INTRODUCTION

Your business doesn't exist in isolation, simply as a way of making money. Your employees
depend on your business. Customers, suppliers and the local community are all affected by
you and what you do. Your products, and the way you make them, have an impact on the
environment.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) takes all this into account and can help you create
and maintain effective relationships with your stakeholders. It isn't about being "right on", or
mounting an expensive publicity exercise. It means taking a responsible attitude, going
beyond the minimum legal requirements and following straightforward principles that apply
whatever the size of your business. This guide explains how you can exploit the benefits that
CSR can bring to your bottom line.

Definition
CSR:
‘Corporate,’ ‘Social,’ and ‘Responsibility.’ In broad terms, CSR relates to responsibilities
corporations have towards society within which they are based and operate, not denying the
fact that the purview of CSR goes much beyond this. CSR is comprehended differently by
different people.
Philip Kotler and Nancy Lee (2005):
“A commitment to improve community well being through discretionary business
practices and contributions of corporate resources”
MallenBaker:
“A way companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive
impact on society.”

World Business Council for Sustainable Development

“Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave
ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the
workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large”.

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HISTORY

The concept of CSR in India is not new, the term may be. The process though
acclaimed recently, has been followed since ancient times albeit informally. Philosophers
like Kautilya from India and pre-Christian era philosophers in the West preached and
promoted ethical principles while doing business. The concept of helping the poor and
disadvantaged was cited in much of the ancient literature. The idea was also supported by
several religions where it has been intertwined with religious laws. “Zakaat”, followed by
Muslims, is donation from one’s earnings which is specifically given to the poor and
disadvantaged. Similarly Hindus follow the principle of “Dhramada” and Sikhs the
“Daashaant”. In the global context, the recent history goes back to the seventeenth century
when in 1790s, England witnessed the first large scale consumer boycott over the issue of
slave harvested sugar which finally forced importer to have free-labor sourcing.In India, in
the pre independence era, the businesses which pioneered industrialisation along with
fighting for independence also followed the idea. They put the idea into action by setting
upcharitable foundations, educational and healthcare institutions, and trusts for community
development. The donations either monetary or otherwise were sporadic activities of charity
or philanthropy that were taken out of personal savings which neither belonged to the
shareholders nor did it constitute an integral part of business. The term CSR itself came in to
common use in the early 1970s although it was seldom abbreviated. By late 1990s, the
concept was fully recognised; people and institutions across all sections of society started
supporting it. This can be corroborated by the fact that while in 1977 less than half of the
Fortune 500 firms even mentioned CSR in their annual reports, by the end of 1990,
approximately 90 percent Fortune 500 firms embraced CSR as an essential element in their
organisational goals, and actively promoted their CSR activities in annual reports (Boli and
Hartsuiker,2001).

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 BACKGROUND OF CSR

The role of corporates by and large has been understood in terms of a commercial
business paradigm of thinking that focuses purely on economic parameters of success. As
corporates have been regarded as institutions that cater to the market demand by providing
products and services, and have the onus for creating wealth and jobs, their market position
has traditionally been a function of financial performance and profitability. However, over
the past few years, as a consequence of rising globalisation and pressing ecological issues, the
perception
of the role of corporates in the broader societal context within which it operates, has been
altered. Stakeholders (employees, community, suppliers and shareholders) today are
redefining the role of corporates taking into account the corporates’ broader responsibility
towards society and environment, beyond economic performance, and are evaluating whether
they are conducting their role in an ethical and socially responsible manner. As a result of this
shift (from purely economic to ‘economic with an added social dimension’), many forums,
institutions and corporates are endorsing the term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
They use the term to define organisation’s commitment to the society and the environment
within which it operates. The World Business Council on Sustainable Development’s
(WBCSD) report was titled Corporate Social Responsibility:
Making Good Business Sense and the OECD Guidelines for 1 Multi-National
Enterprises which includes a discussion on how CSR is emerging as a global business
standard. Further, there is a global effort towards reinforcing CSR programmes and initiatives
through local and international schemes that try to identify best-in-class performers.
Arguments for socially-responsible behaviour

 It is the ethical thing to do

 It improves the firm’ public image
 It is necessary in order to avoid excessive regulation
 Socially responsible actions can be profitable
 Improved social environment will be beneficial to the firm
 It will be attractive to some investors
 It can increase employee motivation
 It helps to corrects social problems caused by business

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 CSR behaviour can benefit the firm in several ways

 It aids the attraction and retention of staff

 It attracts green and ethical investment
 It attracts ethically conscious customers
 It can lead to a reduction in costs through re-cycling
 It differentiates the firm from its competitor and can be a source of competitive
advantage
 It can lead to increased profitability in the long run .

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept whereby organizations consider

the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers,
employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all aspects of their operations.
This obligation is seen to extend beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation
and sees organizations voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for
employees and their families as well as for the local community and society at large.
With businesses focusing on generating profits, sustainability was not a popular
concern among companies up until recently. Now, in an era of globalization, multinational
corporations and local businesses are no longer able to conduct destructive and unethical
practices, such as polluting the environment, without attracting negative feedback from the
general public. With increased media attention, pressure from non-governmental
organizations, and rapid global information sharing, there is a surging demand from civil
society, consumers, governments, and others for corporations to conduct sustainable business
practices. In addition, in order to attract and retain employees and customers, companies are
beginning to realize the importance of being ethical while running their daily operations. The
corporate response has often meant an adoption of 'a new consciousness', and this has been
known as Corporate Social Responsibility since the 1970’s. As stated by the department of
Trade and Industry in the United Kingdom, CSR represents "the integrity with which a
company governs itself, fulfills its mission, lives by its values, engages with its stakeholders,
measures its impact and reports on its activities". Although most people appreciate the recent
advancement of CSR, some argue that corporations are still not doing enough or are only
acting in self interest. These people say that multinational corporations are acting ethically in
areas that are highly regulated, such as North America, but at the same time, they are acting
in an opposite manner in other parts of the world (such as using cheap or child labour). In
addition, while corporations must have good CSR policies in order to maintain their
reputation, they are also expected to maximize profits for stakeholders such as shareholders,

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employees, and customers. Therefore, people argue that businesses do not put in a sufficient
amount of resources to achieve what they have promised in their CSR policies.
In any case, companies are now expected to perform well in non-financial areas such as
human rights, business ethics, environmental policies, corporate contributions, community
development, corporate governance, and workplace issues. Some examples of CSR are safe
working conditions for employees, environmental stewardship, and contributions to
community groups and charities. The practice of CSR is subject to much debate and criticism.
Proponents argue that there is a strong business case for CSR, in that corporations benefit in
multiple ways by operating with a perspective broader and longer than their own immediate,
short-term profits. Critics argue that CSR distracts from the fundamental economic role of
businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; still others
argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful
multinational corporations.

What is CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility?

CSR was a buzzword created in the early 1970's although it was seldom abbreviated
back then. Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate citizenship, corporate
responsibility, responsible business and sometimes corporate social opportunity) is a concept
whereby a business organisation considers the wider social and environmental effects that it
has as a trading entity outside of its direct trading environment. For example, a mining
company destroys the natural landscape when mining so part of its social responsibility to the
community where they are mining could be to invest in reforestation projects.

Advantages of corporate social responsibility

 Japanese companies often have 100 year business plans. If you are planning to be
around in business for the long-run then making sure ALL your stakeholders are
looked after is wise. If you mess the environment up people notice. If you mess
people around people remember. If you mistreat people they never forget. And yet
when you care for the environment you are awarded. When you care for people you
are awarded. You are rarely forgotten when you genuinely care. A business enterprise
is no different to a human - people will have feelings about it and that impacts
business positively or negatively.
 Many companies say they care and yet they may not take the actions of caring. Going
beyond what is expected becomes exemplar and noted. An enterprise' actions are
notes the most by its employees and staff. The business team that runs an organization

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 knows what is going on. They know all the high and low points of a company. These
exact same people interact each and every day with the businesses customers. How
they feel about the company they work for impacts the bottom line of a company
directly. A sales person who loves his work and the company will sell more. The
receptionist who cares for her company will care for its customers making them feel
better and of course they are then more likely to return.
 Many businesses make a loss the very first time a customer shops with them. This is
an amazing little known fact outside of the business world. It may cost thousands of
dollars for some companies to gain new customers because of long lead times or
expensive advertising campaigns. If they only sell to a customer once then they don't
ever recover their investment in acquiring that new customer or make a profit.
Customers these days are spoilt for choice. Many customers choose a business on how
they feel about the company of the people in the company. Most purchasing decisions
are subjective. Adding subjective and hard to measure components to a business such
as solid CSR programmes add to the perceived value added benefit a customer
received when they shop with the company.

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The rationale for Corporate Social Responsibility in India

Gandhiji was a person who in several respects was ahead of his time. His view of the
ownership of capital was one of trusteeship, motivated by the belief that essentially society
was providing capitalists with an opportunity to manage resources that should really be seen
as a form of trusteeship on behalf of society in general. Today, we are perhaps coming round
full circle in emphasizing this concept through an articulation of the principle of social
responsibility of business and industry. 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 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The broad rationale for a new set of ethics for corporate decision making, which
clearly constructs and upholds a company'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 well. Of course, the system of taxation in most
countries does ensure that basic services provided by government such as a system of law and
order, provision of infrastructure that includes assets such as roads, transportation facilities,
the benefits received from the apparatus of society for respecting and enforcing property
rights, etc. are paid for through taxation on economic goods and services produced and
consumed. But there are other aspects of services provided by society that have now become
even more important than traditional relationship between government and business. These
go far beyond what was the case a few decades ago.
Why should companies whose major objective has been to maximize profits for the
benefit of their shareholders worry at all about serving the interest of society at large? The
answer is simple and yet somewhat circular in nature. 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 a company that is seen to violate the
expectations of ethical and socially responsible behaviour. We find, therefore, that to a
growing degree companies that pay genuine attention to the principles of socially responsible
behaviour are also favoured by the public and preferred for their goods and services.

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GLOBALIZATION AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Globalization and Corporate Social Responsibility – Anything New?

The social responsibilities of business in a market society have been discussed for
decades, long before globalization became a catchword (see, e.g., Baumhart 1961; Bowen
1953; Donham 1927). The capitalist system, i.e., voluntary exchange on free and open
markets, is widely considered the best societal coordination measure to contribute to
individual freedom and the wellbeing of society (Friedman 1962, Hayek 1996). Though the
functions of the state system have always been a matter of debate (see, e.g., Block 1994), it is
generally acknowledged that in capitalist societies it is the task of the state to establish the
preconditions for the proper working of markets, i.e., to define legal rules such as property
rights and contractual rights, to erect an enforcement body, to provide public goods, and to
reduce or avoid the consequences of externalities. At the same time, private firms are entitled
to own means of production and to run a business, i.e. to supply goods and services for a
return in private profits, as it is the “invisible hand” of the market which directs the behavior
of firm owners towards the common good. The state, it was assumed, is capable of setting the
rules in such a way that the consequences of market exchange contribute to (or at least do not
harm) the well-being of society.
Business firms have to obey the law – this has always been a precondition and has
been accepted as a minimum social responsibility of businesses, even by the harshest critics
of CSR (see, e.g., Friedman 1970; Levitt 1970). However, as the system of law and the
enforcement apparatus of the state are incomplete there is a likely possibility of regulation
gaps and implementation deficits which have to be filled and balanced by diligent managers
with prosocial behavior and an aspiration to the common good (e.g., Stone 1975). In as much
as the state apparatus does not work perfectly there is a demand for social responsibilities of
business, i.e. corporations are asked to comply to the law when the enforcement body is weak
and to even go beyond what is required by law, when the legal system is imperfect or legal
rules incomplete.

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Globalization: A Social and Economic Phenomenon

What is Globalization?

Globalization is one of the most cited catchwords of our time and is used to describe a
process of social change on the macro level of societies. Today, many social and economic
phenomena such as peace, crime, migration, production, employment, technological
developments, environmental risks, distribution of income and welfare, and social cohesion
and identity are considered to be affected by the process of globalization (see, e.g., Brakman,
Garretsen, van Marrewijk, van Witteloostuijn 2006; Cohen and Kennedy 2000; Held,
McGrew, Goldblatt, and Perraton 1999; Scholte 2005). We define globalization as the
process of intensification of cross-area and cross-border social relations between actors from
very distant locations, and of growing transnational interdependence of economic and social
activities (see, e.g., Beck 2000; Giddens 1990). Giddens (1990: 64) holds that with
globalization “the modes of connection between different social contexts or regions become
networked across the earth’s surface as a whole.“During this process the nation state loses
much of its political steering capacity (e.g., Beck 2000; Habermas 2001; Strange 1996). The
state’s enforcement power is bound to its territory while the subjects of state regulation,
especially the business firms, have massively expanded their activities beyond national
borders. At the same time, new social and environmental challenges emerge which are
transnational in scope and cannot be regulated or governed unilaterally (e.g., global warming,
crime and terrorism, diseases, etc). Also, new actors and institutions, such as international
organizations, transnational corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and civil society
groups gain political influence. Their activities are not limited to a certain territory. Their
influence stems from the political power they can exert inside and outside the traditional
institutions of nation-state politics, e.g., by lobbying, public relations, campaigning,
knowledge and competence, offering material or symbolic support, or threatening with
disinvestments or the retreat of resources.
As a result we observe new forms of governance below, above and beyond the nation
state (Beck 2000; Zürn 2002).This definition of globalization emphasizes the process aspect
of change and is related to other concepts that describe the status quo towards this change
process develops (“globality”) and the normative claims that are related to this process.

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What are the Causes of Globalization?
One could suggest that the globalization process was started to some extent
deliberately by political decisions. However, it was also caused and/or supported by
technological, social, and economic developments. The intensified cross border transfer of
resources, such as assets, capital, and knowledge, is in part a result of the liberalization policy
of many nation state governments after WWII. The growing cross-area and cross-country
social exchange was also made possible through technological inventions and achievements
(e.g., telecommunications, mass media, the Internet, transportation, etc.). The exchange
processes are accompanied by a growing interdependence between citizens from different
communities through the emergence of global risks (e.g., nuclear weapons, global warming,
global diseases, etc.) which connect the destinies of peoples with each other. In the following
we will describe some dimensions of globalization.
Dimensions of Globalization
• Political Decisions and Disruptions
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) at the end of WWII was
certainly an important factor for the liberalization of the world economy (see, e.g., Hoekman
and Kostecki1995). At the end of WWII in Bretton Woods politicians from over twenty
countries decided on the post-war economic order. They shared the conviction that free and
open trade would lead to world-wide prosperity and would in turn reduce the possibility of
war and forceful conflicts. The GATT (and later the WTO) member states decided to reduce
tariffs and decrease non-tariff barriers to trade step by step. This process of liberalization in
cross country trade and investments was accompanied by a policy of liberalization and
privatization in many of the industrial states in the Western world. Highly regulated
industries with state owned or controlled firms and monopolies such as telecommunications,
public transport, electricity, and water were privatized. In the 1980s, the collapse of the iron
curtain of the Com6 munist countries in Eastern Europe, and in many other countries in the
world, led to another breakdown of trade barriers and encouraged intensified cross-border
trade and investments.

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Economic Developments
On the macro level, the liberalization of trade, investments and financial transactions
has led to a huge increase both in foreign direct investments and in cross-border trade (see,
e.g., Brakman et al. 2006; Held et al. 1999). Though some authors suggest that with regard to
certain macroeconomic measures the situation today is not much different than it was one
hundred years ago (see, e.g., Hirst and Thompson, 1996), we hold that we are confronted
with a new situation without precedent in history.
First, economic measures show that for several decades the growth rate in the volume
of world merchandise exports has been much higher than the growth rate of world GDP and
that the intra-firm trade has expanded dramatically (Held, et al. 1999). Second, the
unprecedented interconnectedness of the destiny of people from different social settings and
distinct locations has created new challenges. Also, on the firm level, one can observe an
entirely new situation. Business firms are able to split up their value chain and to source
where the production of goods and services is most efficient. By means of technology they
are able to collect information about sources, qualities and prices, and to coordinate the
various value chain processes inside and outside the boundaries of the firm. Today, large
multinational corporations have become very powerful economic and social agents. The
world’s biggest corporations have revenues that equal or even exceed the gross domestic
product of some developed states (Chandler and Mazlish 2005). The power of MNCs is not
just based on the enormous amount of resources they control. Their power is further
enhanced by their mobility and their capacity to shift resources to locations where they can be
used most profitably and to choose among suppliers applying criteria of efficiency. In effect
this gives multinational firms the latitude to choose locations and the legal systems under
which they will operate (Roach 2005; Scherer, Palazzo, and Baumann 2006). However, the
power of the MNCs and their leaders is not unlimited. Rather, top managers more and more
feel the pressure of the global financial markets when they have to respond to the profitability
demands of investors and have to protect their firms from hostile takeovers. Institutional
investors direct their attention and money to profitable firms and investments. Corporations
that do not earn a high enough profit are sanctioned with disinvestment. Managers who do
not focus on a high stock price may become the targets of takeovers. All in all the global
financial market pressures business firms to stress profit and to engage only in such projects
that will lead to a satisfactory return. Altruistic managers with pro-social attitudes may
therefore be suspect in the emerging shareholder society and may be forced to adapt their
behavior to the expectations of profit seeking investors.

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• The Emergence of Transnational Risks
The process of globalization is accompanied by the emergence of global risks (Beck
1992, 1999): Citizens from very different communities and countries realize that their destiny
is bound together and depends on how economic and political actors in other countries
behave, though they often have no influence to regulate or determine their behavior.
Environmental disasters (Chernobyl, global warming, overfishing of oceans, loss of bio-
diversity, etc.), global diseases (bird flu, mad cow disease etc.) and social problems (drugs,
organized criminality, terrorism etc.) do not halt at national borders but affect the live of
people who become aware that their traditional nation state institutions have become unable
to protect them from harm.

Changing Public Expectations of Business

Globally companies are expected to do more than merely provide jobs and contribute
to the economy through taxes and employment. Consumers and society in general expect
more from the companies whose products hey buy. This is coherent with believing the idea
that whatever profit is generated is because of society, and hence mandates contributing a
part of business to the less privileged
Further, separately in the light of recent corporate scandals, which reduced public
trust of corporations, and reduced public confidence in the ability of regulatory bodies and
organisations to control corporate excess. This has led to an increasing expectation that
companies will be more open, more accountable and be prepared to report publicly on their
performance in social and environmental arenas.

Corporate Brand
In an economy where corporates strive for a unique selling Proposition to differentiate
themselves from their competitors; CSR initiatives enable corporates to build a stronger
brand that resonates with key external stakeholders–customers, general public and the
government.

Businesses are recognising that adopting an effective approach to CSR can open up new
opportunities, and increasingly contribute to the corporates’ ability to attract passionate and
committed workforces.

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Trends in Corporate Social Responsibility

‘Thinking globally’ to ‘Thinking locally”

The last decade has seen a mad rush amongst multinational companies to gain first
mover advantages in emerging markets by establishing operations and subsidiaries. However
most of the firms have found out to their cost that local competition was not as easy to
overcome as they had thought with matters made being worse by cutthroat competition
amongst the multinationals themselves. Most multinationals are beginning to realise that loss
making operations cannot be continued year after year under the pretext of investment for
future expectation of profits. It is high time that the local subsidiaries start to deliver profits
of their rather than continuing to act as sinks of the firm’s global resources.
According to Dawar and Chattopadhyay (2000) “Local operations now realize that the
three to five percent of consumers in emerging markets who have global preferences and
purchasing power no longer suffice as the only target market. Instead, they must delve deeper
into the local consumer base in order to deliver on the promise of tapping into billion-
consumer markets”. Batra (1999) argues that the usual business strategy of using products
that have been historically successful in developed nations will not work in emerging
markets. Prahlad and Lieberthal (1998) point out that companies must make the transition in
their business strategy of ‘thinking globally’ to ‘thinking locally’ as each of the merging
markets represents an intriguing challenge for marketing with its vast diversities existing
across nations and even within nations in culture and socio economic conditions. It is in
marketing across such diverse cultures and varying conditions that the concept of corporate
social responsibility becomes critical to success. In this paper, we will focus on two main
paradigms of marketing in which CSR plays an important part.
Graphical Representation:

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14
Redesigning marketing paradigms for emerging markets
CSR refers to the obligation of an organisation which considers the interests of all
their stakeholders which includes the customers, employees, shareholders, communities and
ecological considerations in all aspects of their operations.
Companies which aspire to be, or are, leaders in corporate social responsibility are
challenged by rising public expectations, increasing innovation, continuous quality
improvement and heightened social and environmental problems. They are forced to chart
their CSR course within a very complex and dynamic environment.

CSR trends that provide rewards for companies, communities and the world…

 Return on Investment (ROI): More businesses are recognizing the benefits of CSR,
from cost savings on energy and materials to direct benefits like enhanced reputation
among customers and clients and indirect benefits like employee satisfaction. Most
importantly, CSR programs provide rewards—and increased monetary value—
through the creation of products and services that support sustainability.
 Increasing Rewards for Communities and Workers: Companies are working to
mitigate their impacts on community resources such as water through conservation
and by promoting sustainable development that benefits communities and employees.
 New Media and the Fight for Customers’ Mindshare: Through CEO blogs, YouTube
videos and other new media tools, smart companies are arming customers with more
information about CSR efforts.
 Carbon Footprinting Reaches Supply Chains: More companies are gathering credible
data about the carbon emissions in their global supply chain.
 New Opportunities in Environmental Markets: Beyond reducing their climate impact
through decreased carbon emissions, advanced companies are working to monetize
and develop markets for environmental services like water, nutrients and biodiversity.
EX: Yahoo! Launches New Business & Human Rights Initiative

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THE FUTURE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Companies today are increasingly sensitive about their social role. The companies not
only concentrate on how they will position their product or how they will sell it but also they
have a social strategy because they have started feeling that brands are built not only around
good quality of the product; but also around emotions and values that people ascribe to those
products

In addition to be more precisely defined, the CSR movement is evolving following

some trends that I intend to describe briefly:
 First, there are no more a few companies, which have consecrated themselves to this
new doctrine, but the majority of large enterprises have introduced it in their agenda.
Philip Kotler and Nancy Lee in their book “Corporate Social Responsibility” indicate
that charitable giving has risen from $9.6 b in 1999 to $12, 19 b. In spite of some
opponents like the survey in The Economist last year which maintains that CSR is
eroding the basis of the free enterprise system, every time more this new doctrine is
catching the attention of business people.
 Second, since the term “triple bottom line” (people, planet and profit) was carried in
1994, an accelerating progression from early concerns about safety, health and
environment to a growing range of social concerns have been seen, among them
human rights and diversity. Recently other concerns like fair trade pricing and fair
wages as well as socially increasingly have increasingly made headlines. There is an
increasing conviction that there is not a conflict but a positive correlation between
CSR and profitability and that profit can go hand-in-hand with social and
environmental responsibility.
 Third, the social responsible enterprises every time more publish their activities for
their shareholders and the public in general, either in their general annual report or in
CSR specific reports. According to a survey of KPMG in 2002, 45% of co portions
issued environmental, social or sustainability reports compared with 35% in their
1999 survey. Greater transparency is a means to improve accountability and trust.

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CSR : A Quantitative Analysis
The Case Study quantitative analysis represents an objective overview of the
corporate social responsibility trends in India based on the desktop research and case study
analysis of the corporates who have responded to the request by ASSOCHAM to share their
CSR efforts and initiatives, for the compendium. 27 case studies were submitted in total and
out of these 24 were used as a base to deduce some directional pointers on the status of CSR
and some trends in India. The analysis does not intend or aim to pass a qualitative judgement
on any corporate initiative or how good or bad it is, but rather focuses on presenting a broad
overview of implementing the CSR practices. It is assumed that there is an inherent bias, as
the corporates that have submitted case studies are implementing the CSR in a way or other.
Moreover the source of information being they (corporates) is not an unbiased source.

Thematic Areas
Action in CSR in India largely spans a diverse set of thematic areas – health,
education, livelihood, poverty alleviation, environment, water, housing, energy and
microfinance. However some other areas like women empowerment, child development and
infrastructure also appeared in the case studies. Based on the comparative study of the 24
companies, it was found that while some companies chose to narrow their focus on a few
thematic areas, others took a broader view and undertook a larger scope of areas to focus on.
Out of 24 case studies that were analysed, it was found that there were as many as 16
corporates focusing on 3-5 thematic areas, whereas only 4 corporates catered to 1-2 thematic
areas of
work and remaining four stuck to six or more thematic areas. In terms of the area focus,
environment garnered the maximum attention from corporates while women empowerment
and poverty alleviation were neglected areas with minimal corporates focusing on the same.

80%
Thematic Areas
60%
40%
20% Thematic Areas
0%

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Health
Health has been identified as a primary objective in the community development
process. As a part of the healthcare initiatives weekly clinics, counseling sessions, health
camps are regularly held to promote general health and well-being in the community. The
health perils in the community are numerous and in order to treat some minor ailments and
casualties, community members have been identified and are being trained to treat minor
ailments.
Education
Education too has been a primary focus area for the foundation, and a number of
initiatives have been designed to promote non-formal education in the community. Akanksha,
a non governmental organization that focuses on developing a strong educational foundation,
deep sense of self-esteem and facilitates fun activities for underprivileged children has been
identified to facilitate education and awareness. PMC schools have been given computers to
promote IT education in the neighboring area of Chandan Nagar. Simultaneously, IT
education programs have also been deployed to spread computer literacy within Zensar's
support staff. The response to all these initiatives has been overwhelming and the foundation
is now taking up more initiatives to address the requirement.

Environment
• Your business affects many different people - employees, customers, suppliers and
the local community. It also has a wider impact on the environment.
• Even the simplest energy efficiency measures, like switching off lights and equipment
when they aren't needed, makes a real difference. Reducing the use of water also
directly cuts your costs.
• Minimising waste can also make an important contribution. Simple steps like
reducing the amount of paper you waste can immediately cut costs. You can save
even more by thinking about waste implications when you design new products and
production processes.
• Caring about the environment can increase income too. Many customers prefer to buy
from responsible companies. There are all sorts of ways you could think about
reducing the environmental impact of your business.
Livelihood
A unique program to create more opportunities for less privileged youth. Pune
Corporate Consortium for LABS was inaugurated on April 4, 2006. LABS, a flagship

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program of Dr. Reddy’s Foundation (DRF), promotes customized programs for youth and
women in the age group of 18-30 years from economically weaker sections of society, and
empowers them to gain access to opportunities for sustainable livelihoods and growth in the
New Economy. This program is implemented in Pune with the help of organizations such as
Thermax, Forbes Marshall, Confederation of Indian Industries – Young Indians (CII-YI) and
Zensar Technologies in association with Pune Municipal Corporation to actively support this
initiative. CII-YI is the primary coordinator of this activity that plans to train 300 young
members in the coming year. This program aims to empower students who have discontinued
formal education for various reasons. A total of 80 students have already enrolled for this
batch which began from April 4, 2006 in Pune.

CSR Management
It has been observed that for 37 percent corporates, the CSR initiative is being
implemented through a well structured separated Foundation. Among 58 percent corporates
there is a separate CSR department that takes care of the activities to be implemented.

Partnerships
The importance of building strong public-private partnerships as well as working
closely with NGOs as implementation partners is being increasingly realised by corporates. It
has been observed that 58 percent of the corporates within the surveyed sample partnered
with the government departments. The number is higher for the engagement with NGOs,
where approximately 67 percent corporates have formed linkages. 21 percent corporates were
working in partnership with multilateral or bilateral organisations.

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Stakeholders
Stakeholder engagement has become one of the important aspects of CSR practices.
Though there are different sets of stakeholders that can be taken into account while
implementing CSR, we decided to obtain information on the following – employees,
neighboring community and general public. Neighboring community refers to the people in
catchment area of corporate who have a direct effect of business on them. Out of total 24,
five corporates work towards the benefit of employees, neighboring community and general
public. There are 2 corporates that have set of employees and general public as their
stakeholders. Five and two corporates have as their stakeholders the set of general public and
neighboring community and employees and neighboring community respectively. Only one
corporate has decided to concentrate on the neighboring community as the stakeholder.

Sustainability Reporting (SR) is also gaining prominence and recognition as a value

added tool for displaying a corporate’s commitment towards transparency and accountability
towards its stakeholders. It helps a company to report on the social, environmental and
economic impact of its activities, along with a report on the internal state of its management

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and employee welfare system in a manner as rigorous and transparent as financial reporting.
A well drafted Sustainability report provides a balanced and reasonable representation of the
sustainability performance of a reporting organisation (both positive and negative). SR helps
the organisations define and communicate their overall context and rationale to solve global
problems through its specific business model or elicit whether its business
model design is influenced by those problems. SR is also increasingly recognised as a tool for
brand and image building.
Reporting Initiatives
Public disclosure and reporting was another metric used to compare the CSR
initiatives of corporates. It was observed that within the sample of 24 companies used, 25
percent are reporting as per the GRI guidelines while 21 percent were signatories of the UN
Global Compact. An equal number of corporates (21 percent) come up with a separate CSR
report while there are only a few (8 percent) who have a mention of their CSR activities in
the annual report. Comparative numbers of reporting of CSR in the annual report at global
level are much higher. For instance in 1977 the number was 50 percent, which rose to 90
percent in 1990.

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CSR Integrated:

Further along the continuum will be those companies that fully integrate CSR
throughout their business model, not as a strategic advantage, but in the belief of the need to
take social and environmental impacts and opportunities into account They will have
comprehensive CSR policies covering all areas of their operations and will be
operationalizing their CSR principles through rigorous performance, reward mechanisms, etc.
CSR or sustainable development will inform decision-making and business strategy
throughout the company
Deep CSR:
A group of companies will adopt or be founded on business models whose mission is
to improve social or environmental conditions
More Significant Roles For Stakeholders:
One of the top trends around which there is consistent agreement is the increasing
importance of stakeholder engagement in the future of CSR. Not only will stakeholders be
engaged in increasingly significant ways, they will gain in influence, and will continue to
innovate and bring forward new and challenging values. consumers, employees, shareholders,
suppliers, NGOs, governments and business partners - all those that have a “stake” in a
company’s operations.

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Conclusion:

Corporate Social Responsibility is not a fad or a passing trend, it is a business

imperative that many Indian companies are either beginning to think about or are engaging
with in one way or another. While some of these initiatives may be labeled as corporate
citizenship by some organisations, there basic message and purpose is the same. A
successfully implemented CSR strategy calls for aligning these initiatives with business
objectives and corporate values thereby integrating corporate responsibility across the
business functions and enhancing business reputation. The challenge for us is to apply
fundamental business principles to make CSR sharper, smarter, and focused on what really
matters.
This can be done by:

• Focusing on priorities
• Allocating finance for treating CSR as an investment from which returns are expected
• Optimising available resources by ensuring that efforts are not duplicated and existing
services are strengthened and supplemented
• Monitoring activities and liaising closely with implementation partners such as NGOs
to ensure that initiatives really deliver the desired outcomes
• Reporting performance in an open and transparent way so that all can celebrate
progress and identify areas for further action.

A long term perspective by organisations, which encom-passes their commitment to both

internal and external stakeholders will be critical to the success of CSR and the ability of
companies to deliver on the goals of their CSR strategy. Wealth has to be created before it
can be distributed. The responsibility to create wealth is of business. And responsibilities and
rights must go together. Hence, the society cannot disarm business of its rights which are
essential for creating value.

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