regulars

4 global briefs
people - planet - profits

24 social partnership
concern for children trust

Editor-in-Chief
27 report: forced labour Zohare Ali Shariff
cost of coercion
Editorial Director
Khadeeja Balkhi
32 opinion
the poor don't want csr, they just want a job Managing Editor
Rutaba Ahmed
35 crossword
Research, Development &
Distribution
38 what's happening? Mehfooz Aleem
Alizeh Shariq
40 breather
Creatives
Kamran Rauf
47 on the lighter side Umair Anwar
Hareem Deeba
48 musings
waste not, want not? Reprint
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Declaration
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tbl may-june 09 1
 editorial
advisory
board

Anwar Rammal
Chairperson

Chairman
Asiatic Public Relations
features
10 cover story Khadeeja Balkhi
the menace of bonded labour in pakistan's agricultural sector Executive Member

14 e-waste issues Sustainability Consultant

e-waste recycling in poor countries
Khawar Masood Butt
17 human rights and capitalism Founder Sponsor Member
exploring new dimensions in csr
Chairman and MD
English Biscuit Manufacturers
20 labour: macroeconomics
labour markets: verbosity with meaning
Habiba Hamid
36 csr reporting Member
corporate triple bottom line reporting in pakistan
Founder, Saracen Consulting

42 synergizing employee goals

building teams Abrar Hasan
Founder Sponsor Member

45 pandora's csr box Chief Executive

the case for banning csr! National Foods

46 crisis management Ayesha Tammy Haq

business continuity planning can make us stronger Member

Corporate Lawyer,
Legal and Media Consultant

Vivian Lines
Member

President and Chief Operating

Officer, Hill & Knowlton’s Asia
Pacific Region

2 www.tbl.com.pk

for the greater good
of humanity
I
n the turbulent times we
are living in, social respon-
sibility at every single level
of society is a highly desirable
behavioural expression.
Logically the higher the
capability to be responsible,
the higher should be the quan-
tum of responsibility exhi-
bited. People are the central
focus of CSR, directly or indirectly. In some of our
past issues we have looked at this relationship in
some depth, particularly in issue 4, which had the
theme 'CSR of the company, by the company, and for
the people'. If you missed this issue (or any other for
that matter), please note that all our previous issues
can be reviewed on our dynamic website,
www.tbl.com.pk. It's a highly interactive website and
I welcome you to also give us your feedback,
comments, insights and advice via it.
When the editorial team was brainstorming the theme
for this issue, we felt the need to focus on people once
again. There are several facets that one needs to
examine and I suspect tbl will be coming back to the
people theme time and again! We endeavour to be
knowledge-based and almost all the content in every
issue of tbl is original, in terms of expressly being
researched and written for tbl on specified themes,
and also in terms of not having being published any-
where else before. In the 8 issues we have brought out
since our launch in January 2008, the number of our
writers and content contributors has crossed the 50
mark, originating from some dozen countries around
the world! They are from diverse backgrounds and
include CSR specialists, sustainability consultants,
journalists, social scientists, academicians, researchers,
corporate executives, trainers and experts and subject
specialists from still other related disciplines.
Then as content partners we have renowned interna-
tional institutions like CSR International, Economist
Intelligence Unit, Ethical Corporation, Global
Reporting Initiative and Grist, to name a few.
What all this means for you, the tbl reader, is
vision and Vision: To steadily facilitate the germination of sustainable visions for organisational growth,
sharing specific triple bottom-line knowledge and tools
mission Mission Statement: To disseminate triple bottom-line knowledge to a diversified group including
corporate, social development and general business groups primarily through a specialised journal,
expanding in accordance with organisational capacity and market readiness
editor’s note
researched, thought-provoking, original content that
includes concepts, analyses, best practices, case
studies, national and international CSR reporting,
toolkits and more. We believe this dissemination of
knowledge on a subject that will continue to become
increasingly important in the years to come, was
vitally required. As with all pioneering efforts there
will be ups and downs but with your support tbl will
continue to pursue its Mission with zeal.
In this issue we look at CSR and people from the
broadest perspective possible - people being all
humanity and not just employees or consumers or
direct stakeholders in a company's business. We
examine issues like child labour, bonded labour and
unemployment and where these fit in, if they fit in at
all, into the CSR spectrum. For we firmly believe that
the ultimate aim of CSR, even for one individual
company, must be to contribute to the raising of the
standard for all of society and not only for those in
your own value chain.
In other words we would like to see corporate social
responsibility as a business function that addresses
larger human issues that may have little to do with a
company's business directly. The rationale for this
may be questioned by some and even regarded as
waste of funds that should otherwise go to the share-
holders as dividends. But the rationale for strengthe-
ning society holistically is very logical. A more pros-
perous society overall not only means a larger market
for corporate goods and services; it also means a more
stable and harmonious socio-economic environment
for all businesses to grow in the long run.
Sincerely,
Zohare Ali Shariff
Editor-in-Chief
tbl may-june 09 3
global briefs
Artificial Sweetners and Health
people Conference 2009, at which
Hazards
Artificial sweeteners have been
linked to bladder cancer in
laboratory rats. The cancer affects
a mechanism in the rat's bladder
that does not exist in humans,
and, therefore, the FDA does not
consider most artificial sweete-
ners dangerous for human
consumption.
A new study from the Water
Technology Center is Karlsruhe,
Germany has found that most
water treatment facilities cannot
remove the artificial sweeteners
from the water supply.
A new, more thorough analysis
shows that cyclamate, acesulfame,
saccharin, aspartame, neotame,
neohesperidin and dihydro-
chalcone are all out there,
polluting our water.
Cyclamate, for example, is banned
in the United States. It is legal
overseas and in Canada. All the
other sweeteners are legal, but
each come with a string of health
concerns.
The researchers are still uncertain
what effects these sweeteners
have on aquatic life. Can artificial
sweeteners increase the likelihood
of cancer in fish or other animals?
What is an acceptable level of
artificial sweeteners in our water?
Shared by TreeHugger, an online media outlet dedicated
to driving sustainability mainstream
1 in 8 with lung cancer shows
asbestos exposure in Japan
In April, the Asia Monitor
Resource Centre in Hong Kong
hosted the Asian Asbestos
4 www.tbl.com.pk
numerous speakers denounced
the tragic human consequences
resulting from the continued use
of asbestos across the region. It is
troubling, then, to see now that a
study in Japan shows that one in
eight lung cancer patients has
previously been exposed to
asbestos.
The research was conducted and
jointly released by 12 medical
institutions across the nation.
About 60,000 people die from
lung cancer in Japan annually,
which according to the new study
means that up to 7,500 deaths
could be directly attributed to
asbestos exposure.
In 2007, only 660 people were
recognised as suffering from
asbestos-related lung cancer and
thus eligible for government aid.
The research team said that
about 60,000 people die from lung
cancer each year in the nation.
In fiscal 2007, only 660 people
were recognized as suffering from
asbestos-related lung cancer and
thus eligible for government aid,
indicating that many lung cancer
patients are excluded from the aid
as the exposure has not been con-
firmed as the cause of their dis-
eases.
Between 2006 and 2007, the
research team discovered pleural
plaques in 28 patients, or 5.9 per-
cent, through chest x-rays, and in
58 patients, or 12.3 percent,
through high-resolution computer
tomography.
Pleural plaques were detected
through the CT scan mainly in
people engaged in professions
involving repeated asbestos
exposure, with 14 out of 35
patients working in the construc-
tion industry and six out of 23 in
the metal manufacturing and
processing industry.
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sustainable business practices
Green Musicians
Of all green musicians out there,
one of them really takes the cake
in my book: Guster. Why should
Guster take the cake? It's easy:
Because of Guster, many other
musicians can go green with a lot
less effort.
Adam Gardener, singer/guitarist
for the chilled out band, started a
company called Reverb with his
wife, Lauren Sullivan. She is a
passionate environmentalist. He is
a successful musician with tons of
first-hand music industry expe-
rience under his belt. I suppose it
only made sense that the two of
them would get together to start
an eco-friendly organization for
rockers, right?
Reverb is helping musicians
across the globe to green their
tours. Their client list is too broad
to sum up, but Reverb is helping
everyone from Fall Out Boy to
Bonnie Raitt to Kelly Clarkson go
green.
Reverb helps musicians to use
clean fuel, seek out carbon neutral
venues, reduce waste, recycle, use
biodegradable catering products,
save energy, put together a green
concert rider, produce eco-
friendly merchandise, collect
green sponsors, obtain green bus
supplies, and spread the message
to fans.
It's a superb organization and
thanks to Guster's success, it is
reaching musicians at all levels in
the industry.
Green Documentaries
With 200 films from 30 countries,
the Los Angeles Film Festival
(June 18 to 28) in Westwood near
UCLA, seems far from
Hollywood.
Among the screenings, a few
high-profile documentaries cover
environ-mental issues. So now it's
time they leave the nest of fests
and play in theaters for all of us
to see:
Bananas!: A Case Study
(June 23)
This documentary follows the
trial of Nicaraguan banana
laborers against companies for
poisoning them with pesticides.
Between its completion and
screening, critical new elements
came to light.
The film explores the relationship
between the documentary and
"the truth," and the responsibili-
ties of activist filmmaking.
Director Frednik Gerttern.
Big River Man (June 24)
"Swim for peace in the Middle
East, for the Dalai Lama, for clean
water, and for the rain forest."
That's the mission for 53-year-old
Slovene Martin Strel, who swam
for 67-days, down 3,278-miles of
the perilous Amazon River at a
pace of 50-miles and 10 hours a
day, enduring piranha nibbles to
bring attention to his causes.
Big River Man also swam the
polluted Yangzte and Mississippi
rivers. Directed by John
Maringouin.
The Last Beekeeper (June 25)
A disturbing view of the struggles
of three beekeepers, and the
devastating effects of ecological
changes happening with a
mysterious illness among the bees
threatens insects and businesses -
as well as the honey supply and
the pollination of food. Director
Jeremy Simmons.
No Impact Man (June 26 and 28)
Though mocked by some media
outlets, treehugger wrote about
environmentalist Colin Beavan,
who embarks on an extreme
green living experiment, forgoing
take-out, electricity and toilet
paper, and dragging his reluctant
wife Michelle Conlin and child
along for the ride in this meaning-
ful and entertaining documentary.
Directed by Laura Babbert and
Justin Schein.
The Cove (June 28)
Covered recently in treehugger,
The Cove got the Sundance crowd
on its feet with the Audience
Award and also nabbed awards at
Hot Docs, Seattle, and Blue Ocean
film festivals. It's called a cross
between Flipper and the Bourne
Identity, but this documentary is
a devastating thriller following
activists using covert military
tactics and high-tech equipment
to uncover dolphin slaughter, as
well as the hoax pulled over on
Japanese consumers. Director
Louis Psilhoyos.
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to driving sustainability mainstream
Could you breathe better with
dirty hair?
Clean hair has often been asso-
ciated with proper bodily
hygiene. However, a new study
out of the University of Missouri
suggests that dirty hair may be
good for overall bodily health.
Why? Dirty hair absorbs seven
times more ozone than clean hair
does. That means, the ozone
levels around the heads of the
unwashed are substantially lower
than the clean-headed. People
with dirty hair would, in theory,
breathe in less ozone.
Ground-level ozone is one of the
more dangerous pollutants found
in big cities. It's so harmful that
citizens are often asked not to
exercise outdoors during peak-
ozone hours. People who live in
cities with high levels of ozone
are also 25 -35 percent more likely
to die of lung cancer.
The authors of the study are hesi-
tant to say if there is any benefit
to keeping your hair dirty.
They did go on record saying that
"there may be a net benefit."
Having dirty hair is problematic
as well. First off, it's kind of gross.
Secondly, 4-oxopentanal, a pollu-
tant, will get caught in your dirty
hair and cause respiratory irrita-
tion, which is admittedly better
than lung cancer but still bad.
Being overly clean may be just as
problematic as being unclean.
Skipping one ten-minute shower
a week can save 25 gallons of
water. That's good for the envi-
ronment, and theoretically, it can
keep your lungs bit healthier too.
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to driving sustainability mainstream
“ Companies with
their eye on their
‘triple-bottom-line’
outperform their
less fastidious
peers on the
stock market.
- The Economist ”
tbl may-june 09 5
Climate change emerges as top
planet Study warns warming may
CSR issue
The research result of CSR Asia's
project, CSR in 10, shows that
companies are seen as allocating
more resources to this issue and
the emergence of China as a key
player in the discourse over
appropriate policy will create a
new impetus for Asian busines-
ses. The CSR in 10 research proj-
ect examines the top ten issues
emerging over the next ten years.
CSR in 10 helps businesses to
track and prepare for the emer-
ging trends over the next decade.
The climate change agenda is also
now rapidly shifting from
strategies for mitigation to a new
emphasis on adaptation. Compa-
nies are going to have to demon-
strate that they are reducing their
own carbon impacts as well as
working in partnerships with
others on adapting to climate
change.
Examining both the business risks
and opportunities associated with
climate change is going to be
increasingly important. Compa-
nies should measure and report
on their own greenhouse gas
emissions and demonstrate what
measures they are putting in
place to mitigate their climate
change impacts, and also
contribute to climate change
adaptation in the communities in
which they operate. There needs
to be a renewed emphasis on
energy efficiency, the use of
renewable energy and integrating
greenhouse gas targets into
strategic environmental plans.
Shared by CSR Asia, a social enterprise that promotes
sustainable business practices
6 www.tbl.com.pk
outstrip Africa's ability to feed
itself
By mid-century, climate change
may have outrun the ability of
Africa's farmers to adapt to rising
temperatures, threatening the
continent's precarious food
security, warns a new study.
Growing seasons throughout
nearly all of Africa in 2050 will
likely be "hotter than any year in
historical experience," reports the
study, published in the current
issue of the British-based journal
Global Environmental Change.
Six nations - Senegal, Chad, Mali,
Burkina Faso, Niger and Sierra
Leone-are especially at risk
because they will face conditions
that are today unknown any-
where in Africa.
As a result, even the hardiest
varieties of the continent's three
main crops-maize, millet and
sorghum-currently under culti-
vation would probably not
tolerate the conditions forecast for
these countries in four decades.
A trio of researchers led by
Marshall Burke, a professor at
Stanford University's Program on
Food Security and the Environ-
ment, said urgent measures must
be taken to stock seed banks and
develop new varieties to stay a
step ahead of Africa's shifting
agricultural map.
The study is based on a
mid-range projection from the
UN Intergovernmental Panel for
Climate Change (IPCC) that fore-
casts an increase in average global
temperatures by 2100 of 2.8
degrees Celsius (5.0 degrees
Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial
levels.
MIT climate modelers, averaging
400 possible scenarios, have
calculated that Earth's surface
temperatures will jump 5.2 C (9.4
F) by century's end in the absence
of rapid and massive measures to
slash greenhouse gas emissions.
Over 40 percent of Africa's popu-
lation lives on less than a dollar a
day, and 70 percent of these poor
are located in rural areas and thus
largely dependent on agriculture
for survival.
The authors note that "adverse
shifts in climate can cause devas-
tating declines in human welfare,
and have been implicated in
everything from famine to slow
economic growth to heightened
risk of civil conflict."
Burke and colleagues found that
while most African nations will
face unprecedented climates by
2050, they could anticipate future
needs by stockpiling seeds from
neighbouring countries with
similar conditions today.
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magazine
Green Road Trip
Riding the "Vehicle for Change," a
team of 15 grads and students
"dedicated to diminishing envi-
ronmental and economic issues
through education," clamored
aboard the Big Green Bus to drive
12,000 miles across the US.
On June 17, they stopped off at
the Timberland store in
Manhattan to unveil the newly
retrofit 1989 MCI bus's eco-fea-
tures.
The 40-state trek stopped in
Washington DC to meet with
Legislators from 1pm to 5pm.
After a baseball game with
alumni, they moved on to North
and South Carolinas, meeting
with Charleston's Coastal
Conservation League.
Then crossing the south to New
Orleans for July 4th, they
volunteered at Green Works.
Onto Texas, over to California
and Yosemite, turning eastbound
through Utah, up to Minnesota in
August, on to Detroit,
Pennsylvania, and back home to
New Hampshire.
So how's riding a bus across the
country eco-friendly? It's solar-
paneled and fueled with waste
vegetable oil (WVO). And the
interior is retrofit with bamboo
floors, VOC-free paints, and other
green building materials. Now
let's see the carbon footprint when
that info is posted.
How's it educational? Workshops
cover: Consumption and
Recycling 101, Introduction to
Renewable Energy, Energy
Efficiency Practicum, and Guide
to Green Food Choices.
Eco-friendly hand-outs are avail-
able from student presenters in
this sustainable science fair on
wheels.
For the fifth year on this journey,
the crew members will post blogs
about their experiences (meeting
with the NRDC, visiting green
roofs, etc.), podcasts, videos, and
interact with you via sponsor
Changents with renewable
energy-powered WiFi on board.
Among the engineering, biology,
literature, and public policy
student team, Kari Cholnoky,
who's majoring in Environmental
Studies and Studio Art, says:
As a member of the Big Green
Bus crew of 2009 (which is the
weirdest group of students ever
assembled) I have decided to turn
Pro. I'm going to educate the
living daylights out of anyone
that comes my way in an effort to
raise awareness of environmental
issues and help people make
smart decisions on how to live
more sustainably.
Shared by TreeHugger, an online media outlet dedicated
to driving sustainability mainstream
Climate Talks: Greenland
Around 30 environment ministers
and delegates from the world’s
biggest polluters are set to meet in
the Danish territory of Greenland
Tuesday ahead of the larger UN
climate summit in Copenhagen at
the end of 2009.
The informal meeting is taking
place in Ilulissat on Greenland’s
west coast. Danish Climate
Minster Connie Hedegaard said it
will aim to “change points of
view and go further in its conclu-
sions than those in other forums.”
The United States, Germany,
Britain, France, Russia, Japan,
India, and Brazil are all attending
the four-day “Greenland dia-
logue”, an annual meeting on
climate change first held by
Denmark four years ago in the
same town.
Only China has not confirmed if it
will send a delegation so far.
Danish media have speculated
that Beijing is still upset about a
visit by the Tibetan spiritual
leader, the Dalai Lama, to
Copenhagen last May.
A spokeswoman for the Chinese
Embassy in Denmark told AFP
they were still deciding whether
to attend.
A number of African countries
will also be at the meeting includ-
ing Sudan, Tanzania, and Mali.
The previous meeting was held in
Argentina last year, with Sweden
hosting the talks in 2007.
According to an American study
published last summer, the
Ilulissat glacier, a UNESCO-listed
site, lost 94 square kilometres (60
square miles) of surface area
between 2001 and 2005 due to
global warming.
Shared by Grist, an online environmental news
magazine
Eco-point Scheme
An interesting scheme in Japan:
Three leading providers of elec-
tronic money services said they
have asked the government to
include their e-money cards on its
list of goods and services
exchangeable under the Eco-point
system.
The three companies are Aeon
Co., IY Card Service Co., and
bitWallet Inc. Under the Eco-point
system, consumers receive points
for refrigerators, air conditioners
and digital terrestrial televisions
designated by the government as
environmentally friendly.
Purchases must be made before
the end of next March, and con-
sumers can exchange their accu-
mulated Eco-points for other
goods and services.
According to a report, the Eco-
point system is financed by the
government's economic stimulus
package and aims to boost
consumer spending and cut
greenhouse gas emissions.
Shared by CSR Asia, a social enterprise that promotes
sustainable business practices
tbl may-june 09 7
CSR must be seen as an
profits rely less on fossil fuels would
investment
Treating expenditure relating to
CSR as investments will help to
keep the concept on the
Boardroom table in the current
economic downturn. More then
ever, companies can make a
difference to those communities
worst hit by the economic crisis
and it is important that they move
away from traditional forms of
philanthropy and towards
community investment strategies.
Such strategies linked to issues
around the Millennium Develop-
ment Goals (and others) can have
a huge benefit for businesses in
terms of establishing trust,
building brands and enhancing
reputation, an article in the
Manila based Business Mirror.
Shared by CSR Asia, a social enterprise that promotes
sustainable business practices
New studies tout the economic
benefits of green jobs
Investments in clean energy-such
as those encouraged by the
American Clean Energy and
Security Act-would produce
several times as many jobs as the
same amount of money spent on
traditional fossil fuels, according
to new studies released recently
by a coalition of environmental
groups and research institutes.
Lower-income Americans in
particular would benefit, accor-
ding to a report from the Political
Economy Research Institute at the
University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, which was commis-
sioned by the Natural Resources
Defense Council and Green for
All.
Upgrading the U.S. economy to
8 www.tbl.com.pk
create a surge of manufacturing
and construction jobs that would
include renovating homes and
buildings to be more energy
efficient, tapping clean energy
sources such as wind and solar to
produce more electricity, and
building better transit systems
and other infrastructure
improvements.
A separate report produced by
the Center for American Progress
and released jointly Thursday
found that a $150 billion annual
investment in clean energy could
create a net increase of 1.7 million
American jobs and significantly
lower the national unemployment
rate.
Clean energy investments take
dollars that would be spent on
energy from overseas and instead
invest that money in local, home-
grown energy sources and
improvements in energy effi-
ciency, which saves homeowners
and businesses money, said
Bracken Hendricks, a CAP fellow.
That's why clean energy invest-
ments create more than three
times as many jobs as the
equivalent investment in
traditional fossil fuels, he added.
The bottom line, said NRDC
executive director Peter Lehner, is
that the United States will spend
trillions of dollars on energy over
the coming decades, in one sector
or another.
That's especially true for people
with lower levels of education,
according to the NRDC and
Green for All report. It found that
about half of the 1.7 million new
jobs created by a $150 billion
investment in clean energy would
be available to workers with a
high school degree or less,
providing opportunities to lift
low-income workers out of
poverty.
The study confirms that a "non-
polluting economy" provides
more opportunities for people of
color and people in urban areas,
said Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO
of Green for All.
NRDC's Lehner added that "the
two reports provide solid evi-
dence why we need to move for-
ward" by encouraging Congress
to pass the American Clean
Energy and Security Act, which is
expected to be considered soon by
the House.
Although ACES is not perfect,
Lehner said, it's a starting point
for capping global warming
pollution and investing in clean
energy-and the need for clean
energy investments and the
resulting benefits to the U.S.
economy have never been clearer.
Shared by TreeHugger, an online media outlet dedicated
to driving sustainability mainstream
Japan, Norway wasting millions
on whaling: WWF
Major whaling nations Japan and
Norway are wasting millions of
dollars in taxpayer money to prop
up what is likely a loss-making
industry, an international conser-
vation group said Friday. "It is
clear that whaling is heavily
subsidised at present," said a
report by the WWF, which
analysed the direct and indirect
costs of hunting the ocean
mammals and selling their meat.
"In both Japan and Norway,
substantial funds are made
available to prop up an operation
which would otherwise be
commercially marginal at best,
and most likely loss making," it
added.
While demand for whale meat is
on the decline and prices have
about halved over the past decade
in Japan, the government had
dished out 12 million dollars
during the 2008-09 season for the
industry to break even, WWF
said. Total Japanese subsidies had
amounted to 164 million dollars
since 1988, the report added,
citing government data.
Meanwhile Norway had spent a
total of nearly 20 million dollars
since 1993 in direct and indirect
aid on its whaling activities, said
the report, which was co-
published with the Whale and
Dolphin Conservation Society.
Government subsidies had
accounted for almost half of the
gross value of nearly all the whale
meat sold in the country between
1994 and 2005, the report added,
citing a national fisheries sales
body. That proportion had
decreased in the past three years
after the government replaced a
costly inspection scheme on whal-
ing boats with an electronic log-
book system, the report said.
Japan launched its latest whaling
mission in April with the aim of
catching up to 60 minke whales
off its northeastern coast. The
focus of negotiations is now
whether to allow Tokyo to con-
duct commercial whaling near its
coast if it scales down its
Antarctic hunt.
Japan defends whaling as a
tradition and accuses Western
critics of disrespecting its culture.
It has threatened to leave the IWC
if the body does not shift to what
Japan believes is its original pur-
pose-managing a sustainable kill
of whales. Japan agreed in 2007 to
suspend plans to expand its hunt
to include humpback whales,
which are popular with
Australian whale-watchers.
Norway and Iceland are the only
nations that hunt whales in open
defiance of a 1986 IWC moratori-
um on commercial whaling.
Shared by Grist, an online environmental news
magazine
CSR Regulation in Indonesia
An article in the Jakarta Post
reports a government represen-
tative commenting that more CSR
regulation in Indonesia is likely to
be passed in order to qualify the
new article 74 of Company law
that mandates CSR.
The representative quite rightly
pointed out that the law is
difficult to apply as there are no
supporting regulations.
He suggested that the govern-
ment has noted that many compa-
nies support 'CSR' out of profit,
rather than building it in as an
operating cost and that CSR for
most companies is about PR.
This has been pointed about by
critics of the law ever since it was
passed. How long new regu-
lations will take and how clear the
follow up regulations will be is
anyone's guess.
Shared by CSR Asia, a social enterprise that promotes
sustainable business practices
Offshore drilling: a threat to the
shores?
The U.S. Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee
gave its blessing for offshore
drilling in Florida last week,
potentially opening Florida’s
coasts to oil and gas development.
This is a major reversal that
reneges on the Gulf of Mexico
Energy Security Act of 2006,
which offered the oil and gas
industry rights to 8.2 million acres
in the eastern Gulf in exchange
for the protection of coastal
eastern Gulf waters. This agree-
ment was supposed to remain in
place until 2022, but would be
undone if this bill becomes law.
You should expect to hear the
argument, again, that we need
offshore drilling to keep gas
prices down – that the state of the
economy requires it. We wonder,
then, how drilling hawks will
respond if a spill devastates
Florida’s beaches or reefs.
According to a federal study,
tourism contributes $40 billion to
Florida’s economy each year and
supports half a million jobs.
The U.S. Energy Information
Agency has predicted that
offshore drilling, even at peak
production, will save consumers
just pennies at the gas pump.
And that’s assuming the gas even
gets sold to Americans rather
than China, India or any of the
other increasingly energy-hungry
countries in the world.
Not to mention that it will take
years for peak production to be
realized and for any economic
changes to be felt.
To open Florida’s shores to
drilling sets us up to accept all the
risks of oil and gas development
without any of the promised
benefits. Lower gas prices and
energy security from offshore
drilling are mirages at a time
when fossil fuels are increasingly
outdated.
Shared by CSR Asia, a social enterprise that promotes
sustainable business practices
Compiled by Rutaba Ahmed
tbl may-june 09 9
 cover story

the menace of
bonded
labour
in pakistan's
agricultural
sector
by ahmad ali
for tbl

Agriculture remains a significant economic activity in Pakistan, employing nearly

45 percent of the total workforce. While it generates about a quarter of the
national GDP, the agricultural sector is not very productive. Skewed
landownership and exploitative production practices remain significant
factors in perpetuating this lackluster agricultural performance.

The phenomenon of bonded labour is perhaps the most glaring example of

prevailing exploitations within agriculture. This article will begin by highlighting
the problem of bonded labour in rural areas of the country. Thereafter,
the effectiveness of various local and international agencies in abolishing
this practise will be discussed.

10 www.tbl.com.pk
At the onset however, it must be realised that this
issue of bonded or forced labour is both highly
politicised as well as being prone to concealment in
all the four provinces of Pakistan. Until the late
1990s in particular, no one seemed to pay any heed
to this issue despite that fact that Pakistan had
ratified International Labour Organizations (ILO)
Conventions against forced labour since the 1960's.
The existence of national laws such as the Bonded
Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992 also did little to
change the situation on ground.
Inaction or apathy concerning this practice can be
attributed to a lack of empirical knowledge regar-
ding the issue, combined with inadequate institu-
tional capacity to take appropriate action, as well as
socio-cultural acceptance of this phenomenon within
the context of a highly stratified social set-up which
exists across the country.
This gross form of human exploitation is also linked
to the lingering challenges of widespread poverty
and growing income inequalities, and lack of
adequate employment opportunities.
The Complexities of Forced Labour
Before assessing what has been done over the past
decade or so to contend with this problem, and what
else may be done at present, let us take a closer look
at the complex realities surrounding this issue.
Forced labour in Pakistan, primarily in the form of
debt bondage, is found most commonly amongst
agriculture workers. In addition, a high incidence of
bonded labour is found in brick kilns, domestic
service (particularly women and child labour),
carpet weaving and mining. In the above sectors
apart from mining, women feature as a major labour
force. Since no written contract exists the worker is
vulnerable to all forms of exploitation.
Bonded labourers are mostly from socially excluded
groups, including minorities and migrants who
suffer additionally from discrimination and political
disenfranchisement.
Studies conducted by reputable agencies like the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) reveal that Pakistan
has a large rural-urban gap in terms of social and
economic indicators of development. The dominant
economic characteristic of the agricultural labour
force in Sindh and Balochistan is extreme poverty
and low social indicators of development.
Poverty is pervasive and deep, especially in rural
areas. Landlord and tenant relations in rural
Pakistan also continue to exhibit traditionally feudal
dynamics. Poor tenants do not only rely on their
landlord for access to land, but also for agricultural
inputs, which in turn obligates them. Inevitable
expenditures on social occasions such as marriage,
death and feasts also lead poor people to accumulate
debts taken from landlords where these landless
farmers work. Often, these loans are given with high
rates of interest, which keeps compounding over
time.
Bonded labourers within the agricultural sector are
not allowed to leave landlord's farm till their debts
are repaid. Given the lack of education to calculate
how much money they owe to the landlord, and
how much of it is being deducted every month from
the overall money made by their labour, these loans
often keep unfairly accumulating so as to compel
generations into forced labour.
Exploitation of Workers in Sindh
Today, Sindh has the highest rate of landlessness in
Pakistan. More than 40 percent of the land in Sindh
is tenanted out by big landlords. Conversely, land-
lords in Punjab are much smaller than those in
Sindh, with an average holding of only seven acres
of land, compared to a landlord in Sindh, who is on
average estimated to own 28 acres of land.
While the position of the poorer cultivators in other
provinces of the country is by no means ideal,
human development indicators in rural areas of
Sindh are amongst the worst in Pakistan.
It should thus not be surprising that of the over 1.7
million people estimated to be engaged in bonded
labour in Pakistan by the ILO, the majority of them
are landless tillers ('haris') in Sindh. In Sindh, the
problem of bonded labour is increasing. In earlier
times, only big landlords used to have bonded
labourers but now even mid-range farmers are
enslaving desperate people by lending them money.
During the time that they are bonded, labourers and
their families are kept in detention-like conditions.
Often the wives and children of male labourers are
tbl may-june 09 11
also held in captivity. Recent statistics complied by
NGOs working for the abolishment of bonded
labour in different parts of Sindh estimate that there
were some 1.2 to 1.3 million people engaged in
bonded labour in this province alone.
Sindh tried to introduce some legislative protection
for the vast majority of its tenants subsequent to
partition. In 1950, the Sindh Assembly passed the
Sindh Tenancy Act. This legal measure aimed to
simultaneously address the duties of tenants and
landlords and to provide means for the division of
produce between them. However, the Act was never
properly implemented, and it was also manipulated
by landlords to continue extracting surplus from
their tenants.
bargaining collectively, or making any demands on
their employers, or check against brutalities like
forced labour.
Unless something is done to drastically improve the
circumstances of the marginalized rural tillers of the
land, boosting agricultural productivity to achieve
food sovereignty, and alleviating rural poverty will
remain but elusive goals.
About the Writer
Ahmad Ali has a Masters degree in Financial Economics
from the University of London's School of Oriental and
African Studies (SOAS). He teaches A-Levels Economics
and Advanced Placement Economics at the Lahore
Grammar School and Lahore American School.

Under this Act, neither the 'hari' nor his family is

required to provide free labour to the 'zamindar'.
But as neither tasks nor working hours are strictly
specified, determining what constitutes free labour
and what does not is difficult and subject to the
individual discretion of the landlord. Resultantly,
“ All the problems of the
world - child labour, corruption -
disturbing cases of entire families being subjugated are symptoms of a spiritual
by their landlord to pay back insurmountable debts
disease: lack of compassion.
which have accumulated over the generations
recurrently keep cropping up.
Tenzin Gyatso,
”
The 14th Dalai Lama
In theory, all bonded labourers should have been
freed under the subsequently introduced Bonded
Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1992, and those
responsible for keeping them in bondage should
have been prosecuted. However, such is not the case
since the political and financial strength of the
landlord's allows them to continue using bonded
labourers with impunity.

The lack of empowerment of the rural workforce is

“ By accepting responsibility,
we take effective steps toward
another reason which allows this exploitative
our goal: an inclusive human
practice to persist. Given the vulnerability of the society on a habitable planet,
underprivileged landless poor, the need to strike
some sort of a balance in the asymmetric power
a society that works for all
relations between landlord and cultivators is humans and for all nonhumans.
evident.
By accepting responsibility,
Yet although Pakistan's Industrial Relations we move closer to creating a
Ordinance of 1969 (IRO) provides for the right of
industrial workers to form trade unions, even if
these unions are subject to a variety of restrictions.
world that works for all.
Sharif M. Abdullah -
”
a leading proponent and catalyst for
On the other hand, Pakistani law is particularly hard
inclusive social, cultural and spiritual
on agricultural workers who are even denied the transformation and author
right to form unions, which prevents them from

12 www.tbl.com.pk
e-waste issues

e-waste
recycling in
poor countries by miriam katz
for tbl

The Scale of E-Waste

In 1989, the Basel Convention
was created by the United
Nations (UN) in order to limit
hazardous waste. This treaty was
ratified in 1992 by 149 countries;
however, it was not signed by the
U.S, which means that enforce-
ment of this treaty is scant,
according to a report by the
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
and Basel Action Network.

It is possible to gather statistics

on e-waste; however, the true
scale of the problem may not be
known. According to the US
National Safety Council, 315
million computers were rendered
useless between 1997 and 2004.

In addition, in the US, between 50

and 80 percent of e-waste is sent
to poor countries. This problem is
further exacerbated by the fact
that many US states are now
banning e-waste from landfills
states Markoff in an article in the
New York Times.

The problem is not only confined

to the US. Worldwide, the UN
n Western countries, it is increasingly common to replace electronic estimates that between 20 and 50

I equipment within a few years. Currently, many countries are

implementing laws that mandate switching from analogue to digital
television broadcasting, further accelerating the rate at which people
million tons of e-waste is gene-
rated every year. Approximately
12 million tons of this comes from
dispose off their old televisions. In addition, because of rapid advance-
Asian countries.
ments in technology, many people in both the global South and North
are replacing mobile phones and computers. Because of this, the
generation of electronic waste, or e-waste, is growing rapidly. The European Union estimates
that e-waste will grow every year
Many people are unaware that their old computers and televisions are by 3 to 5 percent and now,
shipped to countries including China, India and Pakistan for e-waste constitutes a larger
"recycling". This article will discuss the implications of this problem. portion of municipal waste than
First, the scale of the problem will be revealed and secondly, specific diapers or drink containers,
case studies in the aforementioned countries will be discussed according to the Silicon Valley
including the effects on workers and the environment. This section will Toxics Coalition and Basel Action
also examine the chemicals contained in electronic equipment. Finally,
Network. This is clearly a serious
solutions to the problem will be discussed.

14 www.tbl.com.pk
problem if the e-waste cannot be
recycled properly. In many poor
countries, even those who have
signed the Basel Convention,
e-waste is handled improperly.
Many workers are illiterate and
are not aware of any safety
regulations governing the
handling of e-waste.
In 1994, an amendment to the
Basel Convention was introduced,
which forbid the export of haz-
ardous waste, including e-waste
from OECD countries to non-
OECD countries.
Many countries including the US,
Canada and Australia are actively
fighting against this amendment,
which will allow the situation to
deteriorate even further.
Currently, most e-waste is
exported to a few specific areas
such as Guiyu, Delhi and Karachi
in China, India and Pakistan
respectively. The following
section will examine the problems
in these areas.
The Situation in Guiyu, China
Guiyu is located in Guangdong
Province in Southern China, very
close to Hong Kong and the South
China Sea. It has a population of
197,190, according to statistics
given by Falling Rain genomics.
There are at least 100,000 workers
engaged in the e-waste industry
and many are working just with
chisels and their hands.
In this area, the Basel Action
Network conducted several
studies to assess the scale of the
situation. It was found that most
e-waste had come from North
America, but some had also
arrived from Japan, South Korea
and the European Union. The
Basel Action Network also tested
the soil and water. In the water,
the lead levels were 2400 times
higher than World Health
Organization (WHO) guidelines.
In addition, the sediment at the
bottom of the river was tested and
it was found that chromium was
1,338 times the recommended US
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) level. Both chromium and
lead are dangerous chemicals,
which will be further discussed
later in the article. Due to the
water pollution in Guiyu, water
has been brought into the town
from 20 miles away since 1995,
states Markoff in an article in the
New York Times.
Delhi's Situation
In New Delhi, it is perfectly
normal for computer circuit
boards to be burned. Because of
this, air pollution is a very large
problem. Many old computers
come to India because the
government allows the import of
10 year old computers, states
Sinha in an article published in
Toxics Alert, an environment
news bulletin. In addition, the
labour costs compared to the US
for computer recycling is very
low. In the US, the cost of
recycling one computer is $20
whereas it costs just $2 to recycle
it in India, Sinha reveals.
Although much of the e-waste in
New Delhi comes from rich
countries, much of it also
originates from within India. As
of March 2007, 150,000 tons of
e-waste was produced in India;
19,000 tons of this comes from
Mumbai, the largest e-waste
generator in India, according to a
study by an environmental group
Toxics Link, titled 'Mumbai:
Choking on E-Waste'.
Presently, there are no laws in
India governing e-waste. In
addition, many workers in the
e-waste industry are illiterate.
Thus, even if India did pass laws
banning the import of e-waste,
the workers would be unaware of
the situation.
Thomas Kostigen, author of 'You
Are Here' states that, as of
September 2008, India was
considering a law that would
designate e-waste as non-
hazardous waste, which would
further encourage the import of
e-waste and endanger the
workers.
Karachi's E-Waste Industry
There are many people engaged
in the e-waste industry in
Karachi, many of whom are
children. This is happening
despite the fact that Pakistan
imposes a 25 percent levy on
computer screens, according to
IT-Green, Ethical UK Computer
disposal and data destruction
specialists.
Circuit boards in Pakistan are
often taken apart indoors with
blowtorches and with very little
ventilation. The circuit boards
originate from all over the world,
including the US, Kuwait,
Australia, Japan and the UK. Only
2 percent of the computers can be
reused; for the remaining compu-
ters, all of the metals and plastics
are taken out to be re-sold,
according to Silicon Valley Toxics
Coalition and Basel Action
Network. All of the work is done
by hand and no protective
equipment is used.
Robert Knoth, a photographer
affiliated with Greenpeace,
created a photo essay about the
area of Lyari in Karachi. This area
receives a lot of e-waste from
Europe. Knoth found e-waste
burning near the river in Lyari
and many of the chemicals from
the e-waste had seeped into the
river, turning it black.
He also found that many children,
some as young as 12, were
working in the e-waste industry.
Many children are abused in
Pakistani schools and as a result,
50 percent of children in their first
5 years of education drop out,
which is one of the highest rates
in the world, according to a report
by IRIN News, a project of the
UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs.
In addition, the Pakistan
tbl may-june 09 15
Paediatric Association conducted
a study about abuse in schools
and found that 88 percent of
children in Karachi were given
corporal punishment. Lastly, it is
important to note that there is
very little law enforcement
concerning e-waste in Lyari and
other parts of Karachi.
Chemicals found in E-Waste
and Their Effects
Brominated Flame Retardants
Brominated flame retardants
(BFRs) are put into computers in
order to decrease flammability.
Studies have been done on BFRs
recently, which show that they
can bioaccumulate in animals and
humans, meaning that they can
easily enter the bloodstream. In
addition, if computer parts are
burned, dioxins are released,
which are very toxic, according to
Greenpeace International.
Even if computers are recycled
properly, the high temperatures
allow BFRs to combine with other
chemicals, which is very
dangerous. For these reasons,
some computer companies are
phasing BFRs out of electronic
products.
Lead and Chromium
Lead was phased out of gasoline
in the US in 1996, according to
Centers for Disease Control. One
of the main reasons for this was
the fact that lead can cause brain
damage and can affect sperm
production as well as increasing
miscarriages. Lead is also able to
travel long distances and can
affect almost every body part as it
can penetrate the central nervous
system.
Lead is also very dangerous for
children because it can affect
reasoning and mental ability in
general. Children's brains are
especially prone, as the brain is
still rapidly developing.
Chromium can easily enter the
16 www.tbl.com.pk
soil and water. If it is breathed in,
it can cause nose ulcers, shortness
of breath, and asthma.
If chromium enters drinking
water, stomach tumours are quite
likely. Lastly, chromium is a
known carcinogen; if it is merely
breathed in, lung cancer can occur
in both people and animals.
Solutions to the E-Waste
Problem
There are many solutions to the
e-waste problem. Firstly, many
people in countries such as Japan,
US, Canada and South Korea as
well as the European Union are
unaware that their old computers
and televisions are being exported
to poorer countries. If there was
more awareness of the issue, it is
likelier that people in the afore-
mentioned countries would try to
recycle their computers in their
own countries.
Secondly, if the Basel Convention
were signed by the US, it would
carry much more weight. As the
world's largest exporter of
e-waste, the US has a responsibi-
lity on this issue and has a duty to
sign the convention in addition to
ending its opposition to the
amendment.
In countries such as Pakistan,
there are many solutions to the
e-waste problem. First, China,
India and Pakistan are all parties
to the Basel Convention, which
means that more enforcement is
needed. In Pakistan, many
children are dropping out of
school due to abuse and for
employment opportunities. This
needs to end; however, it will
undoubtedly take a long time for
school culture to change.
In the meantime, workers and the
environment affected by the
e-waste industry need protection.
A special fund should be set up
by rich countries to educate
workers in the industry about the
dangers and for law enforcement.
If this were the case, the dangers
faced by workers would decrease.
References
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and Basel
Action Network "Exporting Harm: The
Techno-Trashing of Asia"
http://svtc.igc.org/ cleancc/pubs/techno-
trash.pdf
John Markoff "Technology's Toxic Trash is
Sent to Poor Nations" http://www.com-
mondreams.org/headlines02/0225-01.htm
Erica Gies "US Switch to Digital TV raises
specter of toxic dumping of old sets"
<http://www.interconrecycling.com/press_
herald.htm>
Greenpeace International "The e-waste
problem" <http://www.greenpeace.org
/international/campaigns/toxics/electron-
ics/the-e-waste-problem>
Falling Grain Genomics Inc "Guiyu, China
Page" http://www.fallingrain.com/
world/CH/30/Guiyu.html
Satish Sinha "E-waste: Time to Act Now"
< http://enews.toxicslink.org/feature-
view.php?id=1>
Toxics Link India "Mumbai Generating
19,000 Tons of E-Waste Annually: Study"
http://enews.toxicslink.org/news-
view.php?id=19
IT Green "The Environmental Impact of
un-managed Computer Recycling"
http://www.it-green.co.uk/ethical_comput-
er_disposal.htm
Robert Knoth "Scrap Life: E-Waste in
Pakistan" <http://www.greenpeace.org/
international/photosvideos/greenpeace-
photo-essays/scrap-life-pakistan-with-rob>
IRIN News "School Beatings Make
Pakistani Students dropout" http://southa-
sia.oneworld.net/Article/school-beatings-
make-pakistani-students-dropout
Centers for Disease Control "Lead"
<http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts13.pdf>
About the Writer
Miriam Katz is a freelance writer based in
London. She currently writes for the
Environmental Peace Review. Her areas of
interest include environmental issues, renewable
energy, biofuels and climate change. She holds
a Bachelors in Arts degree in Political Science
and Environmental Studies from the University of
Toronto. She can be reached at
m.il.katz@gmail.com

exploring new dimensions in csr
by sohaib jamali
for tbl
C
orporations have been
actively practicing strategic
philanthropy for a little
more than a decade. With time
there is increasing awareness that
what was once considered a man-
agement fad has now strength-
ened its roots - many thanks to
the growing understanding of the
need to save our planet. But what
about the people, the employees?
How long would firms make
people trade their freedom for
money - duping them with an
environment fit for the body but
one which confines their mind by
means of mechanical job descrip-
tions, fostering assembly-line
thinking?
Perhaps this thinking stems from
the heart of capitalism's inhu-
manity to treat labour as a
commodity. Economic textbooks
may treat the exchange of labour
for money as a transaction much
like the sale of a bushel of apples,
but we all know that in human
terms, there is a huge difference.
In fact it is ironical that, as a
society we cherish individualism
at one end, yet we treat labour as
an homogenous input at the
other. Commodities may have a
sense of uniformity, but clearly
human beings do not. Each
person is a unique blend of
different skills, character, values,
and so forth.
Understandably, early proponents
of assembly line structures were
wooed by cost-reducing methods
to boost efficiency and profits -
thus they could not see its detri-
mental consequences on the
human rights and capitalism
society. But as human knowledge
expands and as experience has
shown, there is plenty of evidence
which proves that robotic work
behaviour is playing havoc with
the very fabric of society by
means of dehumanizing people.
The Inferiority of Our Age
The famous Iranian scholar and
sociologist, Ali Shariat once said:
"A robotic worker becomes an
instrument, simply a piece of
equipment for production and his
effort is confined to a monotonous
job which he must do day after
day and in doing, suspends all the
characteristics which make up all
his personality."
Making minds one-dimensional
also has other long run repercus-
sions. For instance, it may result
tbl may-june 09 17
in a shortage, if not a demise, of
ingenious human capital -
reducing our potential as a society
to deal with complex, multi-
faceted, volatile problems in
today's world of rapidly changing
circumstances. Besides, knowl-
edge and learning has its own
pattern of diminishing returns, if
one only keeps doing only a
particular kind of work.
Bertrand Russell, at the BBC Reith
Lectures on Authority and
Individual, states that with
society centralized and organized
to such a degree that individual
initiative is reduced to a
minimum, the age we live in
seems inferior to the ages before,
despite all the technological
breakthroughs that we seem to
enjoy. An energetic man yester-
day was a painter, a philosopher,
a poet, a discoverer and a scientist
at the same time. He could be all
this without having to associate
himself with a centralized, spe-
cialized body of persons. Likes of
Michelangelo, Nostradamus,
Ibn-e-Khaldun were free men -
and in essence it was partly this
freedom to think and act which
triggered their ingenuity and
elevated them to become such
great polymath scholars, adept in
diverse disciplines.
On the contrary energetic men
today are tied to tunnel thinking
in the name of specialization to
reduce costs and gain efficiency
margins. Rarely have we seen the
same energy, same freedom and
same breakthrough in the modern
age. Incidentally, however, one of
the last breakthroughs that
changed the world we live in
came from men who pursued
their free will: Bill Gates and
Steve Jobs. The example of Gates
and Jobs is not to advocate a col-
lege-less society (although, given
the current education system I
wish schools weren't to fixate
minds with theories taught as
absolute truths - marking an end
to our intellectual curiosity and
making us slaves of the assembly-
18 www.tbl.com.pk
line corporate structures), but to
highlight the importance of free-
dom to do what one wishes to do.
Beyond Ergonomics
In a time when corporations have
effectively mushroomed to be a
major controlling group of the
society, it becomes 'their' respon-
sibility to elevate us from this sort
of inferiority. Business managers
should mature out of the limited
CSR activities (such as good pay
scale, ergonomics and a healthy
working environment) they do,
and embody the promotion of
individual freedom, initiative,
and cross discipline growth
within the CSR framework. The
framework should also ensure
that purpose of work and purpose
of worker are not divorced from
each other.
These may be achieved by means
of restructuring the organization,
becoming relatively localized and
de-centralized, employing flexible
tools of management and by
adapting systems to men instead
of trying to fit men to systems. It
is important to note that individu-
als with initiatives will not be able
to pursue their dreams unless the
company gives them the freedom
and funding to do so, according
to Nonaka and Takeuchi in 'The
Knowledge-Creating Company'.
These structural changes might
result in a short run loss of
efficiency in some respects but if
brains are not to be paralyzed by
way of tunnel thinking perhaps
this loss should be absorbed to
ensure sustainable long run
returns. Failure to do so is a
lose-lose situation for everybody.
"Both employees and organiza-
tions lose from this arrangement.
Employees lose opportunities for
personal growth, often spending
many hours a day on work they
neither value nor enjoy, and
organizations lose the creative
and intelligent contributions that
most employees are capable of
making, given the right opportu-
nities," argues management
analyst Morgan, in 'Images of
Organization'.
For those who might think these
structural changes are not prag-
matic, consider firms like 3M
which is practicing at least some
of these ideas for long. At 3M not
only researchers can spend 15
percent of their on-the-job time
pursuing their own dreams, but
those from others departments
are also encouraged to dream and
endeavour to actualize it on the
firm's expense.
These principles are also incorpo-
rated in 3M's internal corporate
requirement that at least 25 per-
cent of its sales must be derived
from products that did not exist
five years ago, according to
Nonaka and Takeuchi in 'The
Knowledge-Creating Company'.
With this sort of driving force
behind them, employees, really,
are much less likely to become
like machines. And while meas-
ures like these may not help us lie
outside the famous Aristotelian
observation that "all paid jobs
absorb and degrade the mind",
but they would be a step in the
right direction.
If we are still interested in a
society that appreciates critical
thinking, individual initiative,
entrepreneurship and above all an
educated mind with diverse
understanding and practical
exposure, then we need to revise
the intellectually limiting ideas of
assembly line production and
labour mechanization.
References
Paul Krugman: The Accidental Theorist
Bertrand Russell: BBC Reith Lectures
on Authority and Individual
Ikujiro Autor Nonaka, Hirotaka Autor
Takeuchi: The Knowledge-Creating
Company: how Japanese companies
create the dynamics of innovation
Gareth Morgan: Images of Organization
About the Writer
Sohaib Jamali is a financial journalist from
Karachi. He can be reached at
srjamali@gmail.com
labour: macroeconomics
labour markets:
verbosity
with meaning
by ali sohail
for tbl
W
hen a downturn hits,
there is a fall in
demand, and it is labour
working at the lowest tier of the
market which gets bumped out of
the economy first. Many perceive
this as a consequence of adhoc
decisions on the part of employ-
ers, but infact such is a systematic
consequence of the function of the
labour market. Similarly, job
creation in regions of high
unemployment will not
necessarily increase employment
of personnel living in the region,
not to the desired extent anyway,
as argued by Ian Gordon, a
professor at the London School of
Economics. The two-fold reality
calls for intervention.
When The Bug Comes to Town
Lets start by understanding the
bumping down process first. It
20 www.tbl.com.pk
begins at the high-end tier of the
market where the highly skilled
and paid are placed, states Ian
Gordon. As the downturn hits the
economy, there is a fall in
demand. This provides two basic
choices for labour in the top tier:
either accept reduced wages or
face unemployment. Upon
choosing the latter, labour in the
top tier transfers the buck to the
tier below. They are faced with a
similar choice, and the process
spreads through the different tiers
of the labor market. With subse-
quent tiers passing the buck to the
ones below, the lowest tier is
eventually bumped out of the
market (or working on voluntary
terms).
Similarly, assume a company is
established (new jobs are created)
in an area of low skilled workers.
The investment in the region,
would not necessarily translate
into jobs for the unemployed of
the region. Instead most jobs will
be pushed to other regions, as the
new ones would mostly be taken
by the already employed in same
and nearby regions, creating an
asymmetric picture with jobs
being subsequently pushed out of
the region, states Gordon.
For instance, the creation of new
jobs in Central London will not
mostly be taken by the unemp-
loyed living in the area (some will
be), and many from the outskirts
or other parts of the city (or near-
by city) will gain employment.
Alternatively, the jobs in the
region may move between the
already employed in the area,
slowly and gradually pushing the
creation of opportunities outside
the target area (region of high
unemployment residents).
This in classical terms provides
perfect scope for government
intervention to rectify the short-
comings of the labour market
system. However, in a country
where the government is weak; is
unable to provide basic neces-
sities/security to most, let alone
identify and rectify such short-
comings, social problems are
inevitable with a high probability
of chaos over the long run. This
will provide scope for what may
be termed as corporate interven-
tion (social responsibility).
In such circumstances, local
solutions need to be developed to
rectify the problems of labour
markets rather than the continued
stand-alone rhetoric of attaining
the first best view of the world as
noted by most academics and
policy makers in the form of '
better government policies,
greater responsibility, tailored
and proactive policies', with an
advancement of the counter-
productive blame game.
In Pakistan, we continue to live in
an ideal world, and are unable to
move beyond the classical bound-
aries and definitions of our world
set in a place far away from our
local realities.
Looking for Solutions
We live in a post modern world
driven by knowledge, and if it
teaches us anything, it focuses on
developing local solutions. This in
the given case of Pakistan would
involve responsibility and action
being undertaken by the corpo-
rate and industrial sector
(private), which would fill the
gap between the shortcomings of
the classical market system and
the inability of the government to
completely rectify it.
This does not mean that all
should be taken away from the
government's plate. After all, they
need to provide for favourable
macro-economic conditions, assist
and at times provide economic
benefits to firms with most
activity in the cause. In other
words, the weakness of the
government in the noted areas
should be complemented by the
potential strength of community
and corporations in the other.
Simply said, we need to go
beyond the traditional scope of
corporate social responsibility. It
shouldn't be noted as an act of
philanthropy, rather as a by-
product of operation.
This may seem infiltrated with
problems and bottlenecks at first.
However if advanced in a stra-
tegic, coherent way, under a self-
developed and directed strategy
by the corporate sector, it has the
potential to advance various clear
benefits over the traditional
outlook. This is purely because
individual firms will advance
action in their respective sectors,
industries and scope of busines-
ses. The approach should be
tailored, focused and directed
towards bridging a key gap,
which would not only be a social
cause, but will reap private
benefit along with tacit gains and
goodwill for the company.
In any case, the private sector is
better informed; has greater
market knowledge specifically
with regard to current and future
labour market conditions such as
demand, supply, skills and short-
ages, due to the very nature of
their interaction. Therefore, it is
better able to tackle and rectify
loopholes in the labour market
system.
Before the private sector can
actively get involved in such
activities it needs to take note of
the policies already in place, or
should potentially be implemen-
ted by the first-best body (govern-
ment), and develop its framework
accordingly. For instance, it is
argued by Gordon in his paper in
2002, that skill development (and
other supply side policies) is vital,
as demand side policies in
isolation will not always attain
the desired results, especially in
regions of high unemployment.
This is because the new created
jobs will be pushed out of the
area. At best, a focus on reducing
unemployment through a pure
utilization of demand side
policies (inject demand in the
area) will lead to an over
estimation of employment effects.
Thus, the private sector needs to
invest in skill development, help
individuals push themselves up
the skill and employment cart.
The corporate and industrial
sector can invest in developing
vocational training centers or get
involved in existing vocational
centers, educate the management
about the direction of current and
future market, undertake a
comprehensive portfolio, focus on
market needs and shortages
rather than providing training for
populous and/or subsistence
level careers.
The focus should be on pushing
labour up their skill cart, rather
than providing for their subsis-
tence. Leading companies also
need to invest in higher
education, given the existing
dearth in quality, with the
aspiration of investing in a feeder
for themselves in the form of
schools and universities.
A noteworthy project in this
regard is an initiative being taken
by House of Habib, envisioning
the launch of the Habib
University, with the commence-
ment of the first academic year in
2012.
Organizational incentives for self-
growth need to be encouraged.
Internal staff trainings are vital.
They should not only be limited
to what a company perceives to
be its core team but across the
board from junior to senior
executives with a focus on specific
and general skills. This would
tbl may-june 09 21
also change the face of human
resource training and related
support industries.
Some organizations, as noted by
various authors, are skeptical of
undertaking such an investment,
as there is no guaranttee that the
investment would reap private
benefits to the company (if the
employee switches his/her job).
There will certainly be free-riders,
and may reap greater social
benefits than private benefits in
the short run, but in the long run,
such companies will attract the
highest quality of labour, brand
and social image. Moreover, it
will set the basis and tone for the
market to follow.
After all, companies in Silicon
Valley are known for leading the
race of technological innovation,
rather than being mass producers.
Similarly, a company can find its
niche beyond traditional grounds.
Moreover, learning is a conti-
nuous process. In fact, upward
labour market mobility should be
encouraged. This would involve
developing a flexible labour
market with individuals moving
between jobs, to move up the
employment ladder.
This would enhance the absorp-
tive capacity of labour in the
market, pushing people up the
employment cart, as argued by
Gordon et al. On the other hand,
this may retard corpo-rations
from investing in human capital
given the tradeoff between pri-
vate and social benefits.
However, if corporations can
internalize the scope of social
responsibility in their mandate,
such concerns can be reduced.
Further it is vital to understand
how the scope for private gain
will enhance over the long run. At
the very least, such tailored and
directed investments may be
better utilized relative to lump-
sum amounts, as they may pro-
duce better and focused results.
22 www.tbl.com.pk
Moreover, when a downturn hits,
CSR budgets are reduced, even
for the most stable of firms.
However, a deeper thought may
reverse this action, especially as
during times of economic
slowdown, the economic cost
(opportunity cost) of investment
in human capital is low, as return
on other investments are low. If
the downturn is short lived,
investment in training may make
greater economic sense, as argued
by an article in the financial times.
However, Teddy Wayne high-
lights the inability of people to
think in terms of opportunity
cost, unless forced to do so.
Therefore common sense may
recommend suboptimal thinking,
even for the most stable and risk
neutral firms, as the return from
investing in human capital is tacit
in nature, which may not always
be directly measureable, not over
the short run anyway.
It is important not only to focus
on the number of jobs being
created, but also on the quality of
jobs, as such is vital for achieving
sustainable economic develop-
ment. Similarly, it is vital not to
undertake training programmes
for the sake of the matter, but
focus on who gets training, as
otherwise we will purely create
greater competition at the lowest
tier of the employment ladder,
with minimal overall economic
benefit, states Gordon.
Corporations can also polish
internal procedures by enforcing
and ensuring equal opportunity
practices. Evidence noted by Buck
et al points to discrimination by
employers through postcodes in
London. This may also be true for
Pakistan as social and mental
classifications may seek to
influence behaviour, creating
barriers in the workings of the
labour market.
When There Exists a Light
The scope is vast and various
other initiatives and innovative
endeavours can be undertaken.
If parts of the government fail to
attain the wholesome objective, so
be it.
The civil society, and most impor-
tantly, a segment of that society,
namely the corporate and indus-
trial society should deliver. It may
seem an ambitious task, requiring
a cultural shift, it may even have
some competing incentives, but
after all we are talking about
social responsibility which is not
only an economic endeavour but
involves a mental and emotional
transition.
The seeds need to be set, it
requires coherence and organi-
zation; the ability to think beyond
the current scope; the willingness
to invest not only in the future of
Pakistan, but in our
individual selves.
References
Gordon, Ian and Turok, Ivan (2005). How
Urban Labour Markets Matter. In: Buck,
Nick and Gordon, Ian and Harding, Alan
and Turok, Ivan, (eds.) Changing Cities:
Rethinking Urban Competitiveness,
Cohesion, and Governance. Palgrave
Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK, pp. 242-264.
Buck, Nick and Gordon, Ian and Hall, Peter
and Harloe, Michael and Kleinman, Mark
(2002). Working capital: life and labour in
contemporary London. Routledge, London,
UK
Gordon, Ian (2002). Unemployment and
spatial labour markets: strong adjustment
and persistent concentration. In: Martin,
Ron and Morrison, Philip S., (eds.)
Geographies of labour market inequality.
Routledge, London, UK, pp. 55-82
Teddy Wayne (2009) Drilling Down, The
power of a nudge towards drift, The New
York Times http://www.nytimes.com/
2009/05/25/business/25drill.html?ref=
business
About the Writer
Ali Sohail is an economist by training with a
postgraduate degree from the London School of
Economics and Political Science. He has
diverse experience spanning the auto industry;
communication; education development and
planning; business and economic research,
analysis and writing.
social partnership

concern for children trust

I
mproving the quality of life for Karachi's urban
slum children costs far less then you may think.
Noorjehan is one of 200,000 children who live in
Karachi's largest unofficial kutchi abadi: Moham-
madi Machar Colony. She wakes up every morning
at 5 am to do housework and also cooks for her
family. Her mother is critically ill with Hepatitis C
and her father, a day labourer, is away from the
house from 6 am to 8 am, attempting to make the
Rs. 2,500, that is the average monthly family income
in this area. Because there is no access to natural gas,
Noorjehan has to spend at least 3 hours in gathering,
preparing and lighting the firewood on which she
must cook. At fourteen, she is the primary caregiver
to six younger siblings.
Machar Colony is home to 750,000 people who have
no access to gas, safe water or sewage facilities. Most
children like Noorjehan are unable to attend the tiny
private schools that dot the locality because they are
employed, either in caregiving or in working long
hours in the neighbourhood's many 'jinga baras' or
shrimp peeling warehouses. Hours of hard labour in
appalling unhygienic conditions can earn a child
Rs. 30-50 per day. It may seem like a pittance, but
over half of the area's families can only spend Rs.
300 a month on the care of each of their (on average
six) children.
Concern for Children Trust (CFC) is a not-for-profit
organization that has been actively working in
Machar Colony since 1997. Originally founded as a
project to ensure access to good quality healthcare
and branded medication to the area's children, it has
developed in the past twelve years into a compre-
hensive community driven development project
which addresses the unique challenges of the
locality of three thematic areas: 1. Health (of which
mental health is an integral part), 2. Education/
vocation and 3. Sanitation.
In light of this new cohesive mandate to community
building, CFC has successfully run health awareness
projects, trained local birth attendants in safe
delivery practices, built a well-outfitted mother and
child healthcare center, introduced art therapy
Roof top view of Machar Colony houses
programmes in six local schools and implemented a
community kitchen that allows local residents access
to safe and green fuel. All this has been made
possible with the generous support of private
donors and with CSR initiatives implemented with
local companies.
Additionally, after the devastating earthquake that
rocked the country, CFC mobilized as a disaster
relief organization, providing mental health training
to local people in Kashmir and running a tent school
for the children of Bandi Chakan whose only school
building was destroyed by the natural disaster. As
part of CFC's commitment to sustainable develop-
ment in communities, a permanent, earthquake
proof school is currently under construction in the
area.
CFC's mandate, to build empowered lives for
children and their families, forms the backbone of all
community interventions. Community awareness
meetings are carried out on a regular basis,
community leaders are always consulted on projects
in the design stage and an emphasis is placed in
project design on sustainability in the future with
minimum funding.
One way CFC approaches sustainability, is to invest
in early interventions; health and education with the
youngest members of the society ensures changes in
habitualized behaviours in the community that

24 www.tbl.com.pk

Boy filling drinking water to sell
prevent growth; family planning and the role of
women for example. Members of the community
who use CFC developed projects such as the Mother
and Child Healthcare Center (MCH) or the Com-
munity Kitchen, pay a small fee for the service - this
usually covers the basic running cost of the project if
used by a certain number of users over time.
Most recently, CFC has become involved with the
relief effort for the Internally Displaced People (IDP)
in the north west of our country. A CFC medical
mission, in conjunction with two NGO's on the
ground in Mardan and Swat (Omer Asghar Khan
Development Foundation and Sungi) provided
medical care and medications to over 600 IDPs.
Additionally the mission created health profiles for
each housing facility, identifying potential sources of
disease and highlighting IDPs who require medical
monitoring for chronic conditions.
CFC is externally audited each year, providing
corporate partners and donors with the reassurance
that their contributions are well spent.
Organizational costs account for less then 15 percent
of the over all budget, due again to the successful
long term partnership that CFC has built with
corporate partners such as Glaxo Smith Kline who
provide office space, stationery, technical support,
computers and communication costs. This "in kind"
Machar Colony: Facts
Currently population of Machar Colony: 750,000
Number of children: 200,000
Average household income: 2,500 Rs./month
Average number of children in each family: 6
CSR with some partners allows CFC to ensure that
85p of every rupee goes straight towards the
running costs of projects, allowing the greatest
coverage for each programme.
It costs just 1,000 rupees a month to provide 10
women with pregnancy tests, allowing CFC's com-
munity doctors to provide well-rounded prenatal
care. Rs. 3,000 buys 300 safe delivery kits, allowing
CFC's trained traditional birth attendants ('daees') to
ensure sanitary and safe birth for 300 women and
their babies. Rs. 1,400 allows a child from the most
challenging background to participate in a four
week long summer art therapy programme that fos-
ters self esteem and Rs. 3,000 a month pays the rent
of the community kitchen, allowing 24 mothers to
feed their children safe and nutritious food.
Noorjehan has been able to return to school as she
now utilizes the facilities at the CFC community
kitchen, allowing her to cook for her family in an
hour and attend classes in the afternoon. Through
awareness raising sessions at the Community
Kitchen, Noorjehan is learning about hygiene, how
to keep her siblings safe from hepatitis, how to save
money using a simple piggy bank and the impor-
Poor sanitation
tance of continuing her school work. For every child
that a CFC programme reaches, there are 200 we are
unable to help due to a shortage of funds.
Companies can play a pivotal role in assisting well
reputed NGO's to attempt to ensure opportunities
for health, education and environment are provided
to people from all walks of life.
Questions for corporations to ask an NGO
before forming CSR linkages with them
1. Is the organization registered?
2. Does the organization have tax exemption?
3. How does the organization handle its finances?
tbl may-june 09 25
4. Is the organization externally audited?
5. Does the organization have a governing
body/trustees?
6. What experience does the organization’s
management have with development projects?
7. How long has the organization been working
with a particular community or group?
8. How will the organization’s plan ensure
sustainability of the project?
9. What tools does the organization use to monitor
and evaluate the project?
10. Has the organization worked with corporations
before or received any grants?
CFC: Currently Running Programmes
1. Mother and Child Healthcare Center (MCH)
The MCH provides comprehensive out patient
services in the following areas: Tuberculosis
Prevention, Immunisations, Family Planning,
Skin, Gynaecology and Pediatrics.
2. Community Awareness Meetings
Held fortnightly in various homes in the
community, locally employed community mobi-
lizers and CFC doctors have informal chats with
community women on various health concerns.
3. Quarterly Health Camps
Day long camps with volunteer doctors and free
medication are a means to provide quality care
to a large number of residents. Each camp
serves approximately 800 patients.
4. The Community Kitchen
This provides women a safe and sanitary place
to cook. It encourages the use of green fuel and
reduces deforestation. Also, it supports healthy
mother-child interactions by housing day care
for children under 5 years of age. Biweekly
information sessions are hosted on nutrition,
hygiene, mental health.
5. The Machar Art Programme
This programme provides Machar colony school
students with training in art and photography
from some of the leading professionals in the
city. It serves a unique and necessary thera-
peutic function in allowing children a space to
be children, to have fun while learning and to
develop problem-solving skills by sharing
common narratives.
The artwork generated in the programme is dis-
played annually in an exhibition serving as an
important awareness raising function and a
major source of income generation for commu-
nity projects.
26 www.tbl.com.pk
6. Training and Capacity Building of ‘Daees’
(Local Birth Attendants)
CFC provides basic training in sanitary habits,
and identification of problem cases during
labour and delivery.
Future Plans for Machar Colony
Education/Livelihood
1. Project Kitab
Capacity building for existing small schools in
Machar Colony through teacher training,
provision of books and learning tools.
2. Shrimp Peeling Child Labourer's Drop-in
Learning Centre
A safe space in the community where working
children can come after work hours to play and
learn.
3. Microcredit for Small Enterprises
CFC will work with local banks to provide a
system of micro credit for small entrepreneurs
in the community and provide borrowers with
tools for successful running of small business.
Health
1. Training of Community Women as Peer
Psychological Counselors
Based on past projects in Karachi, CFC plans to
train women from the community to provide
basic mental health counseling, and provide
extensive supervision for community
counselors.
2. School Mobile Health
CFC will provide basic outpatient services to
children through their schools. This will allow
for better follow up of immunizations.
2. Ambulance Service
CFC will form linkages with existing NGO's
running ambulance service to enable timely
transportation of residents to hospital at
nominal charges.
Environment
1. Garbage is Gold Scheme: Sorting and sale of
recycled goods to companies that manufacture
building material out of it.
2. Sanitation Project: Development of sewage
lines, community toilets.
3. Solar Stoves: Utilize solar technology for
cooking, heating etc to ensure sustainability and
lower adverse effects on the environment.

cost of
coercion
report by international labour organization
for tbl
T
he Global Report on forced labour, pub-
lished in 2005, provided figures to show the
truly global scope of the problem, which
affects virtually all countries and all kinds of
economies. Some 12.3 million persons worldwide
were in some form of forced labour or bondage.
Of these, 9.8 million were exploited by private
agents, including more than 2.4 million in forced
labour as a result of human trafficking. The high-
est numbers have been found in Asia, some 9.4
million, followed by approximately 1.3 million in
Latin America and the Caribbean, and at least
360,000 in the industrialized countries. Some 56
percent of all persons in forced labour were
women and girls. The annual profits, from human
trafficking alone, were at least US$32 billion.
What changes can be detected over the past
four-year period?
Ideally, our 2005 global and regional estimates
would have encouraged governments to carry out
their own national estimates of forced labour.
Although some pilot initiatives have been launched,
this process has hardly begun in most countries.
However, a number of qualitative surveys continue
to enhance understanding of the main forms of
forced labour, their causes, and the appropriate
policy response. In other cases, a deliberate policy
by governments to strengthen law enforcement
against forced labour, including trafficking for
sexual or other forms of economic exploitation, has
brought to light forms of abuse that hitherto went
undetected.
While an ever-growing number of agencies,
organizations, pressure groups and individuals have
expressed concern about forced labour, there have
been some complex debates concerning what is or is
not forced labour, what should be done about it, and
by whom.
Measuring forced labour: The need for
representative samples
Given the nature of forced labour, careful considera-
tion has to be given to the sampling techniques.
Simple techniques, such as the random selection of
households in a particular region, will not
produce the required results when forced labourers
are hidden or clustered. In such cases, simple
random sampling is likely to miss all the persons
report: forced labour
ILO's Definition of Forced Labour
Forced labour is the antithesis of decent work.
The least protected persons, including women
and youth, indigenous peoples, and migrant
workers, are particularly vulnerable. Modern
forced labour can be eradicated with a
sustained commitment and resources.
Addressing this concern with vigour is a
concrete way to give practical effect to the
vision of social justice for a fair globalization,
set out in the Declaration adopted by the
International Labour Conference in June 2008.
Progress can be made through a multi-
pronged strategy, attacking the criminal
practices of forced labour at the bottom of the
ladder, rescuing and rehabilitating its victims,
tackling other aspects of labour exploitation,
and promoting opportunities for decent work
for all women and men.
An activity does not need to be recognized
officially as an "economic activity" for it to
constitute forced labour. For example, a child
or adult beggar under coercion will be
considered to be in forced labour.
Forced labour of girls and boys under 18
years old is also one of the worst forms of
child labour, as defined in the ILO's Worst
Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999
(No. 182). Child labour amounts to forced
labour not only when children are forced by a
third party to work under the menace of a
penalty, but also when the work of a child is
included within the forced labour provided by
the family as a whole.
affected, and erroneously conclude that there is no
forced labour or trafficking.
Nevertheless, to ensure that sample survey results
are applicable to a larger population of interest, two
conditions must be met. First, every member of the
population must have a non-zero probability of
being selected. Second, the sample must be suffi-
ciently large to ensure that the margins of error of
the final estimates are reasonably low. In practice,
however, persons in forced labour situations may
not always be hidden or hard to detect. Bonded
labourers in South Asia work openly in fields or
informal sector enterprises, as do the indigenous
peoples of Latin America, who are particularly
vulnerable to forced labour.
tbl may-june 09 27
Migrant workers in destination
countries often gather in clubs on
their days off. In such cases, it is
perfectly feasible to use simple
sampling techniques. Migrants
can also be surveyed about their
experiences abroad, after they
return to their home countries.
Regional Study: Asia
In Asia, three issues remain of
particular concern. One is the
persistence of bonded labour
systems, particularly in South
Asia, although legislation to
prohibit and punish these
practices has long been in place,
together with mechanisms to
identify, release and rehabilitate
bonded labourers. A second is the
widespread incidence of traffic-
king of both children and adults,
for both sexual and labour
exploitation. A third is the persis-
tence of forced labour exacted
directly by the State and official
institutions, notably in Myanmar.
One feature of Asia is the
extensive movement of workers
from the poorer to the wealthier
countries within the region, as
well as from Asian countries to
the Middle East, Europe and the
Americas. In the larger Asian
countries, such as China and
India, there have been similar
large-scale movements within the
country, from the poorer
provinces to those with significant
industrial growth and a
consequent demand for
temporary labour, and in some
cases more permanent relocation
of the workforce.
Given the complex nature of
Asian bonded labour, a targeted
approach in particular sectors by
region can be advisable. Such an
approach has been taken by the
Government of Punjab province
in Pakistan which, with ILO
support, envisages an integrated
programme to combat bonded
labour in brick kilns.
The ILO estimates that Latin
28 www.tbl.com.pk
America accounts for the second
largest number of forced labou-
rers in the world after Asia. Only
a few countries have made syste-
matic efforts to investigate and
document forced labour and its
incidence. However, the strong
efforts made by some countries,
most notably Brazil and Peru,
have improved understanding of
contemporary forced labour and
its underlying causes.
Contract labour and
recruitment
Inadequate mechanisms for the
recruitment and placement of
workers can result in labour
exploitation, including forced
labour. The link between informal
labour brokering and bonded
labour systems in parts of Asia
and Latin America has long been
acknowledged. It is also widely
accepted that workers who
migrate through unlawful
intermediaries, often finding only
clandestine employment in
destination countries, are at
particular risk of forced labour.
ILO has conducted research on
private agencies and recruitment
systems in areas and countries
including Central Asia, the
Caucasus and the Russian
Federation. Studies were also
commissioned in Bangladesh,
India and Pakistan, mainly
examining the experience of
temporary contract workers from
these countries in the Gulf States.
Some findings were presented at
a Gulf Forum on Temporary
Contractual Labour, held in Abu
Dhabi in early 2008. Second,
extensive capacity building has
been provided for government
officials including labour
inspectors, as well as employers
and trade unions.
ILO research with returned
migrants from the Gulf States,
conducted in 2007 in Bangladesh
and Pakistan, while concluding
that the experience of most
migrants had been positive, also
found that the high costs of
migration were making it less
financially profitable for the
workers. In Bangladesh,
where the average costs were
around US$1,400 for men and half
that amount for women, the total
cost of migration had risen by
more than 130 percent over the
2000-07 period and had generally
not been balanced by a rise in
incomes. In Pakistan, the average
total cost for persons employed
overseas was US$1,000, more than
12 times the ceiling set by the
Government of Pakistan. Most
Pakistani migrants paid all fees in
advance, with approximately half
financing migration costs from
their own savings.
The economics of forced
labour: Measuring the costs of
coercion
Our last Global Report estimated
at US$31.7 billion the total illicit
profits produced in one year by
trafficked forced labourers.
Further ILO research at that time
indicated that, worldwide, total
illegal profits made from the 8.1
million forced labourers in
economic exploitation, outside the
sex industry, reached US$10.4
billion.
It is equally important to address
this question from a different
angle. What, in addition to
human suffering, are the
financial costs of coercion to the
people who work in forced labour
situations? In other words, how
much money is "stolen" from
people in forced labour?
Answering these questions
requires some estimate of
the"opportunity cost" of being in
forced labour, namely the income
lost through being in forced
labour rather than in a free
employment relationship.
ILO research over the past few
years suggests that the loss of
income associated with coercion
can be traced to two main
sources. The first is the
underpayment of wages. Indeed,
it can be argued that economic
exploitation is the main reason
why some employers use coer-
cion. In most cases, people in
forced labour receive wages lower
than the market rate, in some
cases less than the subsistence
minimum.
People in forced labour often
receive wages net of some artifi-
cial deductions imposed in a dis-
cretionary way by their employer.
For example, victims may be
overcharged for the cost of their
accommodation - a cost which is
often directly deducted from the
victims' nominal wage.
Underpayment of wages includes
forced overtime and other forms
of "excessive work" which are not
adequately remunerated. Forced
labourers typically work longer
days and longer weeks than free
workers, sometimes up to 16
hours a day for seven days a
week.
The second source of lost income,
which arises mainly in cases of
human trafficking, is the financial
costs associated with the recruit-
ment process. Migrant workers
trafficked into forced labour often
incur a series of costs linked to
their recruitment, including
payments to a recruitment agency
or a broker, funding a particular
type of training necessary for
being eligible for admission to the
destination country, acquiring
language skills, or payment for
the visa and transportation.
Can the global cost of coercion
be estimated?
At present, the data are still
relatively scarce and much more
research is needed in this area to
obtain a precise and robust idea
of the magnitude of the cost of
coercion. Some benchmark figures
can nevertheless be calculated,
excluding victims of forced
commercial sexual exploitation
but covering the other economic
sectors where the incidence of
forced labour has been most
widely documented. On the basis
of available information, we
estimate that the total amount of
unpaid wages to people in forced
labour amounts to approximately
US$19.6 billion. The regional
breakdown is shown in the table
below. The figures are obtained
by multiplying the total number
of victims by the estimated aver-
age underpayment of wages in
different sectors (agriculture,
manufacturing, construction and
services). The latter, in turn, is
estimated as the difference
between the actual wage pay-
ments made to forced labourers
and an estimate of what they
should have been paid in light of
figures of labour productivity in
those sectors.
In addition, trafficked victims
have been observed to pay
Estimating the total cost of coercion (in US$)
recruitment costs which vary
from US$150 in poor regions to an
average of more than US$5,000
for securing a job in industrial
countries (while in extreme cases
the payments can be more than
ten times this amount). When
multiplied by the number of traf-
ficking victims in each region, this
represents a global sum of more
than US$1.4 billion. When added
to the lost income due to unpaid
wages, we estimate that the total
cost of coercion to workers
amounts to a benchmark figure of
about US$21 billion.
Business actors and private com-
panies can have many different
concerns. For global companies,
with extensive supply chains and
outsourcing, the main issue is
likely to be supply chain manage-
ment.
A number of prominent compa-
nies have seen their image badly
affected by allegations of forced
labour in their supply chains. And
this means not only companies
engaged in productive activities
in those sectors commonly per-
ceived to be at risk, such as agri-
culture and construction, with
their high incidence of temporary
work and of "dirty, difficult and
dangerous jobs".
The past four years have seen a
wave of allegations affecting com-
panies engaged in steel, electron-
ics, footwear and textiles, and
much more. Similar challenges
are also faced by suppliers to
global companies and small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
integrated into global supply
chains. For them, the risk posed
by forced labour entering the
operations of their subcontractors
can negatively affect not only
their own reputation but that of
their entire industry, which in
turn can have a broad impact on
trade relationships with global
buyers and with access to global
markets.
Because forced labour is a serious
crime, businesses have a legal
obligation to prevent and eradi-
cate it in their company opera-
tions, failing which they can be
liable to criminal prosecutions
and sanctions.
But there are at least two out-
standing issues of concern. First,
when modern supply chains are
so complex, there is the question
of how far a company's liability
should extend. Second, when the
jurisprudence on forced labour in
tbl may-june 09 29
the private economy is still so
young, there are bound to be
uncertainties and "grey areas" as
to which business practices con-
stitute the risk of forced labour.
As has been seen from some of
the more recent national litiga-
tion, judicial interpretations will
also vary between countries.
Taken together, the forced labour
concerns affecting business can be
classified approximately as
follows. First, there are the wide-
spread problems affecting small
industries, sometimes in remote
areas, in developing countries.
These are long-standing concerns
of the largely informal economy,
as in the brick kilns or small gar-
ment factories of such South
Asian countries as India and
Pakistan, which are likely to
include deeply embedded prac-
tices of bonded labour.
Second, there are the industries
which appear to be at risk of
forced labour practices within
individual developing countries,
mainly because of the nature of
recruitment practices. There is a
very clear risk of forced labour
through debt bondage, when tem-
porary workers are recruited
through informal and unlicensed
intermediaries who entice their
recruits through the payment of
advances, and then make their
profits through a series of inflated
charges.
Third, there are the problems
facing multinational enterprises
(MNEs) which outsource their
production to companies opera-
ting in developing countries.
Fourth, there are the potential
problems facing all companies, in
developed and developing coun-
tries alike, which engage contract
labour through different kinds of
employment or recruitment
agencies.
An event held in 2008 brought
together senior representatives
from employers' organizations
30 www.tbl.com.pk
and business across Asia, along-
side representatives of civil
society. Participants discussed the
role employers' organizations and
business can play in combating
forced labour in the region and
set out a series of recommen-
dations directed at private actors.
Forced labour and poverty
reduction in developing
count-ries: A focus on
prevention
Research and operational
programmes have led to an
enhanced understanding of the
population groups at risk of
forced labour, often as a result of
a long-standing pattern of
poverty and discrimination. They
can include caste and other
minorities in Asia, indigenous
peoples in Latin America and, in
some cases, the descendants of
slaves in Africa. Experience has
shown that, together with
improved law enforcement and
labour inspection, there is a need
for better prevention strategies,
including the targeting of poverty
reduction programmes and
development resources at the
communities most in need.
Broad-based action against
bonded labour systems,
particularly in Asia, will continue
to take place at different levels. At
the policy level, persons in or at
risk of bonded labour should be
specially targeted through
poverty reduction programmes,
including microfinance initiatives.
Sensitization programmes for
government agencies and officials
are of key importance, identifying
the various means at their
disposal to address bonded
labour systems and practices. At
the community level, it is
essential to build on the good
practice learned so far, replicating
this in other areas of known
bonded labour incidence. The
involvement of local employers'
and workers' organizations will
be a key element of future
approaches. In Latin America,
given the particular vulnerability
of indigenous peoples to forced
labour and debt bondage, the
issues will be accorded due
importance in programmes to
address poverty through
promoting the identity and rights
of indigenous peoples.
Note
The report ‘Cost of Coercion’ 2009 has
been printed in tbl with permission from the
International Labour Organization (ILO).
opinion

the poor don't want csr,

they just want a job

by david watson
for tbl

“
[The] Poor … have their own dignity and do not wish to be
regarded the begging bowl of the economy. They don't want
hand outs. Philanthropy by itself does not create sustainable
value for them. They want jobs, fair wages, fair trading,
responsible investing, ethical buying and

”
transparency in transactions.

World Council for Corporate Governance

32 www.tbl.com.pk
Corporate Social Responsibility
has often been lauded as
businesses' response to the
problems of poverty and disad-
vantage - their contribution to
creating a better and more
equitable society.
Many corporations themselves
also include grand aims of
poverty reduction in their stated
goals for their CSR programmes.
But are CSR initiatives actually
directed at responding to the
poor's needs, to reducing poverty
and disadvantage?
Leaving aside the myriad CSR
projects that are little more than
loosely packaged marketing, most
of the remaining CSR projects
(especially in Pakistan) are
engaged in community and social
development, such as health and
education projects.
These are (in the main) useful and
beneficial for the poor, but what
many of the poor want most of all
is a job and an income, an area
where precious little CSR atten-
tion is being focused.
The Role of CSR For the Poor?
Now of course CSR is not purely
(or even primarily) focused on
helping the poor and disadvan-
taged. CSR is not philanthropy or
charity, but rather it is doing
business in a socially responsible
way.
But yet many companies do state
that their motive (or part of) for
engaging actively in CSR is to
help the poor and disadvantaged.
For example, "SSGC deserves
praise for wholeheartedly
contributing towards the national
agenda for poverty alleviation", as
stated on Sui Southern Gas
Corporation, Pakistan's website.
Firms engage in a variety of
education, healthcare and welfare
projects, which is laudable, but
slightly missing the point if the
first hope of the poor is employ-
ment, a livelihood, a job.
The understanding that employ-
ment and job creation is critical to
poverty reduction has been grow-
ing in recent years, although note
that there is quite some debate in
this space. According to the
World Bank 2009 report, "China
and India Account for a large
share of the World's Poverty
Reduction".
Multinational organisations such
as the UN, World Bank, ILO and
UNIDO have promoted economic
development initiatives as a
response to poverty and disad-
vantage, and Government-funded
donor agencies (for example,
USAID, CIDA and DfID) have
invested significant sums of
money in job creation and liveli-
hoods projects.
But although the donor develop-
ment community has (albeit
slowly) come around to the
understanding that job creation
can significantly reduce poverty
and disadvantage, businesses
themselves still focus the majority
of their CSR attention on social
welfare projects.
It's All About Jobs!
And here companies actually
have an advantage. Their core
business isn't in schools or
hospitals, but they do know all
about employing people, about
providing jobs, and stimulating
business.
And of course companies are
doing this; they are
providing direct employment and
employment or vocational
training to local communities.
The correlation between direct job
creation and CSR is one of some
debate, but companies that are
creating jobs that pay a fair wage,
with good working conditions
and associated benefits, are
having a direct positive impact in
communities.
But beyond this, and with poten-
tially greater impact, some
companies are engaging in
developing entrepreneurs and
enterprise development through
their supply chains (often called
business "co-creation").
Companies are helping small
businesses start and flourish,
making their produce part of
their supply chain to improve the
quantity, quality or security of
their supply chain, and creating
jobs and livelihoods in local
communities.
One approach to this is called
"value chain development". This
term has largely been used by the
development community (inclu-
ding USAID and DfID) to des-
cribe an approach to analyse mar-
kets, market dynamics, and to
understand the role of the poor in
those markets.
The approach then seeks to iden-
tify what constraints there are to
the growth of the end-to-end
value chain (that is, from input
providers to end consumers), and
to the growth of the share of the
poor in the value created.
But although this approach and
terminology has arisen out of the
development community, it is
well suited to a CSR-led analysis
of a company's supply chain.
Companies can use this approach
to explore where the poor and
disadvantaged are already
engaged in their own supply
chain, and what constrains their
ability to increase their produc-
tbl may-june 09 33
tivity, improve the value they
capture for the work that they do,
and improve their livelihoods.
Turning Theory into Reality
For some poor producers, it is
simply a lack of knowledge and
access to markets that limits their
ability to provide appropriate
products.
Working with
producers (or producer groups) to
help them understand market
requirements (example, style,
design, timing) and linking them
to traders or processors can open
up new markets, increase sales for
the trader or processor, and
improve the livelihoods of the
producers.
Since 2001, Carrefour's Spanish
subsidiary has been working to
support the inclusion of the poor
throughout the developing world
into their global supply chains.
One project in Ecuador had
provided over 2,000 families with
sustainable livelihoods through
the production and export of
innovative food products within
one year of operation.
The new products have proved
very popular with Spanish
consumers, have been profitable
for Carrefour, and have changed
the lives of thousands of poor
Ecuadorian farmers and their
families. The Global CSR
Casebook has a full case study on
this titled 'Business and Poverty'.
Often, poor agricultural
producers lack basic knowledge
about use of inputs (example,
fertilizers), about product han-
dling (example, for soft fruits),
and about the requirements of
processors or wholesalers.
Investing in the knowledge of the
producers can improve the prod-
34 www.tbl.com.pk
uct provided up the supply/value
chain to the company, whilst
significantly increasing the
incomes of the poor farmers.
In Pakistan, both Nestle Pakistan
and Haleeb Foods Limited are
working to strengthen the share
of the poor in their milk value
chains.
Nestle is working in
animal husbandry with hundreds
of thousands of farmers, with the
aim that "better animals means
there will be better milk. We gain
a reliable supply of high quality
milk, but the greatest benefits,
both immediate and long-term,
are to the farmers themselves," as
stated on Nestle's website.
Haleeb is working on a new
project to explore how they can
strengthen the involvement of
poor rural homebound women in
the fresh milk collection, aiming
to raise the incomes of 6,000 poor
women.
This project, known as "Pathways
and Pursestrings" is being under-
taken in conjunction with
Mennonite Economic
Development Associates (Canada)
and the Entrepreneurship and
Community Development
Institute (Pakistan) with support
from the Canadian International
Development Agency.
Summary
Whatever way you look at it, the
poor want jobs. And companies
have the skills and the oppor-
tunities to create jobs. Companies
have the opportunity (and some
would say the responsibility) to
work with the poor and disadvan-
taged in their own supply chains,
to help them increase their
livelihoods, and to stimulate job
creation in their communities.
If companies really want to help
the poor and disadvantaged, if
they really want to positively
impact the communities around
them, then stimulating job
creation in their supply chains
and in the wider economy isn't a
bad place to start, in fact, it is the
obvious place to make a
difference.
References
World Bank 2009 <http://go.worldbank.org/
6D7GD55ZK0>
http://www.ssgc.com.pk/ssgc/society/
http://www.microlinks.org/ev.php?
ID=9652_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC
For a full case study, see "Business and
Poverty. The Global CSR Casebook"
pp189-203. ICEP 2008
(http://issuu.com/icep/docs/business_and_p
overty._the_global_csr_case-book)
http://www.nestle.pk/index/
agri-services.aspx
http://www.nestle.pk/index/
agri-services.aspx
About the Writer
David Watson is a business
and strategy consultant whose
passion is to see business used
to create and strengthen
livelihoods for the poor and
disadvantaged. David's work includes Corporate
Social Responsibility, mentoring of Social
Entrepreneurs, and helping facilitate Micro-
Enterprise amongst the poor and
disadvantaged. David has been in Pakistan for
since 2007 with his wife and 2 boys.
“Social obligation is
much bigger than
supporting worthy
causes. It includes
anything that impacts
people and the quality
of their lives.
- William Ford Jr. ”
Chairman, Ford Motor Co.
 crossword

CROSSWORD
Across
3. A person who organizes and manages any
enterprise
5. Money that is paid or received for work
8. At least 1 in 4 people in Pakistan live below the
national ______ line
9. Everybody wants to be a ______
11. A means of supporting one's existence
13. Retirement age?
15. Which mammal was featured on tbl's last issue
18. A medieval social system
19. King Arthur and his knights sat on a table shaped
like this, also the name of a tbl event mentioned in
the previous issue

Down
1. What executives look for besides a good salary
2. When prices increase it is also termed as _______
3. To give authority to
4. The condition of being free from restriction or
control
6. The ordinary people in a community or the names
of two things found in a garden
7. A group of people living in the same locality and
under the same government
10. Labour without rights
12. Another word for the theme of this tbl issue
14. The state of one bound in servitude
16. Productive activity, especially for the sake of
economic gain
17. When one owes money, they are in ______

tbl Issue 8 Hints

Across
2. An act or instance of revealing or unmasking
6. Material written for publication in a newspaper or magazine or for
broadcast
7. Something which is obtainable; attainable
10. Radio, television, newspapers, and magazines are means of ________
11. The act of companies disingenuously spinning their products and
policies as environmentally friendly is known as ________
13. Banning or deleting any information
16. Happening at the same time as its being viewed
17. Flamboyant or dramatic methods to generate publicity
18. The reporting and subsequent publishing or broadcasting of news
19. The first English newspaper of Pakistan
20. Multicolored, Multipurpose, Multi_______

Think you got it? Tell us at feedforward@tbl.com.pk
and see what surprises we have in store for you!
Down
1. Most newspapers have a segment titled: Letters to the ________
3. To be in accordance with the accepted principles of right and wrong
4. Stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion
5. To cause partiality or favoritism
8. Spot or message aired on television or radio which is paid for by an
advertiser
9. The process of persuasion, often through coercion
12. News channels have news________
14. Something that spiders do, but can also mean a hidden slant of a press
source, in the media world
15. A way of influencing peoples minds

tbl may-june 09 35
csr reporting

corporate triple bottom line

reporting in pakistan
"The companies can no longer afford the luxury of ambiguity," states WBCSD report titled
'Corporate Social Responsibility: Making Good Business Sense'. The trend of environmental reporting
started in 1990s and a few reports came out from some very progressive companies in the world.
This became a fashion with the turn of the century. In 2002, environmental
reporting became a legal requirement in Denmark, France and Netherlands. Till now, this has remained
as a voluntary tool without specified legal codes and requirements.

However, in many countries, guidelines and frameworks have come to fore to assist
corporations in reporting. The notable among those are Best Practice Guidelines of UK (2002) and
Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines (2002). The later is by far the best effort in
developing a common reporting ground for companies around the world as it has developed an
increased and visible interest of businesses in environmental reporting since then.

"Many multinational companies are now issuing social responsibility reports.

While environmental, health, and safety reports are common, reports tackling issues such as human
rights or child labor are not. In order for these reports to be useful, a global consensus needs to evolve
on the type of information to be disclosed, the reporting format to be used, and the reliability of the eval-
uation and audit procedures", according to the 'Green Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility' pub-
lished on Europa, portal site of the European Union.

"CSR reports of the progressive companies showcase their social and environmental profiles on periodic
basis as they highlight their financial standing to their stakeholders. Some nations require CSR
reporting, though agreement on meaningful measurements of social and
environmental performance is difficult. Many companies now produce externally audited
annual reports that cover Sustainable Development and CSR issues but the reports vary
widely in format, style, and evaluation methodology", states a blog on
corporate social responsibility.

by muhammad arshed rafiq

for tbl

CSR Reporting Initiatives in
Pakistan
In Pakistan, several multi-
nationals are regularly producing
their environmental reports in
line with their global commitment
and policy. These reports
however mostly contain positive
impacts and company actions and
not the negative ones. Some local
firms from the carpet industry,
sporting goods industry and
surgical industry are also
partnering with government
agencies, NGOs and UN agencies
to further their social and
economic goals and report them
periodically. In particular, these
firms are improving labour
standards, protecting bio-
diversity, and providing health
facilities to numerous local
communities in Pakistan.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) took
an initiative in association with
ACCA Pakistan in May 2002
under the title of Pakistan
Environmental Reporting Awards
to promote Environmental
Reporting in national and
international companies operating
in the country. As a principle,
PERA (Pacific Employment
Relations Association) does not
provide any particular guidelines
of its own. Rather, it promotes the
GRI guidelines.
There is a progressive trend in
environmental reporting as
shown under the PERA scheme
which received 8 reports in the
first year, 18 in the second and 12
in the third year. These reports
have a varying degree of thorou-
ghness, objectivity, transparency
and clarity. Their formats also

36 www.tbl.com.pk
vary and social and economic
dimensions of corporate sustain-
ability are not very distinct.
Many specialized organizations
are now working to sell the idea
of CSR reporting to corporations
in Pakistan. CSR Pakistan, Global
Compact Pakistan, Responsible
Business Initiative (RBI) and the
Pakistan Center for Philanthropy
(PCP) are some organizations
which are promoting social and
environmental responsibility
reporting in the country.
In general, the multinationals and
big national companies have been
reporting so far. Most of the busi-
nesses that fall in SME category
and the industrial sectors have
never learnt the concept at all.
The Cleaner Production Institute,
which is the research and devel-
opment organization in the non-
governmental sector and works to
enhance the competitive ability of
industry, has partnered with
more than 500 industrial units in
the paper, textiles, leather and
sugar sectors, through imple-
mentation of environmental and
energy technologies, certifications
and reporting etc.
Case in Point: Programme for
Industrial Sustainable
Development
The CPI is currently carrying out
its Programme for Industrial
Sustainable Development (PISD)
in collaboration with Royal
Netherlands Embassy and intends
to facilitate at least 43 industrial
units to generate their annual CSR
reports during the project life
(2007-2010).
The CPI teams chose two
important models and guidelines
for this purpose, that is, the
Global Reporting Initiative and
UNIDO's Responsible Entrepre-
neurs Achievement Program
(REAP). The earlier is an accept-
able international model while the
later provides customized guide-
lines for SMEs especially of the
developing countries. The GRI's
G3 guidelines are more compre-
hensive and contain well-stated
indicators and parameters. CPI
and PISD teams use customized
versions of G3 indicators.
So far, more than 10 reports have
been submitted for approval to
respective industries and will be
published in due course of time.
A survey of the industry is
conducted through its outreach
mechanism through the liaison
person in the industry, Human
Resource and Accounts depart-
ments, a top management repre-
sentative and workers' representa-
tives. The data is collected in one
or two visits along with the picto-
rial session. The missing data is
collected later on in liaison with
the contact person in the industry.
CPI Challenges
The main problems that the CPI's
CSR team faces are as follows:
The CSR reporting is a brand
new idea for most of the local
industry.
A lot of time is wasted in
developing a rapport with the
management and confidence
building to sell the new idea.
The economic data is readily
available with the public
limited companies while
private companies either don't
want to retrieve, share and
publish their data or they
provide fake data.
The hindrances in publication
include religious, social and
cultural values. For example,
many people are reluctant to
show off their philanthropy
while many directors give
away money in their indi-
vidual capacity and the
corporate philanthropic
spending is either negligible or
is not documented in their
organization.
It is very difficult to make a
business case for CSR
reporting and as yet intangible
benefits are not lucrative for
the local SMEs.
One of the important benefits
of CSR reporting is Brand
Image Development. Since
most of the local industry don't
have their own brands, they
don't see a business benefit in
it.
CSR and environmental
reporting is as yet voluntary,
so reports which are already
being published in the
Pakistani companies are mostly
developed without an
established set of parameters
or style, yielding non-
standardized, incomparable
and inconsistent results and
containing a good deal of
non-verifiable information.
Although CSR reports are
essential to give a picture of a
company's social and environ-
mental performance, they have
limitations as tools for
inclusive dialogue. The amount
of complex information
demanded by reporting best
practice means that reports can
make dull reading for non-
expert audiences.
Still however, the PISD targets in
CSR reporting will be completed
in anticipation that the voluntary
action is in fact more helpful and
shows that business is intrinsi-
cally involved and committed to
bring socio-environmental and
economic welfare of the commu-
nities of their operation.
References
http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/n26039.
htm
http://kuliahlagi.blogspot.com/2007/08/
corporate-social-responsibility.html
www.cpi.org.pk
www.pisd-pak.org
About the Writer
Arshed Rafiq is Communication Coordinator at
the Cleaner Production Institute, Lahore office in
the project of Programme for Industrial
Sustainable Development. He holds MA (Eng)
and MPA degrees. He can be reached at
arshedrafique@yahoo.com
tbl may-june 09 37
what's happening?
Global Forum 2009
The three-day interactive summit
"Business as an Agent of World
Benefit - "Manage by Designing in
an Era of Massive Innovation"
was held from June 2-5, 2009, at
the Case Western Reserve Univer-
sity, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
The summit hosted interactive
change methods, break-out
sessions, and expert-led discus-
sions. The purpose of the confe-
rence was "to unite design thin-
king with sustainable business
practice and education".
The attendees included more than
600 executives, academic experts
and policy makers, and compa-
nies such as Ford, Cisco,
Patagonia, Herman Miller,
Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble,
Dow Chemical, and more. The
following business schools also
participated: Weatherhead,
Wharton, Kellogg, Rotman,
Copenhagen, Haas, Said,
Rotterdam, McGill, and more.
The conference was facilitated by
David Cooperrider, the Fair-
mount Minerals Professor of
Social Entrepreneurship at the
Weatherhead School of Manage-
ment, Faculty Director of the
Fowler Center for Sustainable
Value, and co-creator of
Appreciative Inquiry.
The conference hosted special ses-
sions: A one-day Executive
Sustainable Value workshop with
Sustainable Value author Chris
Laszlo and also an evening
session designed by McGill's
Professor Nancy Adler.
In this conference, people could
also participate in the virtual com-
munity by visiting the following
link: http://bawbglobalforum.
ning.com/
The major output of the 2006
Global Forum was The United
38 www.tbl.com.pk
Nations Principles for
Responsible Management
Education (PRME), an initiative
launched by UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-Moon in July 2007
and signed by more than 200
organizations worldwide.
Furthermore, one could also
participate in an on-going way
and experience AI online, the
iCohere collaborative platform
and link up with amazing people
attending the 2009 Global Forum.
This collaborative space will
remain open for 6 months
(www.flourishingdestiny.org)
8th International
Conference on
Corporate Social
Responsibility
This International Conference will
be held from September 8 - 10 ,
2009 at Cape Town, UNISA
(University of South Africa),
South Africa and is hosted by the
University of South Africa
(UNISA). It will be organised by
UNISA in conjunction with the
Social Responsibility Research
Network.
The conference is intended to be
interdisciplinary and welcomes
contributions from anyone who
has a perspective on this impor-
tant issue. This time there will be
a focus on the theme of NGOs
and CSR.
Although much work has focused
upon corporations there is a
growing interest in the relation-
ship between business and NGOs
and how this relates to CSR. The
conference will feature papers on
topics including:
Social and Environmental
Accounting
Corporate Accountability
Social and Environmental
Auditing
Social and Environmental
marketing
Globalisation and Corporate
Activity
Protests Concerning Corporate
Activity
Regulation of Corporate Social
and Environmental Behaviour
Governmental Influences on
Corporate Accountability
CSR and Corporate
Governance
CSR and Stakeholders
CSR and Corporate Risk
Corporate Responsibility and
Triple Bottom Line
Socially Responsible
Investment
Social Entrepreneurship
Business, NGOs and CSR
Case Studies and Practical
Experiences
Microfinance
The conference will publish
proceedings and selected papers
will be collected for publication.
This year, a doctoral colloquium
will be held on the final day of
the conference. The aim will be to
give detailed feedback to doctoral
researchers concerning their
papers. Feedback will be specific
to each person and their research,
and will be given by an expe-
rienced academic in the field.
The colloquium will be an
integral part of the conference
and all delegates will be expected
to participate fully in the
conference but the sessions will
give extra time to presenters - to
allow for discussion and formal
feedback. This colloquium will be
organised by Professor Dr Güler
Aras.
Following on from the precedent
set at previous conferences, a
Young Academician award will
be made during this colloquium.
Full and updated details can be
found at the following website
http://www.unisa.ac.za/Default.
asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentI
D=19551
Brownfields 2009
Conference
The National Brownfields
Conference, which will held from
November 16 - 18, 2009, is the
largest, most comprehensive
conference focused on cleaning
up and redeveloping abandoned,
underutilized, and potentially
contaminated properties in the
nation.
The Brownfields Conference will
feature 150 educational and lear-
ning oppor-tunities, outstanding
plenarysessions, 200 exhibitors,
scores of networking events,
special training sessions, film
screenings, book signings, and
much, much more.
Brownfields are rural or urban
industrial commercial sites that
are abandoned or underused
because of real or perceived
contamination.
Communities across the country
face the challenge of putting these
idle sites back to work, from old
industrial cities with thousands of
acres of abandoned factories to
rural villages built around derelict
mines or timber mills.
Brownfields are a valuable
community resource that through
redevelopment and reuse could
easily bring important benefits to
many economically depressed
communities or serve as the
centerpiece in comprehensive
redevelopment strategies.
There are plenty of ways that
individuals and organizations can
take advantage of all the educa-
tional and networking opportu-
nities that Brownfields 2009 will
present.
The target attendees for this For more information, visit:
Conference include http://www.brownfieldsconfer-
Local, state, and federal ence.org//en/Page.Overview.200
9.aspx
government leaders
Federal and state contractors
Financial and insurance
providers and risk
management practitioners
Economic development
officials and community
development organizations
Environmental and civil
engineers, planners and
public works officials
Information technology
professionals
“ Many business
leaders today view
Academic institutions and
their jobs as entailing
students responsibility for the
Real estate developers and welfare of the wider
investors
community. These
Attorneys
individuals do not
With nearly 6,000 registrations the define themselves
U.S. EPA and ICMA co-sponsored
National Brownfields Conference as profit-making
is the premier event of its kind.
machines whose only
To create an exceptional edu- reason for existing is
cational experience, perspectives
are welcomed on the most
to satisfy escalating
important issues facing brown-
expectation for
fields practitioners, policy makers,
communities and companies.
People can send in their abstracts,
immediate gain.
”
proposals for complete sessions, - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
or simply an idea that they think Hungarian psychology
ought to be considered for this
professor and author
year's conference.
This conference also features a
dynamic exhibit hall and lively
trade show. If your organization
is a product or service provider,
government agency, or just an
organization looking to connect
with thousands of decision
makers, then the National
Brownfields Conference is the
premier business development
marketplace for you.
tbl may-june 09 39
breather

40 www.tbl.com.pk
tbl may-june 09 41
synergizing employee goals
building teams
by etsko schuitema
for tbl
The premise the work done on
teams at Schuitema is based
on, is that one can account for
the success of any group of
people on the degree to which
the individual in the group is
unconditional in pursuit of the
group's objectives. For exam-
ple, people normally measure
the success of an enterprise
based on the degree to which
it has produced a profit or a
surplus. The question to
explore here, is how does this
profit or surplus come to exist
in the first place.
We use the example of the
three bakers: Assume one has
three bakers who work
together in a bakery and
together they bake a cake. At
the end of the month each
baker takes a slice home and
the slice that is left over one
could call a surplus. The ques-
tion is, why does this surplus
exist in the first place?
Surely the surplus only exists-
because the total cake that was
baked was bigger than what each
individual baker took home. So
the question to ask here is, collec-
tively have these bakers given
more than what they have taken
or have they taken more than
they have given? Clearly, they
have given more than they have
taken. That indicates that a
group succeeds based on the
degree to which the individual in
the group is acting for reasons
that are bigger than their self-
interest.
42 www.tbl.com.pk
This is true for any group. Sport
teams succeed based on the
degree to which the individual
player is willing to forgo his own
agenda for the requirements of
the team. When this does not take
place then one does not have a
team, one has a herd of cats.
It is very important to understand
the site of this capacity that
people can and do have to be here
to make a contribution. It has
very little to do with what people
know or how they are equipped.
One could give the three bakers
the most advanced baking equip-
ment or the most sophisticated
baking training. If every one of
them was here to get as much as
he could for giving as little as
possible, the group would still
fail. This suggests that being here
to contribute really is not so much
about what people know or how
they are equipped; it is an issue of
intent.
The next question is, then, how
does one solicit the intent top. We
have argued very explicitly that
people do not go the extra mile
for organisations, they go the
extra mile for people. We have
therefore been very explicit in
claiming that the key attribute
that distinguishes successful from
unsuccessful groups was the
degree to which the leadership of
the groups solicits the intent to
contribute among the members
of the group.
While this is obviously true, it is
also true that teams that are
successful are ones where the
member of the team goes the
extra mile in pursuit of the objec-
tives of the team. This suggests
that over and above the leader-
ship of the team, there is some-
thing that takes place in the
dynamic of how the team ope-
rates that supports the contribu-
tion of the team members. In my
experience there are 3 critical
criteria for successful teams:
1. The team has a vision or objec-
tive that solicits the intent to
contribute.
2. Each member of the team
understands how their indi-
vidual role contributes to
orchestrating the success of the
team.
3. There is mutual respect among
members of the team.
4. The behaviour of team mem-
bers is fundamentally value
driven.
The Team Has a Benevolent
Intent
The issue of benevolent intent
challenges the core of the preva-
lent view on the purpose of enter-
prises. In my experience most
people think that the reason why
enterprises exist is to render a
profit to the owner of the enter-
prise. The implication of this
assumption for the intent of the
individual in the organisation to
contribute is not very positive.
Assume, for example, that you are
an operator in a factory that
produces the silver bullet for
AIDS, both as a prophylactic and
as a cure. This is a miracle drug.
A patient could be on his death
bed about to breathe is last,
should he take one of these pills,
he will be walking around within
hours. Further to this, if a person
should take this pill once they
will never get AIDS. However,
you and your colleagues are not
very inspired by your jobs and
you really do the minimum that is
required, and this is noticed by
management.
One day the general manager of
the plant has a brilliant insight as
to how enthuse the workforce
regarding the work done in the
factory and calls a big meeting the
cafeteria. In the course of the
meeting he basically announces
the following: "Work very hard at
making these drugs because if
you do you will make a share-
holder on the LSE very wealthy."
If you were an operator in this
factory you would probably be
very discontented at this point
and will more than likely want to
know what was in it for you.
However, should the general
manager say something like
"Work very hard at making
these drugs because if you do you
will save millions of lives around
the world" you would feel much
better about the job and be more
motivated to go the extra mile.
The difference between the first
two statements really lies in
intent. The first statement makes
one feel like you are being taken
from while the second statement
really gives one a sense of making
some sort of contribution, of
giving something.
We refer to this second intent as a
benevolent intent. A benevolent
intent indicates how the service or
product of an organisation makes
a contribution to the world.
The interests of the shareholder
are never enough of a reason to
do this. Any enterprise has a
benevolent intent which means
that every enterprise is aimed at
adding value to someone outside
the enterprise.
In the broader sense, when
groups are purely aimed at their
own preservation they generally
ossify and stagnate. Robust
groups are groups that coalesce
around a set of interests that are
bigger than the group.
Practically this means that people
find it easier to commit to a team
or an enterprise when:
1. There is a clear understanding
of who the customer of the
organisation is.
2. There is a clear understanding
of the immediate need that is
fulfilled by the team. This
means that the members of the
team know exactly what goods
and services are delivered to
the customer.
3. The team members understand
what transformation the enter-
prise is trying to effect. What
this means is that there is a
clear understanding of the dif-
ference between the before and
after state for the customer.
For example, the transforma-
tion effected by a cement
producer is the binding of
aggregate.
4. The team members understand
the benevolent intent of the
organisation. It means that the
team member can take then
next step to see the implica-
tions of the transformation that
is being effected. For example,
when cement binds aggregate
nations get built.
The Individual's Task is Related
to The Overall Intent of The
Team
The issue of benevolent intent
operates on two levels. Firstly
there is the issue of the bene-
volent intent of the organisation,
and then there is the issue of the
benevolent intent of the team.
This second issue is, in a sense, a
subset of the first. Let's review
our factory operator. If we want
to be assured that his job is mea-
ningful to him we need to tease
the following logic out of him:
Q: "Why do you run the opera-
tion according to a standard
operating procedure?"
A: "So that we produce the right
amount of product to specifi-
cation."
Q: "Why should the product be
to specification?"
A: "Well, if the drugs do not com-
ply to specification they don't
save the lives we wish to save"
What this means is that the
operator has to see the line of
sight between the task that
they do and the overall benev-
olent intent of the enterprise.
Only once this line of sight has
been established do we have a
meaningful task.
What makes it meaningful is that
the intent of the task is worthy, is
benevolent. So, effective teams are
teams where the individual in the
team not only understand the
benevolent intent of the team, but
they also see how the task that
they execute contributes to that
intent.
A subset of this issue is the issue
of measures. Measures are helpful
because they able the team mem-
ber to quantify the degree to
which they are going the extra
mile. These measures are only
helpful, however, when they
actually measure what the team
can influence. This suggests that
measures should operate on two
levels. Firstly there are measures
that are concerned with the over-
all effectiveness of the team, and
then there are measures that
reflect the key variables under the
control of individuals in the team.
There is Mutual Respect Among
Members of the Team
When people suspend their self-
interest for the requirements of
the team their demeanour is
fundamentally co-operative. If
co-operation between team mem-
bers is the hallmark of effective
tbl may-june 09 43
teams then competition between
members is its nemesis. When
people are competing they are
operating win/loose engagements
with other team members which
will eventually turn the ambiance
of the team into a conflict ridden
and hostile one. The outcome of
this is that very quickly winning
as a team member is pursued
even at the expense of the overall
success of the team.
The behaviour associated with
competition between members of
the team can best be described as
'playing the man and not the ball'.
The reason for this is that the
competitive team member
engages other team members in a
series of win/lose engagements
with the intent of winning. This
intention means that the competi-
tive team member wants to come
first, and the their member there-
fore by definition have to come
second. This person engages the
other with the intent to put the
other down, to negate the signi-
ficance of the other.
By contrast, a constructive team
member confirms the significance
of other team members. This does
not mean that they are obse-
quious. It does not imply that
they are putting themselves down
in order to affirm the other. It is
rather than they have made
their own significance irrelevant.
Rather, in every interaction with
the other team members they
grant significance to the other.
The single word that captures this
skill of granting significance to
the other is respect.
This is associated with behaviours
such as patience and listening.
The reason for this is that a
patient person is able to suspend
their own agenda in order to give
attention to the agenda of the
other.
The Behaviour of Team
Members is Value Driven
When a person is value driven in
44 www.tbl.com.pk
their behaviour they are able to
differentiate between what is
expedient and what is correct in
any given situation and they act
on the basis of what is correct.
This suggests that value driven
behaviour is a subset of the
requirement of team membership
because it is yet another attribute
of the capacity to act for reasons
that are higher than self interest.
This further implies that there is a
clear understanding of and arti-
culacy in core values among
members of the team and what
the behavioural implications of
value driven behaviour are.
The limits of the legitimacy of the
team's requirement to the team
member's subordination to the
agenda are reached when the
team's agenda comes into
conflict with core values.
The Process of Building a Team
Any team building exercise
should be conducted in the light
of the foregoing observations. A
process should be constructed in
terms of the requirements of the
team, and will therefore not
always include activities touching
all four content areas, namely:
1. The benevolent intent of the
team.
2. The benevolent intent of the
individual's contribution.
3. The respect between the
members.
4. The values of the team.
This means that there should be a
consultation with members of the
team prior to an agreement of a
process for a team building exer-
cise being reached. Over and
above this the process flow of the
team building exercise should be
as follows:
1. Definition of Criteria: The
above named criteria are really
common sense, and are easily
solicited from team members
at the start of a team building
exercise. Sometimes it is not
necessary to spend a lot of
time on clarifying criteria
because the team trusts the
facilitator sufficiently for the
facilitator to stipulate the
criteria.
2. Diagnosis: What is the current
state of the team in terms of
the foregoing criteria? This
diagnosis can be conducted
both in terms of the overall
state of the team and the con-
tribution of individuals of the
team. In seriously dysfunction-
al teams this process could
also include a prognostic exer-
cise. In other words, the ques-
tion to explore is should no
intervention be undertaken,
what would happen to the
team on the basis of the above
diagnosis?
3. Remediation: The remediation
can also be designed to cover
either what needs to be com-
mitted to by the team as a
whole, or what should be
done by individual or both. It
is very important to complete
the team building process on a
note which the participants
experience as an affirmation.
In other words, it is sub opti-
mal to finish the process on a
set of to do lists that really
confirm what team members
have been getting wrong. The
very last piece of process
should be experienced as affir-
ming rather than negating. It
should answer the questions
'why it is great to be a member
of this team' or 'why it is great
to have you as member of this
team'.
About the Writer
Etsko Schuitema is a
transformation consultant
and a managing member of
Schuitema - a consultancy
about business transfor-
mation through business
growth, based in South Africa and Pakistan.

the case for
banning csr!
by wayne visser
I
participated in a strategy session on CSR/sus-
tainability this week and was left wondering if
we CSR specialists are our own worst enemy.
Would more progress be made if we banned CSR?
Would we be better off if we never used the C-word
again? What if we substituted "CSR" with "risk
management" or "new business development"?
Let me explain what I mean. By having a CSR
function, or department, or profession or career, we
have created a neat little box for mainstream
business to put CSR-related activities into - the CSR
report, the ethics code, the supply chain audit. That
has some advantages - there is a focal point, people
to get things done - but at what cost?
The problem with boxes is that people often don't
think (or act) outside them. If environmental quality,
or human rights, or health and safety, or stakeholder
engagement is something that gets assigned to the
CSR-box, there is a very real danger that everyone
else feels they have been absolved of responsibility.
Not only that, the CSR-box mentality suggests that
social, environmental and ethical challenges can be
solved by thinkering at the edges of business, rather
than reforming the core. If the current financial crisis
teaches us anything, it is that we have to funda-
mentally change the way we do business. The
current model is broken.
But what are the chances that business will change
voluntarily? The answer is: extremely good! In fact,
it is inevitable. That is because the issues we are
dealing with - the breakdown of ecosystem services,
the erosion of morality and the disintegration of
social justice - are not marginal issues. They are
business deal-breakers.
pandora’s csr box
Put another way, the issues CSR is trying to tackle
are business risks. If fish stocks collapse, or
communities stay poor, or we have catastrophic
climate change, or corruption is endemic - these
undermine the ability for business to prosper. They
undermine the enabling conditions for business -
resource availability, political stability, and clear
rules and ethics.
So when I say there is a case for banning CSR, I
don't mean stopping CSR-related efforts, or firing
CSR professionals. I mean changing the language of
CSR and raising the CSR game - to the level of
strategic risk and opportunity. This is not about
greenwash and moral high ground. This is about
competitive survival and future markets.
Business will not (and should not) do CSR only
because it is the right thing to do. Business should
do CSR because it will go out of business if it doesn't
and it will be more successful if it does. And if it just
calls that approach "good business sense" or "risk
management" or "strategic investment", rather than
"CSR", so much the better.
About the Writer
Wayne Visser is Founder and CEO of CSR International
(www.csrinternational.org). In addition, he is Internal
Examiner at the University of Cambridge Programme for
Industry, where he previously held positions as Research
Director and External Examiner.
tbl may-june 09 45
crisis management
business continuity planning
can make us stronger
by sohail khimani
for tbl
R
ecent high-wire tensions between India and
Pakistan over recent Mumbai attacks have
reactivated the urge to treat freedom as a
blessing from God and take liberty to use it the way
it deserves. Correlation exists between freedom and
Business Continuity and though I admit that
businesses are well aware and well educated
regarding importance of Business Continuity, how
many of them actually have a Business Continuity
Plan (BCP) in place, is a whole different story. The
million dollar question still remains, how ready are
our businesses?
We all need to acknowledge the fact that both
neighboring countries have been caught up in series
of wars in the past and recently both acquired the
status of being a "nuclear nation" thus, increasing
threat levels. Logically, increase in the threat levels
should result in having a robust BCP. Unfortunately,
however, the ground reality does not reflect the
negative sentiment in the air. Although large
businesses and multinationals take BCP seriously
and local companies, especially banks and other
financial institutions, are slowly moving towards
accepting BCP as a critical part of the overall
strategic goals however, the story takes a bitter turn
when we take a birds view picture of what Business
Continuity processes are in place in Pakistan, as a
whole.
The answer is simple: "No Plan!" We are responsible
and accountable to acknowledge our freedom in the
right way and take measures which can benefit the
entire community.
We need to broaden our thoughts and accept that
we are fighting two wars - war on terrorism and war
against economic crisis. As a nation, firstly, we need
to be aligned with one objective - building Pakistan
as an economic power. Sounds simple right? It
demands honesty, devotion and commitment to get
there. We cannot achieve anything by working in
isolation nor can get out of liquidity crisis by levying
financial punishments on the public. We all need to
compete globally and gain exposure in the
international market.
On the other hand, we have problems with almost
everything: shortage of survival goods, shortage of
46 www.tbl.com.pk
electricity and sound infrastructure and more
importantly shortage of true leaders and planners
that can really work for a noble cause and give
Pakistan an eventual facelift. It is a universal fact
that, by enhancing the business productivity, all
businesses will prosper. In other words, if we live
within our means and act proactively by planning
for disruptions before hand, it will surely result in
fewer disruptions, ultimately resulting in higher
profits, greater customer and employee satisfaction.
And yes, you guessed it - the solution to how
disruptions can be reduced is having the Business
Continuity Plan in place.
Managing Risk
Business Continuity, in the simplest sense, is about
making proactive and reactive plans to ensure that
an organization, country as a holistic approach, can
continue to operate regardless of any interruption.
In the present day world, 'Business Continuity
Planning' is becoming increasingly important.
Today, we are faced with multiple internal as well as
external threats. In this fast changing, yet highly
vulnerable environment, 'emergency preparedness'
deserves attention. There is a need for making
comprehensive arrangements for BCP in the form of
instituting physical security measures so that
operational sustainability of individual institutions,
as well as of our country, is ensured.
In my view, management supported Business
Continuity programmes do involve an exploration
of organizational culture. Effective programmes will
utilize change management techniques to ensure
that the organization encourages a culture where all
employees are sufficiently aware of everyday risks
and their individual responsibility to report, manage
and mitigate risks. Once, we are effective by
properly implementing Business Continuity at
organizational levels, we can move a step further by
embedding same resilient processes across nation
and help Pakistan gain respect.
About the Writer
Sohail Khimani is a Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP)
and can be contacted at sohail.khimani@yahoo.com

"Green" Transit? Think Again
Transit skeptics who also care
about the environment must be
enjoying a nice breakfast of vindi-
cation this morning.
You worry a lot about the envi-
ronment and do everything you
can to reduce your carbon foot-
print -- the emissions of green-
house gases that drive dangerous
climate change.
So you always prefer to take the
train or the bus rather than a
plane, and avoid using a car
whenever you can, faithful to the
belief that this inflicts less harm to
the planet.
Well, there could be a nasty sur-
prise in store for you, for taking
public transport may not be as
green as you automatically think,
says a new US study.
Its authors point out an array of
factors that are often unknown to
the public.
These are hidden or displaced
emissions that ramp up the sim-
ple "tailpipe" tally, which is based
on how much carbon is spewed
out by the fossil fuels used to
make a trip.
Environmental engineers Mikhail
Chester and Arpad Horvath at the
University of California at Davis
say that when these costs are
included, a more complex and
challenging picture emerges.
In some circumstances, for
instance, it could be more eco-
friendly to drive into a city - even
in an SUV, the bete noire of green
groups - rather than take a subur-
ban train. It depends on seat occu-
pancy and the underlying carbon
cost of the mode of transport.
The pair give an example of how
the use of oil, gas or coal to gene-
rate electricity to power trains can
skew the picture.
Boston has a metro system with
high energy efficiency. The trou-
ble is, 82 percent of the energy to
drive it comes from dirty fossil
fuels.
By comparison, San Francisco's
local railway is less energy-effi-
cient than Boston's. But it turns
out to be rather greener, as only
49 percent of the electricity is
derived from fossils.
The paper points out that the
"tailpipe" quotient does not
include emissions that come from
building transport infrastructure -
railways, airport terminals, roads
and so on -- nor the emissions
that come from maintaining this
infrastructure over its operational
lifetime.
These often-unacknowledged
factors add substantially to the
global-warming burden.
Droolworthy Eco Strctures
The Dragonfly is a 128-floor
vertical farm concept that will
definitely get locavores drooling.
Conceived by Vincent Callebaut
Architectures, the building sup-
ports housing, offices, laboratories
and and twenty-eight different
agricultural fields. It completely
sustains itself using solar-power,
wind-power, and captured rain
water.
Vertical Park
Source: Arch Daily
This stackable skyscraper concept
designed by Jorge Hernandez de
la Garza is eco-Tetris for the ever-
growing Mexico City. The
Vertical Park has sky gardens,
space for both public and private
use, and it recycles all of its own
water.
on the lighter side
Caribbean Coral Reefs
'Flattened' Over The Past
40 Years
You know those underwater
pictures of pretty branched coral
rising up from reefs in the
Caribbean? Well that lovely coral
is all but gone.
Recent research suggests bran-
ched coral, which looks like
underwater trees, has been
replaced by short, rival species.
The culprit? In part, climate
change. Researchers from the
University of East Anglia poured
over 500 surveys from the past 40
years. About 200 Caribbean reefs
were included in the surveys
examined.
Researchers discovered that the
"flattening" of the reefs began in
the late 1970s when white-band
disease plagued reefs, killing 90
percent of elkhorn and staghorn
corals-some of the most spectacu-
lar of the branched bunch.
Then a decade ago, most of the
remaining branched coral was
killed by widespread bleaching.
So-called weedy coral species-
small, with short life spans-
moved in and choked out the
miniscule populations of
branched coral that had somehow
survived.
Bleaching occurs when coral expel
algae, usually because the water
temperature is too warm, which
we know is linked to climate
change.
Branched coral is now found on
fewer than 25 percent of
Caribbean reefs, a stark contrast
to the relatively healthy reefs in
the Indian Pacific, where human
habitation is sparse.
Compiled by Rutaba Ahmed
tbl may-june 09 46
musings
waste not, want not?
by praetor
for tbl
A
bout 353,000 babies are born every single day
in the world. About 146,000 people die each
day globally. So in round numbers, the world
population is growing by about 200,000 people
every day or a million every 5 days. Given that the
Planet's natural resources are limited, common
sense dictates that waste should be avoided and
all resources should be used judiciously. Is this
happening and are the developed and educated
countries leading by example? In the world of
business and commerce, is corporate social respon-
sibility effectively addressing the issues of dwind-
ling resources and a burgeoning humanity?
Capitalism regards corporate social responsibility as
a business practice, or even as a concept, illogical.
Milton Friedman as long ago as 1970 spoke for all
capitalists in the world when he stated, quite
unequivocally that "few trends could so thoroughly
undermine the very foundations of our free society
as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social
responsibility other than to make as much money
for their stockholders as possible."
The iconic capitalist society, the U.S. of A, believes
in a waste economy. The more you waste, the more
you will produce. Growth is a function of waste.
Everything in America is over-sized. Steaks, cars,
buildings, people. The U.S. ranks as the 9th most
obese nation on the third rock from the Sun. But
keep in mind that the first 7 on the list are all
sparsely populated Pacific island-states and 8th is
Kuwait. It is also the Planet's greatest user of natural
resources and the greatest polluter. Al Gore, the
born-again environmentalist, headed the U.S.
delegation to the First Earth Summit in Rio in 1992,
at the end of which U.S. did not sign the Earth
Declaration that the other over 170 participating
countries of the world did.
But this is not about the U.S. That was just random
rambling to make a point. While capitalism
apparently thrives on waste, corporate social respon-
sibility in terms of the pursuit of the triple bottom-
48 www.tbl.com.pk
line, urges you to optimize, reduce, reuse, recycle
and in general, avoid waste to ensure sustainability
of the only known planet in an endless universe to
have life as we know it.
Wasting can also mean over-extending oneself. In
the case of the biggest economy in the world, over-
extension meant system crash and 750 billion dollars
were needed for a bail-out, which is still in progress.
Praetor does not speculate on conspiracy theories
that today bombard us from multiple channels of
information. Otherwise here you would next be
reading about the conspiracy theory that holds that
the U.S. economic-financial crisis was self-engi-
neered. For whatever reasons. But no, we are not
going into that.
What is to be debated is whether the 'waste not,
want not' tagline adds value or not to the CSR
Product, as it slowly but surely progresses to
becoming a major Brand. ISO 26000 is under prepa-
ration and will be an International Standard provi-
ding guidelines for social responsibility (SR). The
guidance standard will be published in 2010 and
will be voluntary to use. It will not include require-
ments and will thus not be a certification standard.
Good packaging is a pre-requisite for a product to
become a brand. GRI is of course already there. Has
been there for some time. So Brand CSR will emerge
with some solid credentials. But ingredients alone
do not make you a major brand. The well-informed,
analytical, well-educated and even cynical customer
today, demands the Brand to demonstrate clear
benefits. CSR too must fulfill this requirement.
Perhaps even more important than this, given the
rate at which human beings are multiplying -
as stated at the start - future CSR must address all
humanity and not just the direct stakeholders. For
the simple reason that unless big business takes the
world along, its market will become smaller and
smaller as the rich-poor gap becomes wider and
wider.