CSR: Voluntary necessity or explicit choice?

Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) seems to have become a buzzword in recent years, business has always been concerned about society and the environment. Their relationship is ultimately symbiotic: neither can or will a company thrive in a failing society, nor can a society prosper without a successful expanding economy.

The increasing globalization (hopefully even after Trump gaining the US presidency) of the world economy has led to significant changes in supply and value chains and in the division of labor.

Doing business and manufacturing goods have become more complex, as enterprises wishing to do international business have to comply with more and more legal and ethical standards (the Philippines just added data privacy rules that will affect every organization). As a result, CSR has become a kind of voluntary necessity rather than an explicit choice. As Gawad Kalinga founder Tony Meloto said the other day: “Mere charity is not working.” In order to succeed globally, businesses have to respond to certain expectations and align their strategies and operations to universal values.

These expectations and values become especially evident when tragic incidents prove weak standards, like the collapse of the garment factory in Bangladesh or the fire in the plant in Valenzuela, where many workers lost their lives. Manufacturers came under fire for their supply chain responsibility. Public pressure prompted companies to improve attention to safety requirements and labor/human rights issues.

Beyond human rights issues, the public’s attention has also been drawn to questions of environmental sustainability. DENR Secretary Gina Lopez has this high on her agenda. Many local and foreign businesses have responded to these concerns (already before the arrival of Gina Lopez at the DENR).

It is against this background that many international initiatives and guidelines have been established. These guidelines include the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (MNE) and the ILO’s MNE Declaration. The latter is the world’s most comprehensive government-backed multilateral agreement on business ethics.

All of the measures above are often seen as only providing recommendations. Critics say that these initiatives are not meaningful if they have no basis in law and formal enforcement. However, this understanding of voluntary CSR reflects the common misconception that poor business conduct has no consequence for the offending company.

   Not adhering to responsible business practices cannot be tolerated and will have a negative effect on the reputation of a company. This is why the Integrity Initiative Inc. basically highlights the following principles that have to be adhered to by companies signing the Integrity Pledge:

* Long-term sustainability over short-term greed

* I respect the labor laws

* I pay fair taxes

* I respect the environment

* I don’t smuggle

* I don’t bribe.

   As companies benefit from CSR programs, it is in their best interest to integrate sustainability in their business operations.

Have I convinced you to join the Integrity Initiative and sign the Integrity Pledge? If yes, send me an email ([email protected]) and I will send you the pledge form for signature.