Corporate social responsibility a workable concept

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, September 24 — Ever wondered why corporations should take responsibility for the impact of their civic activities on customers, clients, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all aspects of their operations. "They owe it to them."

The sad truth is that corporate responsibility (CR) practices and awareness is still lacking among Malaysian companies despite a cross-section of them pursuing it rather assiduously.

Corporate behavior has changed to say the least with the shift on higher and bigger expectations. Companies who have yet to embark on corporate responsibility ventures know that they have to sooner or later because such ventures would help them sustain their businesses, although this concept and its objectives are not well documented.

But the good news is that the introduction of a CR framework by Bursa Malaysia helped set a firm foundation for its development. Malaysian companies could do better with more creativity in their thoughts, words and deeds so that strategies are put in place that are workable, using the latest technologies to make a difference in peoples' lives.

Malaysian companies in any event are quite good at giving back to the community, although there is plenty of room for improvement of course.
To create awareness and interest among civil society, seminars, forums and the like could be organized periodically and networking initiated by both local and multi-national corporations if CR is to taken to the next serious level.

I believe many large companies now issue a corporate social responsibility (CSR) report along with their annual report. This CSR report concentrates on their non-financial but usually positive contributions to societal activities.
One of the major goals set by the U.N. Millennium Development Goals is to enhance contributions in cash and kind to alleviate hunger and poverty in basically poor countries, which can give community-based initiatives a much-needed boost.

It has been said that the ideas of charity and giving-to community coupled with leadership, helped shape early thought about CSR. Going forward, corporations have to invest in core areas such as environment, education, community and arts-heritage-culture, where immense possibilities exist for sustainable development of these initiatives.

The specifics in Malaysia point to contributions made to the South East Asia Rainforest Research Program in Danum valley, Sabah, to enable international scientists to conduct research on climate change and the environment. Other areas pursued on an on-going basis, are focus on education for the disadvantaged, physically challenged, competency training for students and teachers alike, and development of youth through sport and youth development initiatives.

Another significant contribution made in the Malaysian community is raising community awareness, which in its wake encourages the spirit of "nadi" or volunteerism.

It is a good thing that arts have not been left out. Enhanced contributions have also been made to programs to support and preserve Malaysia's heritage, among others, a project that stands out in my mind is the restoration of Suffolk House.

The chief executive officer of a corporation is the key person who can ensure that CR initiatives bear fruit. The CEO can emphasize, formulate agendas and set the tone to look at CR holistically. This is not to be viewed as individual projects or adopted as a peripheral activity, but rather a fundamental part of the corporate brand, whereby ownership rests with the organization. Unless the CEO is seen as practicing CR, there is no telling whether or not the whole organization will be doing it.

Of course, local companies need to embrace CR for their businesses, as it could give them much needed or better exposure and ready access to growing funds. Since businesses are not short-term realities, CR initiatives should be undertaken with long-term goals for the betterment of society.