CSR, Is it the way forward for responsible business?

This weeks class was very important to me because my dissertation topic is on CSR. Through out the semester, I have been looking forward to this particular presentation. The guest speaker for the CSR lecture was Adam Garfunkel. Adam is a CSR consultant, who specialises in advising, planning and writing CSR initiatives for different companies including Adidas, Body shop, Land Securitas and many more. His presentation was very useful and highly informative for me because it gave a practical insight into CSR practice by various businesses from a CSR practitioners perspective.

Although I am familiar with the basic conceptual frame work of CSR, which is achieving the triple bottom-line (economic, social and environmental sustainability) by companies, I still enjoyed the presentation. I particularly liked the bit on the different approach and level of importance various companies attach to their CSR. For example by using M&S 'Plan A' campaign he was able to explain how a company can integrate its CSR initiatives into its core business activities. I must admit that listening to Adam's presentation has further enriched my knowledge on the different perspective of CSR practice by various companies. He was very engaging and answered questions well.

For instance, I asked him a question on 'What do you think about CSR practice by multinational mining companies in Africa'? I wanted to find out his views; for example if he thought it was 'green washing' or it was long term sustainable initiatives. His answer was, it depends on the individual companies.

However he admitted that highly reputable ones may have CSR strategies in place. Nevertheless the question still remains, how best are these initiatives being communicated and implemented to mitigate the negative impacts and maximise the positive benefits. My research aims at giving a snapshot into this issue in Ghana.

Having read extensively on CSR, I am aware of the fact that several drivers have contributed to the heighten talk on CSR in contemporary times. These include pressure from governments, investors, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), watch dogs, the business case for being a socially responsible company ( that is it can help attract and retain employees, investor, suppliers and customers), the scrutiny of media, concern for the depletion of the environment and many more. Times have changed and businesses do impact on their operative surroundings.

I reckon it is time for businesses to give something back to the society as well as engage in environmentally sustainable practices to preserve the world for future generations. By so doing businesses will help mitigate their negative effects on the society whilst maximising the positive impacts . This can impact positively on their corporate reputation and their bottom line and earn them the 'enlightened self-interest' effect associated with CSR.

I believe the concept of CSR has a huge potential to make businesses behave more ethical and engage in sustainable economic, social and environmental practice. Nonetheless, it is currently done purely on voluntary basis. The reality is that companies have evolved and presently do have adverse effect on their operative environments to which they must be made accountable. CSR therefore should be legally binding so that companies through their CSR initiatives can give something back to society. This will reduce their negative impacts on society whilst creating wealth for their shareholders.

In my opinion, this can best be achieved by having in place a universally acceptable and enforceable definition of CSR. In addition there should be a standard of measuring and awarding responsible business merits to businesses who take their CSR initiatives serious. This will make it possible for responsible businesses in the society to be named and praised. By so doing other companies will be challenged to be more ethical and enjoy the benefits that comes with it.

Presently, many businesses especially in the developed countries have realised the important of being perceived as socially responsible by stakeholders and the general public. This has made them to devote significant material and human resource to their CSR initiatives such as M&S £ 100million 'Plan A' campaign aimed at reducing their carbon foot print.

Such companies are very proud of their CSR initiatives and have resulted to publishing their annual CSR report on their websites along side their annual business report. This is left visible for visitors to their websites to see and form their own opinions about them, which undoubtedly will be positive. Examples of such businesses are BT, BAA, M&S, Tesco, Body Shop etc. I am not sure if same can be said about CSR practice by both local and multinational companies in Africa.

Being a Ghanaian, I would like to use examples from my country. Most multinational gold mining companies in Ghana have negative impact on their operative environments. For example several reports published by international charities, such as ActionAid, suggest that river bodies within these communities are being polluted by these mining companies. However they are perceived as not being committed to mitigating their negative impacts on neighbouring communities. They may argue that it is the work of the government to improve communities which sounds logical. But all the same these companies make huge profits as proclaimed in their annual report and can give something back to society.

As these multinational companies originate from developed countries, such as Canada, USA and UK, where the concept of CSR is well established one would expect them to have CSR initiatives in place which aims at minimising their negative impacts on the communities and the environment. The CSR strategies may also be expected to be tailored to the peculiar needs of the local communities and communicate effectively to them.

However what is really happening?


Most of these multinational companies do not want to talk about their negative impacts on society. They are seen as not being transparent and give excuses when advocates such as NGOs ( Action Aid) and community leaders call on them to be socially responsible.

A good example was the pollution of water bodies by cyanide from the operational activities of Anglo Gold Ashanti Ghana Ltd in Obuasi, Ghana to which company executives denied. In a BBC documentary, aired on BBC 1 in April 2006, the company's PRO denied the allegation and branded it as a smear campaign against the company. However an investigation by Action Aid later proved it was true. How can such companies be made to face their social responsibilities and engage in sustainable environmental practices? May be through the legal enforcement of CSR.