Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility & Ethical Issues ABSTRACT By Prof. Bharathi. S, Associate Professor, Dept of Business Administration, Surana PG Center, Bangalore. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) promotes a vision of business accountability to awide range of stakeholders, besides shareholders and investors. Key areas of concern are environmental protection and the wellbeing of employees, the community and civil society in general, both now and in the future. The new globalised, networked economy, based on the coordinate management of knowledge, sets evolutionary trends in motion that raise the level of ethicality, but simultaneously generates a braking effect on the ethical contents of corporate behavior. Study defines and traces the emergence and evolution within the business literature of the concepts of values, business ethics and corporate social responsibility to illustrate the increased emphasis that has been placed on these issues over time. Even though, there are many ethical issues emerging and need an immediate attention. Key words: Stake holders, Civil Society, Environment.

“Corporate social responsibility as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the work force ,their families and the local community and society at large.” “CSR is about capacity building for sustainable livelihoods. It respects cultural differences and finds the business opportunities in building the skills of employees, the community and the government" "A concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment, A concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis" Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), also known as corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, responsible business, sustainable responsible business (SRB), or corporate social performance Business Responsibilities in the 21st Century 

Demonstrate a commitment to society’s values and contribute to society’s social, environmental, and economic goals through action.

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Insulate society from the negative impacts of company operations, products and services.

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Share benefits of company activities with key stakeholders as well as with shareholders.

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Demonstrate that the company can make more money by doing the right thing.

CSR framework based on triple bottom line This framework consists of activities to address issues related to economy, society, and environment, a so-called "triple bottom line," on top of the fundamentals such as corporate governance and internal controls.

Framework of CSR Activities

CSR in India Corporate Social Responsibility is on the rise all over the world and in India also. Civil Societies, consumers and other actors have increased pressure on companies to adhere to social and environmental standards and this pressure has impact on the business in India. Limits of regulatory initiatives, changing nature of judicial activism, government’s greater relevance on private enterprises etc. places greater responsibility on voluntary approaches as an alternative means of building social rights. Role of CSR in the world economy A popular explanation of the term CSR is the continuing commitment by businesses 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. Over the last years an increasing number of companies worldwide started promoting their business through Corporate Social Responsibility strategies because the customers, the public and the investors expect them to act sustainable as well as responsible.

CSR is a result of a variety of social, environmental and economic pressures while some other cases many large corporations, it is primarily a strategy to divert attention away from the negative social and environmental impacts of their lives. It enables the company to leverage its products, employee strength, networks and profits and up to some extent to create a sustainable change for marginalized communities. CSR can not only refer to the compliance of human right standards, labor and social security arrangements, but also to the fight against climate change, sustainable management of natural resources and consumer protection. The various practices followed by the corporate in different parts of the world differ significantly. In the Developed nations, the basic needs of the population do not need so much support as in the under-developed nations. The demographics, literacy rate, poverty ratio and GDP of the country have significant role in determining the directions of CSR initiatives of an organization. In the Asian context, CSR mostly involves activities like adopting villages for holistic development, in which they provide medical and sanitation facilities, build school and houses, and helping villages become self-reliant by teaching them vocational and business skills. This Conference is designed to understand and deal with the unprecedented impacts of CSR on the working population, society and environment and therefore to elaborate the various frameworks for it with a view towards developing its practice in an evolutionary way Initiatives in some Indian Companies ACC Limited -CSR Activities 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. Community & Rural Welfare ACC 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. 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. Healthcare ACC takes pride in providing various forms of medical assistance to the families of its 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, offers medical help, treatment and preventive care. ACC has come out to provide support to the State and National health initiatives such as the eradication of malaria, dengue fever and the dreaded HIV.

Hindustan Latex Limited - CSR Activities Hindustan Latex Limited, a public sector company established more than three decades ago, came to occupy a premier position in the country’s family planning and health care programs. The company not only established itself as the leader in the segment of manufacture of

contraceptives, but also diversified into manufacturing and marketing of other related health care products . Social marketing became one of the key areas of the company to ensure that quality contraceptives are available to the people at an affordable price at an ‘arm’s length of desire’. Hindustan Latex Limited thus ventured into social sector projects aimed at creating a planned social change. It was with this objective that HLL formed the Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust, a non-profit organization promoted by HLL. Since its establishment in 1992, HLFPPT has been undertaking the conceptualization and implementation of various Social Sector Projects. The Trust’s area of operations extends to the various states of India. Although the Trust was established for promoting the agenda of family planning, the Trust’s activities have now been broad based to focus on reproductive and sexual health. The Trust is expected to develop into a major civil society participant working in the health sector, in partnership with a range of development actors. Kanoria Chemicals Industries Limited Kanoria Chemicals Industries Limited is a major player in the Indian Chemical Industry, generating a sales turnover of about US$ 70million. The company's history dates back to 1962, starting its operations in Renukoot ( the eastern region of India) as a single product company. At present, KCIL has transformed itself into a multi-product, multi-location group and has established itself as a pioneer in its field. Working on the philosophy of 'Pioneering growth through technology' every single plant at KCIL has been set up with the best technology the world has to offer. Without compromising the core values of business ethics, the group has achieved impressive value additions resulting from the strategy of forward and backward integration in its manufacturing operations. The company is involved in various community development initiatives and has adopted villages around their plants for development activities. The focus areas are community services which include social development schemes like educational activities, medical programmes and cultural activities. Agricultural and environmental activities which include tree plantation drives and water resource programmes, self employment schemes which include training programmes for various income generation activities like tailoring, basket making, wax farming etc. The company has built a nationally recognised school and an in-house hospital that caters to the educational and health needs of the

local community in which it operates. The company has also planted around 2.75 lakh trees in its premises reiterating the company's commitment towards environment. Conclusion The concept of CSR is underpinned by the idea that corporations can no longer act as isolated economic entities operating in detachment from broader society. The concept of corporate social responsibility is now firmly rooted on the global business agenda. There is increasing recognition of the importance of public- private partnerships in CSR. Private enterprise is beginning to reach out to other members of civil society such as non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, and national and regional governments. Even though, there are many ethical issues emerging and need an immediate attention. Reference Corporate Social Responsibility and its Control on Companies of India Sarthak Pattnaik/ Elixir Mgmt. Arts 75 (2014) 27674-27678 Journal of Economic Literature: Vol. 50 No. 1 (March 2012) Corporate Social Responsibility by Madhumita Chatterji Corporate Social Responsibility in India Paperback by Sanjay K. Agarwal Corporate Governance, Business Ethics & CSR Paperback by J. P. Sharma