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CSR IS FAST BECOMING A

BENCHMARK FOR THE
IMAGE & HENCE
INDIRECTLY PROFITABLE

SUBMITTED TO:-
SUBMITTED BY:-
ASEEM RASTOGI
SAROSH ABDULLAH

INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
APOORV KAPOOR

BBA- VI SEM SCIENCES

LUCKNOW UNIVERSITY
4/12/2009
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What is corporate social responsibility?
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), also known as corporate responsibility,
corporate citizenship, responsible business and corporate social performance is a
form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. Ideally, CSR
policy would function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business
would monitor and ensure their adherence to law, ethical standards, and
international norms. Business would embrace responsibility for the impact of their
activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders
and all other members of the public sphere. Furthermore, business would
proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community growth and
development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that harm the public sphere,
regardless of legality. Essentially, CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest
into corporate decision-making, and the honoring of a triple bottom line: People,
Planet, Profit.

Development
Business ethics is one of the forms of applied ethics that examines ethical principles
and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment.

In the increasingly conscience-focused marketplaces of the 21st century, the

demand for more ethical business processes and actions (known as ethicism) is
increasing. Simultaneously, pressure is applied on industry to improve business
ethics through new public initiatives and laws (e.g. higher UK road tax for higher-
emission vehicles).

Business ethics can be both a normative and a descriptive discipline. As a corporate

practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. In academia,
descriptive approaches are also taken. The range and quantity of business ethical
issues reflects the degree to which business is perceived to be at odds with non-
economic social values. Historically, interest in business ethics accelerated
dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within
academia. For example, today most major corporate websites lay emphasis on
commitment to promoting non-economic social values under a variety of headings
(e.g. ethics codes, social responsibility charters). In some cases, corporations have
re-branded their core values in the light of business ethical considerations (e.g. BP's
"beyond petroleum" environmental tilt).

The term CSR came in to common use in the early 1970s although it was seldom
abbreviated. The term stakeholder, meaning those impacted by an organization's
activities, was used to describe corporate owners beyond shareholders as a result of
an influential book by R Freeman in 1984. [2]

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Whilst there is no recognized standard for CSR, public sector organizations (the
United Nations for example) adhere to the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). It is widely
accepted that CSR adheres to similar principals but with no formal act of legislation.

Approaches
Some commentators have identified a difference between the Continental European
and the Anglo-Saxon approaches to CSR.[3] And even within Europe the discussion
about CSR is very heterogeneous.[4]

An approach for CSR that is becoming more widely accepted is community-based

development projects, such as the Shell Foundation's involvement in the Flower
Valley, South Africa. Here they have set up an Early Learning Centre to help
educate the community's children, as well as develop new skills for the adults.
Marks and Spencer is also active in this community through the building of a trade
network with the community - guaranteeing regular fair trade purchases. Often
alternative approaches to this is the establishment of education facilities for adults,
as well as HIV/AIDS education programmes. The majority of these CSR projects are
established in Africa. A more common approach of CSR is through the giving of aid
to local organizations and impoverished communities in developing countries. Some
organizations do not like this approach as it does not help build on the skills of the
local people, whereas community-based development generally leads to more
sustainable development.

Social accounting, auditing and reporting

Taking responsibility for its impact on society means in the first instance that a
company accounts for its actions. Social accounting, a concept describing the
communication of social and environmental effects of a company's economic
actions to particular interest groups within society and to society at large, is thus an
important element of CSR.

A number of reporting guidelines or standards have been developed to serve as

frameworks for social accounting, auditing and reporting:

• AccountAbility's AA1000 standard, based on John Elkington's triple bottom

line (3BL) reporting
• Accounting for Sustainability's Connected Reporting Framework.
• Global Reporting Initiative's Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
• GoodCorporation's Standard developed in association with the Institute of
Business Ethics
• Green Globe Certification / Standard
• Social Accountability International's SA8000 standard
• The ISO 14000 environmental management standard

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 • The United Nations Global Compact promotes companies reporting in the
format of a Communication on Progress (COP). A COP report describes the
company's implementation of the Compact's ten universal principles.
• The United Nations Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on
International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) provides
voluntary technical guidance on eco-efficiency indicators, corporate
responsibility reporting and corporate governance disclosure.
• Verite's Monitoring Guidelines

The FTSE Group publishes the FTSE4Good Index, an evaluation of CSR performance
of companies.

In some nations legal requirements for social accounting, auditing and reporting
exist (e.g. in the French bilan social), though agreement on meaningful
measurements of social and environmental performance is difficult. Many
companies now produce externally audited annual reports that cover Sustainable
Development and CSR issues ("Triple Bottom Line Reports"), but the reports vary
widely in format, style, and evaluation methodology (even within the same
industry). Critics dismiss these reports as lip service, citing examples such as
Enron's yearly "Corporate Responsibility Annual Report" and tobacco corporations'
social reports.

Potential business benefits

The scale and nature of the benefits of CSR for an organization can vary depending
on the nature of the enterprise, and are difficult to quantify, though there is a large
body of literature exhorting business to adopt measures beyond financial ones (e.g.,
Deming's Fourteen Points, balanced scorecards). Orlitzky, Schmidt, and Rynes]
found a correlation between social/environmental performance and financial
performance. However, businesses may not be looking at short-run financial returns
when developing their CSR strategy.

The definition of CSR used within an organization can vary from the strict
"stakeholder impacts" definition used by many CSR advocates and will often include
charitable efforts and volunteering. CSR may be based within the human resources,
business development or public relations departments of an organisation, or may be
given a separate unit reporting to the CEO or in some cases directly to the board.
Some companies may implement CSR-type values without a clearly defined team or
programme.

The business case for CSR within a company will likely rest on one or more of these
arguments:

Human resources
A CSR programme can be an aid to recruitment and retention, particularly within
the competitive graduate student market. Potential recruits often ask about a firm's
CSR policy during an interview, and having a comprehensive policy can give an

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advantage. CSR can also help to improve the perception of a company among its
staff, particularly when staff can become involved through payroll giving,
fundraising activities or community volunteering.

Risk management
Managing risk is a central part of many corporate strategies. Reputations that take
decades to build up can be ruined in hours through incidents such as corruption
scandals or environmental accidents. These events can also draw unwanted
attention from regulators, courts, governments and media. Building a genuine
culture of 'doing the right thing' within a corporation can offset these risks.

Brand differentiation
In crowded marketplaces, companies strive for a unique selling proposition that can
separate them from the competition in the minds of consumers. CSR can play a role
in building customer loyalty based on distinctive ethical values. Several major
brands, such as The Co-operative Group, The Body Shop and American Apparel are
built on ethical values. Business service organizations can benefit too from building
a reputation for integrity and best practice.

License to operate
Corporations are keen to avoid interference in their business through taxation or
regulations. By taking substantive voluntary steps, they can persuade governments
and the wider public that they are taking issues such as health and safety, diversity
or the environment seriously, and so avoid intervention. This also applies to firms
seeking to justify eye-catching profits and high levels of boardroom pay. Those
operating away from their home country can make sure they stay welcome by being
good corporate citizens with respect to labour standards and impacts on the
environment

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CSR IN INDIA

Corporate Social Responsibility in India –

Putting Social-Economic Development on a
Fast Track
Four years ago, Reliance Industries Ltd. launched a countrywide initiative known as
“Project Drishti”, to restore the eye-sights of visually challenged Indians from the
economically weaker sections of the society. This project, started by one of India’s
corporate giants has brightened up the lives of over 5000 people so far.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) defined as “the ethical behavior of a company

towards the society,” manifests itself in the form of such noble programs initiated
by for-profit organizations. CSR has become increasingly prominent in the Indian
corporate scenario because organizations have realized that besides growing their
businesses it is also vital to build trustworthy and sustainable relationships with the
community at large. This is one of the key drivers of CSR programs.

Another reason fuelling this rapid adoption of CSR is the state of the Indian society.
Though India is one of the fastest growing economies, socio-economic problems like
poverty, illiteracy, lack of healthcare etc. are still ubiquitous and the government
has limited resources to tackle these challenges. This scenario has opened up
several areas for businesses to contribute towards social development.

CSR is not a new concept in India. Corporates like the Tata Group, the Aditya Birla
Group, and Indian Oil Corporation, to name a few, have been involved in serving the
community ever since their inception. Many other organizations have been doing
their part for the society through donations and charity events.

Today, CSR in India has gone beyond merely charity and donations, and is
approached in a more organized fashion. It has become an integral part of the

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corporate strategy. Companies have CSR teams that devise specific policies,
strategies and goals for their CSR programs and set aside budgets to support them.

These programs, in many cases, are based on a clearly defined social philosophy or
are closely aligned with the companies’ business expertise. Employees become the
backbone of these initiatives and volunteer their time and contribute their skills, to
implement them. CSR Programs could range from overall development of a
community to supporting specific causes like education, environment, healthcare
etc.

For example, organizations like Bharath Petroleum Corporation Limited, Maruti

Suzuki India Limited, and Hindustan Unilever Limited, adopt villages where they
focus on holistic development. They provide better medical and sanitation facilities,
build schools and houses, and help the villagers become self-reliant by teaching
them vocational and business skills.

On the other hand GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals’ CSR programs primarily focus

on health and healthy living. They work in tribal villages where they provide medical
check-up and treatment, health camps and health awareness programs. They also
provide money, medicines and equipment to non-profit organizations that work
towards improving health and education in under-served communities.

Many CSR initiatives are executed by corporates in partnership with Non-

governmental organizations (NGOs) who are well versed in working with the local
communities and are experts in tackling specific social problems.

For example, SAP India in partnership with Hope Foundation, an NGO that works for
the betterment of the poor and the needy throughout India, has been working on
short and long-term rebuilding initiatives for the tsunami victims. Together, they
also started The SAP Labs Center of HOPE in Bangalore, a home for street
children, where they provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care and education.

CSR has come a long way in India. From responsive activities to sustainable
initiatives, corporates have clearly exhibited their ability to make a significant
difference in the society and improve the overall quality of life. In the current social
situation in India, it is difficult for one single entity to bring about change, as the
scale is enormous. Corporates have the expertise, strategic thinking, manpower and
money to facilitate extensive social change. Effective partnerships between
corporates, NGOs and the government will place India’s social development on a
faster track.

CSR
initiatives
of Genpact

Caring@Genpact is our global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

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initiative, and is embedded in our corporate culture and integrated with core
business objectives to deliver social and environmental returns. It involves us
as individuals as well as our company wide efforts…a cross functional
stakeholder involvement to institutionalize CSR.

Towards this goal, we have a number of global platforms and programs

designed to make giving a way of life at Genpact and empower us to help
build stronger communities where we live and work:

A) Employee Engagement

B) Business Basics

C) Social Investments

A) Employee Engagement: Mobilizing corporate citizenship and unleashing

the potential of our employees.

1) Genpact Payroll Giving Program for Employee

Donations: Flexible and transparent platforms that
enable employees to donate a small part of their
salary to credible local charities with convenience
and confidence. While these programs are
completely voluntary, and employees have the
option to change or discontinue their monthly contribution, today, about
5000 employees across India, Mexico and Romania are cumulatively
donating close to USD $250,000 a year!

2) Genpact Volunteers: Genpact has an active

volunteer base at each site committed to delivering
local community impact in a more hands-on way.
Over 80 Global Community Champions have been
nominated across 35 sites to catalyze this change
and design effective community outreach programs

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supporting a wide range of causes and NGOs.

We encourage skill-based volunteering (programs that 'Teach a man to fish'

versus simply ‘Giving a man a fish') and strive for long-term partnerships
that deliver measurable and sustainable community impact.

In an effort to digitize and streamline this initiative,

we have partnered with Angelpoints, a global
leader in on-demand Corporate Social
Responsibility Management (CSRM), to deploy an
enterprise-wide, web-based, volunteer manage
-ment solution .This is an online networking system
for community engagement and a volunteer management workflow tool that
connects employees across the world with local volunteer opportunities in
their communities.

B) Business Basics: Embedding the social and environmental code of conduct

into our core operations and functions.

1) Inclusive Employment: By philosophy,

Genpact is an equal opportunity, affirmative
employer. We base our employment
decisions on merit, experience and potential
without regard to race, color, national origin,
sex, marital status, age, religion, disability or
sexual orientation.
We have initiated efforts to proactively source, hire, mainstream and
integrate people with disabilities: Targeted hiring drives, front-line
sensitization training, job mapping to scope opportunities, facilities access
audits, and participation in job fairs for differently-abled talent.

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Approximately 40% of global headcount and 35% of Indian headcount
constitute women. Globally, our employees speak 30+ languages and
represent 50+ nationalities. In India, our diverse workforce represents nearly
all states/regions.

2) Going Green: Initiatives to "Green" our supply chain and facilities

Ongoing campaigns to recycle, reduce waste and conserve energy.

Investment in latest technologies to improve our power efficiency and
minimize environmental releases - year on year reduction in power
consumption in each of our sites.

Platinum rated Green Buildings for all our newly constructed owned sites

Our commitment towards achieving environmental excellence at par with

world class standards has been recently acknowledged through the
achievement of ISO-14001 certification by BSI for all our India sites.

Process to donate old computers and IT equipment

eWaste elimination practices

3) Awareness Building in Future Leaders: Community Service is

recommended in our BUILD leadership development programs, and
volunteer events are held during leadership trainings.

Criticisms and concerns

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-

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dressing; others argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as
a watchdog over powerful multinational corporations.Critics of CSR as well as
proponents debate a number of concerns related to it. These include CSR's
relationship to the fundamental purpose and nature of business and questionable
motives for engaging in CSR, including concerns about insincerity and hypocrisy.

CSR and the nature of business

Corporations exist to provide products and/or services that produce profits for their
shareholders. Milton Friedman and others take this a step further, arguing that a
corporation's purpose is to maximize returns to its shareholders, and that since (in
their view), only people can have social responsibilities, corporations are only
responsible to their shareholders and not to society as a whole. Although they
accept that corporations should obey the laws of the countries within which they
work, they assert that corporations have no other obligation to society. Some
people perceive CSR as incongruent with the very nature and purpose of business,
and indeed a hindrance to free trade. Those who assert that CSR is incongruent with
capitalism and are in favor of neoliberalism argue that improvements in health,
longevity and/or infant mortality have been created by economic growth attributed
to free enterprise.

Critics of this argument perceive neoliberalism as opposed to the well-being of

society and a hindrance to human freedom. They claim that the type of capitalism
practiced in many developing countries is a form of economic and cultural
imperialism, noting that these countries usually have fewer labor protections, and
thus their citizens are at a higher risk of exploitation by multinational corporations.

A wide variety of individuals and organizations operate in between these poles. For
example, the REALeadership Alliance asserts that the business of leadership (be it
corporate or otherwise) is to change the world for the better. Many religious and
cultural traditions hold that the economy exists to serve human beings, so all
economic entities have an obligation to society (e.g., cf. Economic Justice for All).
Moreover, as discussed above, many CSR proponents point out that CSR can
significantly improve long-term corporate profitability because it reduces risks and
inefficiencies while offering a host of potential benefits such as enhanced brand
reputation and employee engagement.

CSR and questionable motives

Some critics believe that CSR programs are undertaken by companies such as
British American Tobacco (BAT), the petroleum giant BP (well-known for its high-
profile advertising campaigns on environmental aspects of its operations), and
McDonald's (see below) to distract the public from ethical questions posed by their
core operations. They argue that some corporations start CSR programs for the
commercial benefit they enjoy through raising their reputation with the public or
with government. They suggest that corporations which exist solely to maximize
profits are unable to advance the interests of society as a whole.

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Another concern is when companies claim to promote CSR and be committed to
Sustainable Development whilst simultaneously engaging in harmful business
practices. For example, since the 1970s, the McDonald's Corporation's association
with Ronald McDonald House has been viewed as CSR and relationship marketing.
More recently, as CSR has become mainstream, the company has beefed up its CSR
programs related to its labor, environmental and other practices All the same, in
McDonald's Restaurants v Morris & Steel, Lord Justices Pill, May and Keane ruled
that it was fair comment to say that McDonald's employees worldwide 'do badly in
terms of pay and conditions' and true that 'if one eats enough McDonald's food,
one's diet may well become high in fat etc., with the very real risk of heart disease.'

Shell has a much-publicised CSR policy and was a pioneer in triple bottom line
reporting, but this did not prevent the 2004 scandal concerning its misreporting of
oil reserves, which seriously damaged its reputation and led to charges of
hypocrisy. Since then, the Shell Foundation has become involved in many projects
across the world, including a partnership with Marks and Spencer (UK) in three
flower and fruit growing communities across Africa.

Critics concerned with corporate hypocrisy and insincerity generally suggest that
better governmental and international regulation and enforcement, rather than
voluntary measures, are necessary to ensure that companies behave in a socially
responsible manner.

Drivers
Corporations may be influenced to adopt CSR practices by several
drivers:-
Ethical consumerism

The rise in popularity of ethical consumerism over the last two decades can be
linked to the rise of CSR. As global population increases, so does the pressure on
limited natural resources required to meet rising consumer demand.
Industrialization in many developing countries is booming as a result of technology
and globalization. Consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental and
social implications of their day-to-day consumer decisions and are beginning to
make purchasing decisions related to their environmental and ethical concerns.
However, this practice is far from consistent or universal.

Globalization and market forces

As corporations pursue growth through globalization, they have encountered new

challenges that impose limits to their growth and potential profits. Government
regulations, tariffs, environmental restrictions and varying standards of what
constitutes labour exploitation are problems that can cost organizations millions of
dollars. Some view ethical issues as simply a costly hindrance. Some companies use
CSR methodologies as a strategic tactic to gain public support for their presence in
global markets, helping them sustain a competitive advantage by using their social

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contributions to provide a subconscious level of advertising.Global competition
places particular pressure on multinational corporations to examine not only their
own labour practices, but those of their entire supply chain, from a CSR perspective.

Social awareness and education

The role among corporate stakeholders to work collectively to pressure corporations

is changing. Shareholders and investors themselves, through socially responsible
investing are exerting pressure on corporations to behave responsibly. Non-
governmental organizations are also taking an increasing role, leveraging the power
of the media and the Internet to increase their scrutiny and collective activism
around corporate behavior. Through education and dialogue, the development of
community in holding businesses responsible for their actions is growing.

Ethics training

The rise of ethics training inside corporations, some of it required by government

regulation, is another driver credited with changing the behaviour and culture of
corporations. The aim of such training is to help employees make ethical decisions
when the answers are unclear. Tullberg believes that humans are built with the
capacity to cheat and manipulate, a view taken from , hence the need for learning
normative values and rules in human behaviour. The most direct benefit is reducing
the likelihood of "dirty hands", fines and damaged reputations for breaching laws or
moral norms. Organizations also see secondary benefit in increasing employee
loyalty and pride in the organization. Caterpillar and Best Buy are examples of
organizations that have taken such steps.

Increasingly, companies are becoming interested in processes that can add visibility
to their CSR policies and activities. One method that is gaining increasing popularity
is the use of well-grounded training programs, where CSR is a major issue, and
business simulations can play a part in this.

Laws and regulation

Another driver of CSR is the role of independent mediators, particularly the

government, in ensuring that corporations are prevented from harming the broader
social good, including people and the environment. CSR critics such as Robert Reich
argue that governments should set the agenda for social responsibility by the way
of laws and regulation that will allow a business to conduct themselves responsibly.

The issues surrounding government regulation pose several problems. Regulation in

itself is unable to cover every aspect in detail of a corporation's operations. This
leads to burdensome legal processes bogged down in interpretations of the law and
debatable grey areas. General Electric is an example of a corporation that has failed
to clean up the Hudson River after contaminating it with organic pollutants. The
company continues to argue via the legal process on assignment of liability, while
the cleanup remains stagnant. The second issue is the financial burden that
regulation can place on a nation's economy. This view shared by Bulkeley, who cites
the Australian federal government's actions to avoid compliance with the Kyoto

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Protocol in 1997, on the concerns of economic loss and national interest. The
Australian government took the position that signing the Kyoto Pact would have
caused more significant economic losses for Australia than for any other OECD
nation.Critics of CSR also point out that organisations pay taxes to government to
ensure that society and the environment are not adversely affected by business
activities.

Crises and their consequences

Often it takes a crisis to precipitate attention to CSR. One of the most active stands
against environmental management is the CERES Principles that resulted after the
Exxon Valdez incident in Alaska in 1989. Other examples include the lead poisoning
paint used by toy giant Mattel, which required a recall of millions of toys globally
and caused the company to initiate new risk management and quality control
processes. In another example, Magellan Metals in the West Australian town of
Esperance was responsible for lead contamination killing thousands of birds in the
area. The company had to cease business immediately and work with independent
regulatory bodies to execute a cleanup.

Stakeholder priorities

Increasingly, corporations are motivated to become more socially responsible

because their most important stakeholders expect them to understand and address
the social and community issues that are relevant to them. Understanding what
causes are important to employees is usually the first priority because of the many
interrelated business benefits that can be derived from increased employee
engagement (i.e. more loyalty, improved recruitment, increased retention, higher
productivity, an so on). Key external stakeholders include customers, consumers,
investors (particularly institutional investors, regulators, academics, and the media).

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agenda of a corporation is reflective of its

social conscience and commitments to the community and society at large within
which it operates. It is no more viewed as a liability on corporate resources. More
and more Companies have increasingly realized that it is an investment with
multiple benefits for the corporate sector. Various empirical research findings
clearly pointing to a strong positive correlation between CSR and corporate
profitability have further provided the impetus.

Smile Foundation - wherever it has reached in its journey in the recent years, it is
because of the support from socially responsible corporate and institutions who
have believed in our social commitment and have come forward to join hands !

Smile Foundation has received support and encouragement from around 70 odd
corporate and institutions under various welfare initiatives across federal India.

Tata Steel, world's sixth largest steel maker on Wednesday said it has bagged the
'Golden Peacock' award for 2009 for its corporate social responsibility initiatives.

15
"The notion of social stewardship is integral to the company's business endeavours
in the areas where it operates.

CSR is an integral components of Tata Steel's business strategy," the steel maker
said in a statement.

The Golden Peacock Awards Jury, under the co-chairmanship of former Prime
Minister of Sweden Ola Ullsten and former chief justice of India P N Bhagwati,
conferred the award to Tata Steel at the 4th Global Conference on Social
Responsibility in Vilamoura, Portugal, it said.

The award was collected by Corus International Portugal Country Manager Claudia
Esteves on behalf of Tata Steel, it added.

However, Corporate Institutions in India, though more sensitive towards CSR as

compared to elsewhere, with all the resources at their command, remain
constrained in terms of their reach; both geographically and demographically. Their
efforts appear insignificant in light of the size of our country and diverse, multiple
problems therein.

Smile Foundation is a National Level Development Organisation, registered as an

Indian Charitable Trust, initiated by a group of young professionals from corporate
and business sectors. The Foundation supports children centric welfare initiatives of
NGOs across 21 States of India. The Foundation, itself a living example of Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR), very genuinely believes in and passionately advocates
for a more proactive and vital role of corporate organisations in the developmental
plane for greater mutual benefits.

Following the model of Social Venture Philanthropy, SMILE seeks out social
entrepreneurs with innovative ideas, vision and passion, running genuine grassroots
initiatives and making significant contributions with low cost. In the process SMILE
happens to be the first ever grant maker in over 75% of organisations it supports
across the country.

Smile Foundation earnestly believes that (Corporate Social Responsibilities) CSR

agenda stands to gain immensely through fostering and strengthening corporate-
civil society partnerships in development missions. The Foundation, therefore,
actively seeks to network and forge partnerships with like minded corporate
organisations and premier institutions in India as well as across the world.

Smile Foundation’s commitment to CSR has been duly recognized by a host of

organisations like Caterpillar, Barclays, Microsoft, UPS Inc., Xansa, Associated
Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII), CVENT, Sandwood Infratech, to name a few.

16
Besides working for promoting and strengthening CSR in the country, the
Foundation also provides Social Exposure, Awareness and Orientation Programmes
for Management students – the future corporate Leaders.

Smile Foundation very genuinely believes in a more proactive corporate sector and
passionately advocates for promoting and strengthening CSR agenda. Also a vibrant
corporate-civil society partnership is what the Foundation strives for in view of
NGOs going (working in) outreach with commitments and community support

Tata Steel, world's sixth largest steel maker on Wednesday said it has bagged the
'Golden Peacock' award for 2009 for its corporate social responsibility initiatives.

"The notion of social stewardship is integral to the company's business endeavours

in the areas where it operates.

CSR is an integral components of Tata Steel's business strategy," the steel maker
said in a statement.

The Golden Peacock Awards Jury, under the co-chairmanship of former Prime
Minister of Sweden Ola Ullsten and former chief justice of India P N Bhagwati,
conferred the award to Tata Steel at the 4th Global Conference on Social
Responsibility in Vilamoura, Portugal, it said.

The award was collected by Corus International Portugal Country Manager Claudia
Esteves on behalf of Tata Steel, it added.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development states “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”.

The corporate world today should realize that Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR,
is not an option any more, it is a compulsion. It is much more than giving press
releases that it has installed 5 water pumps in a village or donated 500 text books
to illiterate children. It is about sustenance and growth. CSR should be taken
beyond the realm of charity and just philanthropy. Corporations often spend money
on community projects, extend scholarships and establish foundations thereby
create goodwill and enhance the reputation of the business and strengthen its
brand.

Many business houses see CSR as an opportunity to boost the brand image of their
companies. Partnership with NGOs is mainly used to build the image of the
company; money is spent more and more on promotional activities which are well
publicised. The company’s commitment starts and ends at that.

17
There are some who think that generation of maximum profits for the stakeholders
within the ambit of rules and regulations of the government is the concept of CSR
activities. They think that spending corporate resources for the benefit of social
causes rather than maximizing shareholder value is foolish and to be avoided.

In India we are beset with problems owing to stark poverty, despite all the
hullaballoo about the economic liberalization. Can corporate world be oblivious to
this pathetic fact? Most of the MNCs or domestic companies, for that matter, are
adopting CSR activities aping their counterparts in the developed world. However, in
developed countries, the system works with good governance and reasonable level
of public participation. In India, experiencing good governance is still non-existent.
Despite all the hype about the largest democracy in the world, only a minuscule of
the political class take part in solving social problems, and that too almost always
with ulterior selfish motives. That is the reason, why the corporate worlds need
broader and holistic approach in adopting and standardising CSR activities.

Investing in highly controversial SEZs for the sake of India’s development does
not seem to be ideal CSR while ignoring the needs of the poor whose lands have
been taken over. Paying compensation in lieu of their land does not absolve them of
responsibility. It would be rather that the land donors be taken as shareholders and
made partners like the investors and share their prosperity. Such strategy in the
CSR of these companies could readily win over the poor.

When we still have a dismal educational system and when millions in India still
remain illiterate, companies sing their own praise that they have contributed to
start some schools or gave money for scholarships or donated books for the
students. This is not involvement; this is just donation for some programmes that
are eternally in need of resources. A comprehensive CSR should strive to adopt the
principle of teaching how to fish rather than just giving out fish to temporary satiate
the hunger.

We should remember that CSR is not a subsidiary responsibility of a corporate body,

but a complementary responsibility that aims to add value to its operations.

Here are some salient CSR initiatives taken by few companies:-

#Focus on employee welfare in 16 hours away from work at Tata Steel & Orchid.

#Focus on reduction of infant mortality rate, education, micro-finance and

leveraging technology by ICICI Bank & Tata Steel.

#Focus on employee and family health & welfare at BILT.

#Conduct of Environmental Impact Assessment and Public Consultation for its

pipeline projects in the planning phase demonstrates GSPLs commitment to
integrate environment & safety concerns from the outset.

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#Supplementing government initiatives in education, rural infrastructure, health
(mobile health clinic) and empowerment at Tata steel & Orchid.

#Adoption of villages to make them fully self reliant and replication of such model
villages across India Aditya Birla Group companies.

The late Aditya Birla caused a paradigm shift in CSR when he had stated We should
help people in a way that they are able to stand on their own feet and earn money
continuously. In this way their livelihood is never at stake. He further echoed that
famous saying.If you give a hungry man fish one day, he will eat it and the next day
he will be starving again. Instead, if you teach him to fish, he will never go hungry
during his lifetime.

Its heartening to note that quite a few companies have accepted this universal
ethos as far as formulating their CSR activities. One such group companies have
been Satyam; the latest corporate scam, notwithstanding.

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