CSR EXPO: Transforming the business of giving back

MANILA, Philippines - For 15 years, the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) has been the catalyst in promoting strategic practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) among businesses. In its annual CSR Expo, today on its second day at the SMX Convention Center, LCF will address current issues on CSR and explore new strategies in making CSR programs relevant and sustainable. This year’s expo theme is “Transforming the Business of Giving Back.”

As both the trends in the business sector and the needs of communities change through time, this paradigm shift continues to open new areas of development in CSR to address issues on making initiatives sustainable. Yet another CSR model is emerging – the social enterprise, involving bigger responsibilities and, in many cases, deeper commitments.

LCF chairperson and Aboitiz Foundation executive vice president and managing trustee Sonny Carpio views social entrepreneurship as a strategic model of doing CSR. “I see social entrepreneurship as a means of making our CSR efforts more engaging, relevant, and sustainable. Now we’re not only thinking about the triple bottomline which is ‘People, Planet, Profit.’ We’ve added two more, which are ethical-moral framework and ensuring economic returns for our country. To balance all of them, we must innovate. And I think social entrepreneurship is one direction we could consider looking at,” said Carpio.

The expo features an exhibition of the development work of corporations and corporate foundations, as well as free CSR 101 sessions for teachers and students to increase their awareness and knowledge on the practice of CSR across industries. As in previous years, LCF is once again adopting green conference practices to keep waste at a minimum and to recycle and reuse materials to the maximum extent possible.

For more information, visit the official event website at www.lcf.org.ph/csrexpo2012.