility
is about managing your business to achieve both commercial and
social benefit. In essence it's about managing your social, community
and environmental impacts to help you improve results, reduce risks
and enhance your reputation. It is also about growing your business
in a way that has value for everyone connected to it.

Measuring Success
For the majority of SME’s and small businesses, it is not about
copying what the ‘big companies’ do, but to use these principles in
the way we work. This means treating them as principles, not yet
another administrative burden. So measure them…no!

ACC Limited -CSR Activities

Today we define Corporate Social Responsibility as the way a

company balances its economic, social and environmental objectives
while addressing stakeholder expectations and enhancing
shareholder value.

But ACC has undertaken social volunteering practices almost from its
inception, – long before the term corporate social responsibility was
coined. The company’s earliest initiatives in community development
date back to the 1940's in a village on the outskirts of Mumbai while
the first formal Village Welfare Scheme was launched in 1952. The
community living around many of our factories comprises the weakest
sections of rural and tribal India with no access to basic amenities.

Corporate Social Responsibility Policy

“The Company shall continue to have among its objectives the
promotion and growth of the national economy through increased
productivity, effective utilization of material and manpower resources
and continued application of modern scientific and managerial
techniques, in keeping with the national aspiration; and the Company
shall continue to be mindful of its social and moral responsibilities to
consumers, employees, shareholders, society and the local
community.

In pursuance of the above objective, ACC acknowledges the

importance of the concept of inter-dependence of all sections of
society. In particular, its focus revolves around the community
residing in the immediate vicinity of its Cement Plants and Mines
where it seeks to actively assist in improving the quality of life and
making this community self-reliant. In line with its abiding concern for
preservation of the ecological balance and safeguarding the health of
the community, ACC has always actively demonstrated its firm
resolve to protect the environment

Mindful of its great tradition, ACC is deeply committed to enhancing

its reputation and respect built over the years in industry and society
for its professional style of management based on philosophy of the
best in business ethics.”

Community & Rural Welfare

Our community development activities revolve around the under-
privileged community that lives in the immediate vicinity of our
cement plants and is thus more dependent on us. The range of our
activities begins with extending educational and medical facilities and
goes on to cover vocational guidance and supporting employment-
oriented and income-generation projects like agriculture, animal
husbandry, cottage industries by developing local skills, using local
raw materials and helping create marketing outlets.
At all our cement factories we share our amenities and facilities with
members of the local community. This includes sharing education
and medical facilities, sports and recreation. Wherever possible we
share access to Bore Wells, drinking water and the usage of colony
roads.
Education
Education is imparted not only to children of ACC employees but also
more importantly to children from rural areas who do not have access
to any medium of information or education. ACC schools maintain
high standards and are open to other children of the vicinity. Often
these schools are the most preferred centers of learning in the district
and adjoining areas. Wherever possible, ACC provides funds and
infrastructure to help set up local schools, colleges and centers for
learning and education.

Healthcare
ACC takes pride in providing various forms of medical assistance to
the families of our employees and also to all those living in
surrounding villages. Each factory has a medical center with full-
fledged doctors and the latest of basic equipment. Mobile medical
services are provided in the vicinity and regular medical camps are
held to eradicate diseases, offer medical help, treatment and
preventive care.

ACC has come out to provide support to state and national health
initiatives such as the eradication of malaria, dengue fever and the
dreaded HIV.

HIV/AIDS - Workplace Policy

ACC is desirous of playing a meaningful role in the nationwide effort
to eradicate HIV/AIDS and has pledged to support the Confederation
of Indian Industry in their initiative. ACC recognizes that a
fundamental step in this respect involves a clear statement of the
company’s internal policy to deal with employees affected by
HIV/AIDS. CII has framed a Code of Practice for Industry to
guarantee and safeguard the rights of employees infected and
affected by HIV/AIDS. We adopt this as ACC’s internal workplace
policy for HIV/AIDS. The policy states that::
The company will provide a safe and healthy work environment for
employees.
The company will educate its employees and the family on
prevention, care and counseling of HIV/AIDS.
The company will educate its employees on safe blood donation and
transfusion.
If an employee has been infected, information about the illness would
be kept confidential by the company. Only the immediate superior
would be kept advised to prevent any medical eventuality.
A HIV positive employee will be allowed to continue to work in his or
her job unless medical conditions interfere with the specific job he or
she is doing. On account of health conditions the employee may be
shifted to another comfortable position.
The employer should ensure that the co–employees cannot or should
not shun their HIV positive peer or refuse to work alongside them. In
fact, the company will assure his or her comfort level in the work
place.
The company will, as a policy, not discriminate against any employee
infected by HIV/AIDS with regard to promotions, training and any
other privileges, applicable to all employees of the organisation.
While the company may ask a person who is being offered a job to
undergo general medical tests before the issue of the appointment
letter, the test will not cover HIV/AIDS, without an informed consent
and pre test counseling of the candidate. |
The company will educate its employees and encourage them to
participate in voluntary counseling and testing. However, HIV/AIDS
tests will not be a part of any annual or regular health check ups,
without the employee’s informed consent and pre test counseling.
The company will ensure that proper treatment is available to
employees infected with HIV/AIDS. The company will assist the
employee in meeting the cost of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs within the
prescribed limits as fixed by the Company. The arrangements for
treatment will be made at hospitals pre-identified by the company and
payment will be made directly to the service provider. All other (non-
ARV) HIV/AIDS related costs will be covered as per the company’s
prevailing scheme for Health and Medical treatment.
It is hoped that this policy will help build positive and supportive
attitudes towards those infected as well as promote health and safety
amongst the employees.

HIV/AIDS treatment - Anti Retroviral Treatment Centres

In close consultation with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII),
the management of ACC decided to step forward to participate in the
national effort to eradicate the HIV/AIDS virus that we recognize as
being among the country’s most important public health issues.
As a first step, we announced a Workplace policy for HIV/AIDS that
protects the fundamental human rights of employees who may
unfortunately become affected by HIV/AIDS, while also ensuring that
these affected persons get proper care and treatment. Next we
decided to set up an Anti Retroviral Treatment Centre for HIV/AIDS
treatment. We chose to put up this project in Wadi in the state of
Karnataka where we have the largest of our cement plants.
Karnataka also happens to be a state where the virus is highly
prevalent.
The ACC Wadi ART Centre has all the basic physical infrastructure,
Laboratory facilities and trained medical and support personnel. It is
housed in a new building constructed by us on an independent piece
of land outside our plant and colony. The building has an area of over
2500 square feet and comprises a large reception area with adequate
seating, consulting rooms for the doctors, rooms for social workers
and counselors, laboratory, pharmacy, pantry and toilets.
The center is fully equipped with new machines and medical
equipment as prescribed by NACO ART guidelines. These include a
state-of-the art CD4/ CD8 cell counting machine. We believe this is
the only center in the district and adjoining districts with such a
machine. The ACC Wadi ART Centre has a full complement of
medical and support personnel including a doctor, nurse, lab
technicians and other staff. The doctor has been trained at Christian
Medical College Vellore. The center includes a Voluntary Counseling
and Testing Centre (VCTC). We will also be tying up with reputed
hospitals in Gulbarga for referaal linkages.
We aim to develop the skill and capability to run this center at Wadi
as a world-class facility for the benefit of the public, with the
assistance of NACO, CII and prestigious medical institutes such as
CMC Vellore.

Disaster Relief
ACC and its employees make timely contribution to help in any
national disaster. This is done both at the corporate level, by local
units and employees. Apart from the Kargil cause, collective
contributions by way of cash, food and clothing has been sent to help
victims of calamities such as the Latur earthquake, Himachal Pradesh
floods, Orissa cyclone, Gujarat earthquake, Tsunami and floods in
Maharashtra.
Gujarat Masons’ Training
ACC’s contribution to the rebuilding effort after the 2001 earthquake
in Gujarat was unique. Anticipating a scarcity of skilled masons and
trained supervisors for the reconstruction work - especially in Kutch,
Rajkot and Surendranagar districts, the company evolved a scheme
to provide construction related training to over 2500 unemployed
persons (mostly youth) in earthquake affected villages. Our best civil
engineers were deputed to impart training on basic skills needed to
work as masons and construction site supervisors and to make
earthquake resistant structures, using local materials. This was
perhaps the country’s first formal training programme of this
magnitude for masons and site supervisors, organised by ACC.

Sustainable construction projects

ACC has joined hands with ‘Holcim Foundation for sustainable
Construction’ to encourage sustainable construction projects by
seeking partnerships with organizations that work in the area of
enabling sustainable improvement of livelihood and habitats. In the
first step, we have extended financial support along with Holcim
Foundation to what we expect to be the most exemplary sustainable
building projects in India – the headquarters building of Development
Alternatives, a reputed non-government organization in New Delhi.
We believe this project is innovative and likely to become a
benchmark for large urban workspaces and sustainable building
complexes. I am sure it will offer significant learning to students of
architecture, civil engineering and town planning. The partnership
with Development Alternatives will also help us in establishing
solutions for improved rural livelihoods.

Conservation of heritage structures

The services of ACC’s Concrete experts have often been utilized in
the restoration of several national heritage buildings across the
country - such as sections of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
(formerly Victoria Terminus) at Mumbai, the J N Petit and David
Sassoon Libraries in Mumbai, churches in Goa, palaces and royal
mansions in Mysore and Hyderabad and other old structures in the
country.

The historic Vijayraghavgarh fort in Madhya Pradesh was recently

restored under ACC’s patronage. This is not a core business of the
company but an act of corporate volunteering by way of sharing
knowledge and expertise.

Global Compact

ACC Limited is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact.

We are committed to the ten principles of the Compact which foster
better corporate responsibility in the areas of human rights, labour,
environment and anti-corruption. Established in 1936, this company
has from its very inception been conscious of its obligations to the
community and has always kept in view its social responsibilities.
ACC’s Vision vividly declares the company’s commitment to its
corporate social responsibility and sustainable development issues
making these an essential part of the business goals for the
company. This communication on Progress provides an insight into
our recent activities in support of the Global Compact’s Objective and
our efforts towards continuous improvement. Communication on
Progress

Support to national Sport

ACC has had an old and close association with the game of cricket.
From the 1950’s to the 70’s, many cricket legends were employees of
ACC during their active cricket careers. This was in the days before
cricketers became like the superstars they are today. ACC was then
among the few companies which went out of its way to employ young
cricketers, including budding young Ranji Trophy hopefuls. ACC
joined hands with the Confederation of Indian Industry to sponsor
India’s National Boxing team at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and the
Commonwealth Games. ACC also sponsors and supports other
sports at National, regional and local levels such as inter-regional
Badminton championships, youth soccer and Rural Sports Meets.

Awards & Accolades

ACC was the first recipient of ASSOCHAM’s first ever National Award
for outstanding performance in promoting rural and agricultural
development activities in 1976. Decades later, PHD Chamber of
Commerce and Industry selected ACC as winner of its Good
Corporate Citizen Award for the year 2002. Over the years, there
have been many awards and felicitations for achievements in Rural
and community development, Safety, Health, Tree plantation,
afforestation, Clean mining, Environment awareness and protection.
In 2006, we were selected to receive the Good Corporate Citizen
Award of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Awards & Accolades

National Award for outstanding performance in promoting rural and
agricultural development – by ASSOCHAM

Sword of Honour - by British Safety Council, United Kingdom for

excellence in safety performance.

Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award --- by The Ministry of

Environment and Forests for "extraordinary work" carried out in the
area of afforestation.

FICCI Award --- for innovative measures for control of pollution,

waste management & conservation of mineral resources in mines
and plant.

Subh Karan Sarawagi Environment Award - by The Federation of

Indian Mineral Industries for environment protection measures.

Drona Trophy - By Indian Bureau Of Mines for extra ordinary efforts

in protection of Environment and mineral conservation in the large
mechanized mines sector.

Indo German Greentech Environment Excellence Award

Golden Peacock Environment Management Special Award - for

outstanding efforts in Environment Management in the large
manufacturing sector.

Indira Gandhi Memorial National Award - for excellent performance in

prevention of pollution and ecological development

Excellence in Management of Health, Safety and Environment :

Certificate of Merit by Indian Chemical Manufacturers Association
Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar trophy for outstanding performance
in safety and mine working

Good Corporate Citizen Award - by PHD Chamber of Commerce and

Industry

Jamnalal Bajaj Uchit Vyavahar Puraskar - Certificate of Merit by

Council for Fair Business Practices

Greentech Safety Gold and Silver Awards - for outstanding

performance in Safety management systems by Greentech
Foundation

FIMI National Award - for valuable contribution in Mining activities

from the Federation of Indian Mineral Industry under the Ministry of
Coal.

Rajya Sthariya Paryavaran Puraskar - for outstanding work in

Environmental Protection and Environment Performance by the
Madhya Pradesh Pollution. Control Board.

National Award for Fly Ash Utilisation - by Ministry of Power, Ministry

of Environment & Forests and Dept of Science & Technology, Govt of
India - for manufacture of Portland Pozzolana Cement.

Good Corporate Citizen Award - by Bombay Chamber of Commerce

and Industry for working towards an environmentally sustainable
industry while pursuing the objective of creation of a better society.

National Award for Excellence in Water Management - by the

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Cairn India's

Introduction
Cairn India is committed to maintaining the highest standards of
corporate social responsibility (CSR) in its business activities and
aims to make a difference wherever it operates. We have made good
progress in both developing and implementing its approach to
managing the many CSR challenges facing the business.

Cairn India's vision of its CSR is encapsulated in 3 Rs – Respect,

Relationships and Responsibility.
Respect
People are Cairn India’s key asset and the attitude of the Cairn team
is critical to its business culture. Cairn’s entrepreneurial spirit is
underpinned by a depth of knowledge and a strong set of cultural
core values including integrity, social and environmental
responsibility, team work and nurturing of individuals, creativity, risk
management and developing alliances with key partners.

Relationships
These are the key to developing any business and Cairn’s success in
this region for more than a decade would not have been possible
without the consistent support of all stakeholders, from governments,
regulators and JV partners, to the people living near our sites in
Rajasthan and our other operational bases in the region. The
establishment of the Cairn India Board, with highly experienced non-
executive and executive directors, further enables it to strengthen the
local relationships that support business development in India.

Responsibility
Cairn India is operating in many areas that face economic, social and
environmental challenges. It has the responsibility to understand
these CSR challenges, identify the potential impact of its activities
and through engaging with stakeholders, look for opportunities for
mutual benefit.

Community Invlovement
Corporate Responsibility
Cairn Group's perspective on CSR is to "recognise that it is essential
for our long term success that Corporate Responsibility is part of the
way we do business" – Sir Bill Gammell.
Cairn India's approach to Corporate Social Responsibility is focused
on behaving responsibly towards people, society and the
environment. CSR policies are there to ensure that the highest
standards are maintained within the Cairn India Organization. CSR
programme objectives are to proactively manage community
expectations and support the district administration for the
development of the area.

The focus area is building infrastructures, providing health support,

education and economic development within the local community.
Cairn’s intervention is made through District Coordination
Committees, NGOs or the Panchayat Institution.

Behaving Responsibly
Critical to building relationships is our understanding of the needs and
aspirations of the people living close to our operations.

In business relationships
Cairn India's strategy is to create value through exploration and
during the last decade, along with its joint venture partners, Cairn and
its JV partners have invested more than $2bn on exploration and
development in South Asia, with a further investment of $2bn
committed to Rajasthan.

Towards people
Whilst it recognises that it works in a potentially hazardous
environment, Cairn India aim to keep its people safe, within a safety
culture that promotes better safety performance and robust reporting
of incidents. Cairn India's Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) is
below the average for the upstream oil and gas industry.

Towards society
Cairn India contributes annually to funds administered by the local
district authorities for improvements to local infrastructure in the areas
where it operates; providing libraries and computers for schools,
teachers' training and excursions, and renovation of school buildings.
Towards the environment
All the Cairn-operated production sites achieved ISO 14001
certification in 2005.

Last year Cairn reduced methane and greenhouse gas emissions

and the oil discharged in water per unit of hydrocarbon from the
producing fields.

Cairn has supported reforestation projects to promote water capture

in all its operating areas in India. In more than a decade, more than
330,000 trees have been planted

The CSR focus, methodology, and impact and business

linkage of 30 companies IN INDIA

Business
Company Type Focus Area Linkage

Bajaj Auto Auto Development of Indirect

weaker sections of
society

Castrol India Chemicals Strengthens link Indirect

between business &
social investments

Mahindra & Auto-mobile Sharing wealth and Indirect

Mahindra promote primary
education

Infosys IT Support and Indirect

encourage
underprivileged
sections
ITC FMCG "Citizen First" Indirect
watershed
development program;
Empowering Farmers;
Greening Wastelands
and Irrigating dry
lands

L&T Engg. Enhancing Indirect

shareholder value
and responsibility
for welfare of
society at large

Dabur India Pharma FMCG Give back some part Indirect

of what Dabur has
gained from
community

BHEL Engg. Community and Direct

Product development

Tata Steel Engg./Metal "Improve the quality Indirect

of life of the
communities it
serves."

Wipro IT Learning Enhancement Indirect

Disaster
rehabilitation

Nestle India FMCG Integrated Indirect

communities where it
runs industrial and
commercial
operations

ICICI Financial Empower millions Direct

economically &
socially challenged
 Indians.

Colgate- FMCG Colgate care for the Direct

Palmolive community where they
live & work

Britannia FMCG Wadia Group Direct

Industries Community conscious,
desire to share
prosperity with
community.

BPCL Petrochemicals Community Indirect

development

Godrej Engg & FMCG Promoting education, Indirect

housing, social
upliftment,
conservation,
population
management and
relief of natural
calamities

Grasim Textile Social and economic Indirect

Industries Engg Chemicals development of the
communities in which
we operate

Cipla Pharma Cipla Care Direct

Johnson & Pharma Support good works Direct

Johnson FMCG and charities.

Hero Honda Auto-mobile Do something for Indirect

community from whose
land we generate our
wealth

NIIT IT Narrowing the Direct

 digital divide
across the world,

Zee Telefilms Entertainment being successful is Direct

to be socially
responsible

Dr Reddy's Lab Pharma Prosperity of Direct

communities integral
to success of
companies

Satyam Computer IT Contributing to the Indirect

Service well-being and
development of
society

Novartis Pharma Treatment for Direct

Leprosy

TCS IT Flexible Global Indirect

business practices

Citi group Financia l Women empowerment Direct

Services

NTPC Power Rehabilitation & Direct

Resettlement policy,
community work,
gender equality,
Policy of grant of
paternity leave,

SAIL Manuf. Community Direct

development

Hindalco Manuf. Poverty Alleviation Direct

Program

Methodology
Company Adopted Impact

Bajaj Auto Trust Undertakes long-term Community

projects in rural areas. Development

Castrol India Rehabilitation of earthquake Community Service

affected victims in Gujarat.
Castrol Drive for Safety
Initiative College
establishment

Mahindra & College establishment Nanhi Community

Mahindra Kali (underprivileged girl Development
child) 1% Profit after tax for
CSR activities
Free education for girls
Lifeline Express: medical
facility Free surgeries

Infosys Infosys Foundation provide Successfully

medical facilities to remote implemented
rural areas, organizing novel projects
pension schemes and aiding
orphans and street children
and rural education program
titled "A library for every
school", Human Capital
Education index for its
employees

ITC Through "e-choupal" organizing Supplier and

farmers into water user groups community
that plan and build water- development
harvesting structures Primary
education Livestock
development Social forestry
Integrated watershed
development First to be
certified SA 8000 standard
L&T Eco Friendly approach; Create Community Service
awareness on HIV/AIDS; and and environment
waste minimization, Health One protection
of the first corporate to
launch HIV/AIDS program

Dabur India Establishment of Sundesh, NGO RM Supplier

Programs for ecological development
regeneration & protection of
endangered plant species
Promoting health and hygiene
amongst the underprivileged
through Trust and Create
environmental awareness
amongst young minds

BHEL Adopted 56 villages and Benefited over

provided infrastructure for 80,000 people.
schools for physically
challenged children near its
units
Launched wind electric Minimize
generators, solar heating environmental
systems, solar photovoltaic impact of fossil
systems, solar lanterns and energy products,
battery powered road vehicles

Tata Steel Through "Green Millennium" Settling

campaign planted 1.5 million Sustainability
surviving trees Through Standards
Employment Generation,
Building people, education,
health and hygiene

Wipro Through trust: Provide Community Service

rehabilitation to survivors
of natural calamities and
Enhancing learning abilities
of children from
underprivileged sections.
Nestle India Through Water Conservation, Environment
Natural refrigerants replaced protection and
ozone depleting. Also include community services
Nutrition & health projects,
agricultural assistance,
education and training, arts
and culture, HIV/AIDS
prevention and donations

ICICI Through initiatives Give Community

India; Shop; Volunteer; development
and Info change.

Colgate- Free oral care education Community

Palmolive Through different community development
programs

Britannia Welfare of its workers through Employee

Industries trust Health care facilities development
Support

BPCL Through Health, Rain water Community services

harvesting, Infrastructure
development, education, HIV
Health care and prevention.

Godrej Three Foundations/Trusts to Employees'

contribute to Social, involvement
Environmental, and Educational in Group's
causes. philanthropic
efforts.

Grasim Through "Aditya Birla Centre Community

Industries for Community Initiatives and Development
Rural Development".
Includes education, Health &
family welfare, Sustainable
development & livelihood &
agriculture & watershed
 development, Infrastructure
development & Social causes

Cipla Cipla Foundation Through Dr. Community service

K. A. Hamied Institute & Cipla
Cancer Palliative Care Centre

Johnson & Through donations of time, Community Services

Johnson money and goods. Women's and
Children's Health Community
Responsibility Access to Care
Advancing Health Care
Knowledge Global Public Health

Hero Honda Through Integrated Rural Community

Development Centre including development
: Hospital, Sports complex,
Vocational Training Centre,
Adult Literacy Mission,
Marriages of underprivileged
girl, Rural Health Care

NIIT Through launch of Community services

International Women's Month
uplifting Indian women,
Computer literacy. Developed
I-Learn Create awareness
about AIDS

Zee Telefilms Public Service Ads/Fillers Community Service

telecast to date are:
Campaigns on TV

Dr Reddy's Lab Through Environmental: Water Environmenta

Usage Energy Usage Wastewater l Protection
Discharge COD & TDS Load
Discharge HW-hazardous waste
disposal GHG emissions
Satyam Computer Specific services through Community
Service
Service various development projects

Novartis Free Multi Drug therapy. Community

Cured 4.5 million patients services

TCS Global delivery model: Global 35 Countries

deployment & delivery of high benefited
value services

Citi group Rehabilitation Education Community services

Health Benefited statesAP,
TN, Karnataka,
Kerala,
Maharashtra, MP

NTPC Founded Global Compact Society Community

services
for India in 2003

SAIL AIDS awareness Education Community

Medical facilities and health development
Development of small scale/
ancillary industries

Hindalco Agriculture, poultry, Community

fisheries Asian CSR award for development
Integrated Rural Poverty
Alleviation Program

IT: Information Technology, Pharma: Pharmaceuticals, Manuf.:

Manufacturing, FMCG: Fast moving consumer goods.

Criticisms and concerns

Critics of CSR as well as proponents debate a number of concerns
related to it. These include CSR's relationship to the fundamental
purpose and nature of business and questionable motives for
engaging in CSR, including concerns about insincerity and hypocrisy.

Critics concerned with corporate hypocrisy and insincerity generally

suggest that better governmental and international regulation and
enforcement, rather than voluntary measures, are necessary to
ensure that companies behave in a socially responsible manner. CSR
could prove to be a valuable asset in an age of Mergers &
Acquisitions, as it helps firms spread their brand name.

current status of CSR in India

As of the year 2000, CSR is fast gaining momentum as an important

aspect of business practice in India. An appreciative quantum of
roundtables and networks pertaining to CSR are being established
and doing good work. Given below are a few of the more prominent
examples.
There are several bodies now emerging on the Indian scene that
focus on issues of CSR. For instance the Corporate Roundtable on
Development of Strategies for the Environment and Sustainable
Development - Business Council for Sustainable Development
(CoRE-BCSD) of India is a grouping into their operations.
Initiated by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), CoRE- BCSD
India includes some of the most innovative, some of the largest and
also the most forward
looking organizations in the country. Subject experts from these
corporates identify and conceptualize projects. A team of industry
members and TERI researchers then works to develop appropriate
solutions/strategies for use by the industry. Currently the Roundtable
includes some of the leading Indian corporates, such as:
- The Associated Cement Companies Limited
- Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
- Century Textiles & Industries Limited
- Gas Authority of India Limite
- Gujarat Ambuja Cements Limited
- Hindustan Lever Limited
- Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited
- ITC Limited - Paper Brands & Speciality Papers Division

CONCLUSION

The concept of corporate social responsibility has gained prominence

from all avenues. Organizations must realize that government alone
will not be able to get success in its endeavor to uplift the
downtrodden of society. The present societal marketing concept of
companies is constantly evolving and has given rise to a new
concept-Corporate Social Responsibility. Many of the leading
corporations across the world had realized the importance of being
associated with socially relevant causes as a means of promoting
their brands. It stems from the desire to do good and get self
satisfaction in return as well as societal obligation of business.

The Indian corporate sector spent US$ 6.31 billion on social

expenditure during 2007-08, up from US$ 3.68 billion spent during
the previous fiscal. The Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), the
country's largest steel company, spent US$ 21.05 million on CSR last
year; Tata Steel Ltd, (which runs a 850-bed hospital and rural projects
in 800 villages around Jamshedpur), spends about US$ 31.58 million
as part of its annual revenue expenditure. Now there are plans to also
introduce CSR in the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector to
increase its reach in remote areas.

Corporate Social Responsibility in India : Past, Present And

Future
Business houses and corporate have been taking up social welfare
activities from time to time. Recently, priority of business is getting
widened from 1 P to 3 Ps by inclusion of People and Planet with
Profit. Short-term, charity-based welfare interventions are being
replaced by long-term, empowerment-based Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR). Based on the realization, “Business cannot
succeed in a society that fails”, CSR is being considered as an
imperative for carrying on business in the society rather than as a
charity. While CSR is relevant for business in all societies, it is
particularly significant for developing countries like India, where
limited resources for meeting the ever growing aspirations and
diversity of a pluralistic society, make the process of sustainable
development more challenging. CSR interventions – based on
commitment, mobilization of employees-voluntarism, innovative
approaches, appropriate technology and continuing partnership –
have been making lasting differences in the life of the disadvantaged.
Further, synergy of corporate action with the government and the civil
society are making the CSR interventions more effective and
facilitating the corporate carrying on business in the society. Covering
a wide range of subjects from theory to practice, this book has
outlined steps to be taken by the major stakeholders – the Corporate,
the Government and the Civil society- for making CSR effective in the
Indian context. Based on case studies and best practices, this
handbook on CSR seeks to provide valuable insights and pragmatic
solutions to the corporate managers. It will be of interest to
government officials, NGOs and media and helps in making
development sustainable in general and growth inclusive in particular