What is CSR?
Corporate
Social Responsibility is a management concept whereby companies
integrate social and environmental concerns in their business
operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR is generally
understood as being the way through which a company achieves a balance
of economic, environmental and social imperatives (“Triple-Bottom-Line-
Approach”), while at the same time addressing the expectations of
shareholders and stakeholders. In this sense it is important to draw a
distinction between CSR, which can be a strategic business management
concept, and charity, sponsorships or philanthropy. Even though the
latter can also make a valuable contribution to poverty reduction, will
directly enhance the reputation of a company and strengthen its brand,
the concept of CSR clearly goes beyond that.
Promoting the uptake of CSR amongst SMEs
requires approaches that fit the respective needs and capacities of
these businesses, and do not adversely affect their economic viability.
UNIDO based its CSR programme on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Approach,
which has proven to be a successful tool for SMEs in the developing
countries to assist them in meeting social and environmental standards
without compromising their competitiveness. The TBL approach is used as a
framework for measuring and reporting corporate performance against
economic, social and environmental performance. It is an attempt to
align private enterprises to the goal of sustainable global development
by providing them with a more comprehensive set of working objectives
than just profit alone. The perspective taken is that for an
organization to be sustainable, it must be financially secure, minimize
(or ideally eliminate) its negative environmental impacts and act in
conformity with societal expectations.
Key CSR issues: environmental
management, eco-efficiency, responsible sourcing, stakeholder
engagement, labour standards and working conditions, employee and
community relations, social equity, gender balance, human rights, good
governance, and anti-corruption measures.
A properly implemented CSR concept can bring along a
variety of competitive advantages, such as enhanced access to capital
and markets, increased sales and profits, operational cost savings,
improved productivity and quality, efficient human resource base,
improved brand image and reputation, enhanced customer loyalty, better
decision making and risk management processes.
Reference:
http://www.unido.org/en/what-we-do/trade/csr/what-is-csr.html