Hey India Inc.! Are you Socially
Responsibile ????
CA Swatee Shere Rane
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jamsetji Tata had once said, “In a free enterprise, the community is
not just another stakeholder, but is, in fact, the very purpose of its
existence.”
Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) is much more than philanthropy , it
encompasses a wide gamut of voluntary activities which are NOT STATUTORILY MANDATED .
To the layman, CSR includes
the social and community initiatives of
the Corporates, however the meaning of CSR is not limited to only this, it is definitely
much more. Only by making generous donations, an unscrupulous Corporate cannot
be said to be socially responsible. It
is the noble initiatives of the Corporates which are directed in making it a
good citizen that determine whether it is socially responsible or not....
A Corporate’s healthy and transparent Governance practices, ethical conduct of business,
effective conservation of scarce resources and efficient management of waste,
tell us whether the corporate is a Good citizen!
CSR became known in the 1990’s when the German generic pharmaceutical company - Betapharm decided to
implement CSR. However this concept was first introduced in 1953 by William J. Bowen, in his publication “Social Responsibilities
of the Businessman”. In recent
years, CSR has become a fundamental business practice. Companies have now explored that the impact of their activities on the economic,
social and environmental sector directly affect their relationships with
investors, employees and customers.
The UK Prime Minister, recently observed “ Business is
the most powerful force for social progress the world has ever known. However
it fails to deliver, because it is affirmed that businesses should stay away from social issues and stick
to making money”.
In India,
traditionally businesses have
been socially responsible, and some of
the business houses have made laudable
efforts on this front. Prominent Business houses such as the Tata’s, Wipro’s, Infosys, ITC, have led the way in making Social Responsibility an intrinsic part of
their business plans. These companies have been deeply involved in praise-worthy
social development initiatives for the public.
Jamshedpur, one of
the major city in Jharkhand also known as Tata Nagar was carved out from a jungle a century ago. And
TATA’s CSR activities in Jamshedpur have
done amazing social work for the
betterment of health and education facilities in this city.
Wipro’s “Applying
Thought in School” initiative has engaged schools, educators , social organisations to bring
about educational reform in the country. And the “Eco Eye” program incorporates better
ecological balance in each and every project
that Wipro undertakes.
Infosys bagged the prestigious
CSR award for Project Genesis at the 8th National Outsourcing
Association Awards in London. “Project Genesis” aims at improving the
employability of students from Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns in India through
focussed training programs which includes two modules: “Language Enhancement”
and “Analytical skills”. The “Language Enhancement” module improves written and
spoken communication capabilities, and “Analytical skills” improves the
aptitude capabilities of the students.
ITC won TERI
Corporate award for social responsibility for its exemplary initiatives in
implementing integrated water- shed development programmes. The much appreciated
“e-Chaupal” program of ITC, enables small and marginalised farmers in rural
India, to access updated information of market prices and weather conditions,
helping them to be competitive by enhancing their farm productivity and
commanding better prices for their farm products. Under “Social and Farm Forestry
Program”, ITC procures wood pulp for its paper and paperboards business from
renewable plantations cultivated by tribals and farmers on their private waste
lands.
Ranbaxy Community
Healthcare Society runs many well equipped mobile health care vans and urban
family welfare centres which provide preventive and curative health care
services to the disadvantaged.
In spite of having
such life size successful examples, CSR in India is still in a very nascent
stage. Many times, CSR activities are considered
as “unwanted activities”, restricted to giving monetary donations, with no actual involvement of the Corporates in
the social welfare programs. The CSR
activities lose their relevance, when they are not focussed and are
directionless. Without a well-defined strategy, CSR cannot become an effective tool for contributing to the social and economic
development . And it is very unfortunate for the country, if the mighty Corporates with their money, skill and
professional strengths fail to deliver good to the society.
How does one judge whether a Corporate is socially
responsible or not...
Here is a Quick Test for Indian
companies to check out their Social
Responsibility Quotient:
1)
Does the company Care for all it’s Stakeholders?
A company’s stakeholders include shareholders,
employees, customers, suppliers, project affected people, society at large etc.
And the company is responsible to all these
stakeholders. Does the company actively engage
with all its stakeholders, keep them informed of inherent risks and tries to
mitigate their risks so as to provide
for their welfare and well-being?
2) Is the company functioning ethically?
A company can be said to be responsible
socially when it does not engage in any abusive, unfair, corrupt and
anti-competitive business practices. So, the test shall be to determine whether
the corporate governance practices of
the company are based on ethics,
transparency and accountability?
3) Does the company respect it’s Workers'
Rights and provide for their welfare?
The workplace
that is provided to the employees must be safe, hygienic and humane, which upholds the dignity of the employees. Employees should have access
to training and development of necessary skills for career advancement, on an
equal and non-discriminatory basis. Whether the company encourages freedom of association,
has an effective grievance redressal system, ensures that it does not employ child or forced labour and provides
and maintains for equality of
opportunities ?
4) Does
the company have Respect for Human Rights?
Companies should respect human rights for all. Whether the company avoids human
rights abuses by it or by any third
party, indicates how responsible it is to the society.
5) Does
the company Respect the Environment?
Companies should manage natural resources in a
sustainable manner , adopt cleaner production methods, and promote efficient
use of energy and employ environment friendly techniques. Does the company respond pro-actively to the challenges of climate change and does
it take all measures to prevent pollution? Does the Company take effective steps to manage, reduce and recycle
waste?
6) Does
the company indulge in Activities for Social and Inclusive Development?
Companies should undertake activities for economic and
social development of communities, in
the vicinity of their operations and further in other geographical areas. Does
the company indulge in activities
which include education, skill building for livelihood of
people, health, cultural and social welfare etc., for the disadvantaged sections of the society?
To sum up, the culture of Social Responsibility needs
to go deeper and be a part of the
governance of the business. The ethical
functioning of the Corporate, its transparent and good governance practices,
its care and concern for all its stakeholders, its effective management of natural
resources, and its efficient handling of waste will establish a Corporate as a Socially
Responsible citizen. However, further to this, it shall be the Corporate’s actual
involvement in the Social Welfare
programs that shall ultimately go a long way in bringing about the much needed
upliftment of the society and liberating it of its many evils………..
