Making CSR a business tool for success
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Edward Probir Mondol
CORPORATE Social Responsibility (CSR) -- the way companies integrate social, environmental, and economic concerns into their values and operations in a transparent and accountable manner -- is integral to long-term business growth and success. It also plays an important role in promoting values internationally and contributing to the sustainable development of communities. CSR strategy is an effective tool for business success.
There is a need for incorporating CSR initiatives in every business strategy in order to achieve sustainable long-term growth in the private sector in Bangladesh.
As small businesses grow into larger ones, there is a need for reaching out into the wider global markets. In today's world CSR has become a global necessity.
For taking a leap forward and attaining a larger share of the market CSR should be at the heart of the business and be integrated into all aspects of the company, starting from its HR policies to business practices to marketing strategy.
Developing a well thought-out, credible and effective CSR strategy can be a daunting and time-consuming task. Organisations need to understand and prioritise both the strategic and reputational risks that arise as a consequence of their business practices and operations.
Too often, companies turn to a CSR strategy in response to an adverse event. In this "reactive" mode, companies often make hasty decisions, which lead to an ineffective allocation of resources.
In this context, a number of issues should come to the fore for consideration:
The question is how to build a stronger business case to get senior management's attention?
What are the biggest risks and how should they be managed? What should be the priorities?
Are there gaps in CSR strategy? What is the best way to implement the strategy?
Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy: CSR strategy development does need to take into account the economic, environmental and social pillars of a related policy.
For this purpose, setting up a strategic plan and budget are essentials for the development of the strategy. The policy can be developed under four headings:
Economic: Economic involvement is centred on building relationships with the public and private sector leaders through a senior manager's involvement in a project to create and manage the economic development strategy for the area/region.
Education: Education, considered as the core theme of a company's desire to promote its interest in attracting future potential employees, focuses on creating links to educational projects with "Right to Read" and "Partners in Leadership".
Community: A community philanthropy programme can be developed through a mixture of supports to individual employee like matching fund arrangements between the company and the employees.
By identifying and focusing company's effort on fund-raising, this partnership can reap better results in areas that concern the welfare of the community in a broader way. Environment can be cited here as one such area.
The biggest constraint to the implementation of the CSR strategy is the cost to companies, operating within tight budget constraints. Yet, the CSR operations immensely contribute to raising the company's profile.
The money that is spent on CSR initiatives strengthens efforts for achieving sustainable progress in a tangible manner.
This can also raise social consciousness and build team spirit, particularly among employees for participatory activities in community development.
The writer is Executive Director of CSR Bangladesh. He can be reached at e-mail: epmondol@csrbangladesh.org
CORPORATE Social Responsibility (CSR) -- the way companies integrate social, environmental, and economic concerns into their values and operations in a transparent and accountable manner -- is integral to long-term business growth and success. It also plays an important role in promoting values internationally and contributing to the sustainable development of communities. CSR strategy is an effective tool for business success.
There is a need for incorporating CSR initiatives in every business strategy in order to achieve sustainable long-term growth in the private sector in Bangladesh.
As small businesses grow into larger ones, there is a need for reaching out into the wider global markets. In today's world CSR has become a global necessity.
For taking a leap forward and attaining a larger share of the market CSR should be at the heart of the business and be integrated into all aspects of the company, starting from its HR policies to business practices to marketing strategy.
Developing a well thought-out, credible and effective CSR strategy can be a daunting and time-consuming task. Organisations need to understand and prioritise both the strategic and reputational risks that arise as a consequence of their business practices and operations.
Too often, companies turn to a CSR strategy in response to an adverse event. In this "reactive" mode, companies often make hasty decisions, which lead to an ineffective allocation of resources.
In this context, a number of issues should come to the fore for consideration:
The question is how to build a stronger business case to get senior management's attention?
What are the biggest risks and how should they be managed? What should be the priorities?
Are there gaps in CSR strategy? What is the best way to implement the strategy?
Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy: CSR strategy development does need to take into account the economic, environmental and social pillars of a related policy.
For this purpose, setting up a strategic plan and budget are essentials for the development of the strategy. The policy can be developed under four headings:
Economic: Economic involvement is centred on building relationships with the public and private sector leaders through a senior manager's involvement in a project to create and manage the economic development strategy for the area/region.
Education: Education, considered as the core theme of a company's desire to promote its interest in attracting future potential employees, focuses on creating links to educational projects with "Right to Read" and "Partners in Leadership".
Community: A community philanthropy programme can be developed through a mixture of supports to individual employee like matching fund arrangements between the company and the employees.
By identifying and focusing company's effort on fund-raising, this partnership can reap better results in areas that concern the welfare of the community in a broader way. Environment can be cited here as one such area.
The biggest constraint to the implementation of the CSR strategy is the cost to companies, operating within tight budget constraints. Yet, the CSR operations immensely contribute to raising the company's profile.
The money that is spent on CSR initiatives strengthens efforts for achieving sustainable progress in a tangible manner.
This can also raise social consciousness and build team spirit, particularly among employees for participatory activities in community development.
The writer is Executive Director of CSR Bangladesh. He can be reached at e-mail: epmondol@csrbangladesh.org