Daily Times

Business empowerment has been an imperative for companies around the world and different corporations are busy enhancing their sources of income leading to increased proprietorship in this regard. However, the emergence of functional concept of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility: a longstanding relationship between business and society) in business model (a way companies follow to make money) has helped business entities grow faster: leading to a layered sustainability. Moreover, CSR itself is a framework for businesses in which the impact of their collective actions, on whole the society, is measured to determine whether these businesses are practising responsibly and ethically or contributing to any social abuse.

Practising CSR principles ethically, at one hand, is good for the company’s span of life in the consumer market, and on the other hand, becomes a catalytic source of social development that means that if a business does well, it brings wealth and stability to a society if society flourishes the business will reap fruits of better performance. In other words every step of value creation in value chain benefits not only the business firm but also the society at large. Realistically, most of the chunk of earth’s surface is shared by business-stakeholders related entities and everyone is engaged in growing up exponentially as the producer and consumer.

With the clinch of CSR terminology, the ‘ethical behaviour’ of the organisation is principally considered almost because without having ‘ethical behaviour’ an organisation is definitely zilch otherwise, it may gradually go to eat dust somewhere over the time.

The most important issue that has been caught as debatable at some national and international forums is in what sense the CSR could be considered because few corporations (especially of developing countries like Pakistan) are of opinion that CSR somehow having connection with charity, however the summary of The Corporations and Communities Series Debate ‘CSR has nothing to do with charity’ of The Economist Intelligence Unit (2013), concluded that ‘75 percent of voters agreeing with ‘CSR has nothing to do with charity’. But this tells only a fraction of the story. The debate demonstrated that people hold strong and passionate views on the topic. Participants contributed more than 400 thoughtful comments and personal insights on the relationship between charity and CSR, while the debate website attracted around 30,000 unique users and its Facebook page gained more than 3,500 fans’.

To a concern for Pakistan as a country, I experienced an HR official of one of the top multinational corporations from Karachi, Pakistan, that was vocal regarding CSR as “Yes, we practise CSR. There is a school for orphans in Karachi where we go as financial donor when if there are heavy rains, earthquake, or any other natural calamity- we go there and provide charity; helping them”, she answered when I asked her while having tea-table discussion. The answer reveals that the concept and logic of CSR are not comprehended by even employees of magnates of large organisations working in the developing countries.

Government needs to develop an effective national CSR policy to make business society-relations stronger in order to help further its scope of practice. National and international companies should be held under strict accountability in connection with practising CSR in requirement and the term ‘corporate ethical behaviour’ needs to be introduced effectively so one can know the in-out information of companies and its goods and services

For achieving the goal of sustainable development: the state, civil society, and the business sector are the key players in making it possible. As the sustainability lies in the grappled hands of triple-actors: state, civil society, and the business sector. Whereas state regulates the behaviour of people, organisations (national-multinational and profit-oriented-organisations and not for-profit organisations), civil society, and the business sector by making bold gesture of encouraging and discouraging incentives for the environmental factors of the state/country.

Truly, dealing with CSR has never remained a matter of top priority for the government, however, the business community is considered economic lifeline of any country and when there is no any ‘national policy for CSR’ then one can imagine the level of sustainable development in the country: Pakistan.

To date, government, organisations, civil society and the business community have not comprehended the likely (and ultimately profitable) results of CSR practices after its adaptation and successful implementation. But few organisations lie at hands of ‘in-progress’ at some extent when to say just ‘practising’ CSR principles.

SDPI (Sustainable Development Policy Institute) Islamabad, in its study of 2011 reveals that the leading players in the field from the government and non-government sectors are Ministry of Commerce, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Pakistan (CCIP), Ministry of Information Technology, Oxfam (NOVIB), Global initiative reporting (GRI), Pakistan Compliance Initiative (PCI), etc. These organisations are working to enhance the scope for CSR in Pakistan in their areas of specialisation.

SECP, SBP and Ministry of Commerce are working to draw the rules, laws, regulations and code of conducts. Chamber of Commerce and Industry has its unique role to provide a bridge between international demands and standards and existing realities and shortfalls in terms of implementing CSR in local industries.

There are organisations such as OXFAM, RBI, and UNDP that are facilitating research on CSR and its further dissemination. ILO is to monitor labor related issues and GCFP is to sign compacts. There are others such as NPO and NCP that are working in the field of environment. All four (Economic Responsibility (to shareholder/owners), Legal Responsibility (to the law), Ethical Responsibility (moral aspect), Philanthropic Responsibility (charitable aspect)) components of the CSR seem pretty covered by one or more of these organisations.

Like in 2012, National Forum for Environment and Health, Pakistan announced the Corporate Social Responsibility Business Excellence Award-2012 for 36 companies showing best performance. The Award was eyed and “instituted to recognise and promote the organisations making outstanding contribution for sustainable future through CSR Initiative”, a mix of segmented economic entities were nominated: the National Bank of Pakistan,

The Citizens Foundation, Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation, Total Parco Pakistan, Rural Support Programmes Network, Engro Corporation, Fauji Fertilizer Company, Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim, Pak Arab Refinery, Employees Old Age Benefits Institute, The Karachi Electric Supply Company, and Dawn News awarded for CSR award. Looking at the current picture shows that few high-asset-based corporations are working (not at faster level) on taking CSR initiatives. But is it enough to consider it the best paced action? However, practising CSR is good for all: people, environment, civil society, and the government, if adopted ethically.

CSR in Pakistan has a potent mix of challenges like corruption, law and order situation, political instability, unstable stakeholders’ confidence, lack of awareness regarding CSR in the society, CSR Reporting, increasing child labour; poverty, bonded labour, human rights violation, absence of CSR as an academic field, inability to make it part of strategic management at government level, accountability, transparency, and lack of confidence and interest of government for CSR practices.

While our international challenges are business competition, decreasing chances of availing global business identity, flocking MNCs to Pakistan; making tight stronghold in consumer market, because Pakistan has become an environmental heaven, economic trouble makers getting empowered, and lowering in globalised world.

The currently available opportunities for CSR in Pakistan are those of the companies that are somehow engaged in practising CSR at some extent however it is factually bold to say that they are not at par: lacking meeting requirement, awareness through CBOs (Community Based Organisations), civil society organisations , the number of (social sciences) academic institutions are increasing: CSR may be made part of them all, role of print and electronic media is available, availability of constitutional support: The factories Act 1934, The Employment of Children Act 1991, The Bonded Labour Abolition System Act 1992, and chances of learning through CSR consultants and connoisseurs at national as well as global level.

Government could first make CSR a part of its strategic management/planning because until and unless the CSR is not made like this it would not get geared up and executed in Pakistan. The resources available could be used strategically in order to get more of them.

At one hand, government needs to develop an effective and efficient ‘National CSR Policy’ in which one of its objectives should be to make business society-relations stronger in order to help further its scope of practice, companies (national and international) should be taken under strict accountability in connection with practising CSR in requirement, the term ‘corporate ethical behaviour’ needs to be introduced effectively so one can know the in-out information of companies and its goods and services, new methods for CSR Reporting should be introduced for the companies which give each and every information of the entity-related CSR-initiatives to the society, moreover, a sustainable mutual-interest between government, global organisations working in Pakistan, business community, and the key stakeholders would not be amiss either.

The writer is a CSR researcher and development practitioner. Currently, he is working as Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, Learning (MEAL) officer in Sindh Rural Support Program (SRSP), Hyderabad. He is an MS student in Public Policy at Mehran University Institute of Science, Technology, and Development at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology

Published in Daily Times, February 16^th 2018.