Corporate Social

Responsibility
Important Websites
 www.bsr.org Business Social
Responsibility
 www.wbcsd.org World Business Council
for Sustainable Development
 www.worldbank.org The World Bank
 www.undp.org United Nations
Development Programme
 Power of Corporations
Corporations have far more power than the nation-
states across whose borders they operate.  

The combined revenues of just The combined sales of

General Motors and Ford -- the Mitsubishi, Mitsui,
two largest automobile ITOCHU, Sumitomo,
corporations in the world -- Marubeni, and Nissho
exceed the combined Gross Iwai. are nearly
Domestic Product (GDP) for all equivalent to the
of sub-Saharan Africa combined GDP of all of
South America

The United Nations has justly described these corporations

as “the productive core of the globalizing world economy.”
•What is a Corporate?

•What is the role of corporates in a

globalized economy?

• To whom are corporates/ businesses

responsible???
 Globalization
 Globalization is a process of
Interaction and
integration among the
people, companies, and
governments of different
nations
A process driven by
international trade
and investment and
aided by information
technology

It impacts environment, culture, political systems,

economic development and prosperity, and human
physical well-being in societies around the world.
What is the impact
of Globalization?
Impact of Globalization
Increase in global awareness
about various
economic, legal, political,
technical and
cultural aspects

New job creation

Globalization of Information
and
Communication system :
Global village
Globalization of science
leads to the fusion of
scientific data and
rules to
form a uniform
network of database
 Self-employment increased in all
developing regions except East and
South-east Asia
Figure 15: Non-agricultural self-employment, 1980-89 and 1990-2000
(in per cent of total non-agricultural employment)

48
50
1980/1989 44 44
1990/2000
40

32 32
29
30
26 26

20

13
12

10

0
World Developed Regions Africa Latin America Asia
Source: ILO, Women and men in the informal economy , 2002.
What are the current
trends in
Globalization?
 Current Trends in Globalization
IMBALANCE
•North-South imbalance - unfair rules in Trade and FDI
 Trade: Despite liberalization, expansion did not occur uniformly
 Barriers to market entry for certain products of poor countries
 FDI highly concentrated in about 10 developing countries despite
efforts by many to attract FDI

Capital & goods move more freely than labour & knowledge
Disparities in enterprise competitiveness and labour markets

More than 2 billion people – particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, the

Middle East, and the former Soviet Union – live in countries that are
being left behind.
 China, India,
Bangladesh,
Philippines, Brazil,
Costa Rica, Thailand,

Source: World Bank 2006

Is this growth affecting
business and in what
way?
 Impact on the Global Markets

More choice but can result in

 Unhealthy lifestyles – lack of activity, risky sexual
behaviour, breakdown in traditional values
 Promotion of processed tobacco, alcohol and
processed food with high salt sugar and fat content
 Unrealised expectations – resulting in depression
 Increased
tourism brings risks to health of tourists and
communities
Impact on Global Health
 Health conditions affecting people across
boundaries, culture & generations
 Infectious diseases: HIV/AIDS, TB, Influenza,
SARS,
 Lifestyle diseases and conditions: obesity, lung
cancer, heart disease, STDs, Type 2 Diabetes
 Threats to global stability and economy: HIV/AIDS,
SARS. The vectors of these diseases may be–
travel or work place
Impact of Globalization:
Environment
 Threats to the Globe
 Global warming
 Agricultural development and food security
 Water stress and water insecurity

 Rising sea levels and exposure to climate

disasters
 Environmental pollution
 Loss of bio diversity
Impact of Globalization on
Women
 Gender imbalance
 Trade liberalization has wiped out
livelihood sources of women producers
 Migrants particularly women driven to
illegal economy( trafficking) leaving them
vulnerable to exploitation.
 Impact of Globalization (Wider
Effects)
 Global revolution has impacted culture &
identity---- Values, norms
 Illicit cross border activities-increased tax
evasion, rise in multinational crime syndicates–
money laundering
 Trafficking of human beings
 Rural & Informal economies remain on the
margins resulting in persistent poverty
 Loss of jobs due to industrial restructuring
 Migration leading to “brain-drain”
World increasingly shaped by
Sustainable Development issues

 A carbon constrained world

 A water constrained world
 Issues of sustainable production
 Poverty
CORRECTING THE
IMBALANCE

• How to build a fair globalization to reduce

poverty and inequality
Millennium Development Goals
 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
 Achieve universal primary education
 Promote gender equality and empower
women
 Reduce child mortality
 Improve maternal health
 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other
diseases
 Ensure environmental sustainability
 Develop a global partnership for
development
Adverse Effects of Globalization Can be Controlled

Human Rights
Principles of
social equity
democracy

Smart
Partnerships
Respect the Law
between State
and
Businesses
Human Development Index
 Composite measure of three dimensions of human
development:
 a) Life Expectancy
 B) Being educated (measured by adult literacy and
enrolment at the primary, secondary and tertiary level)
 C) Having a decent standard of living (measured by
purchasing power parity

 India ranks 128th out of 177 countries ( Bottom 50)

 Brazil-70/177 Iceland-1
Ireland-5
 China- 81/177 Norway-2
 Pakistan – 136/177
 Bangladesh-140/177 Australia-3
Canada-4
Comparisons
 El Salvador, which saw a civil war for over a decade
from the 1980s, ranks 25 places ahead of us at 103.

 Bolivia, often called South America’s poorest nation,

is 11 steps above us at 117.

 Guatemala, nearly half of whose citizens are poor

indigenous people, saw the longest civil war in
Central America. Guatemala ranks 10 places above
us at 118.
 In Africa, Botswana — ranked below us in the 2006 HDI at
131 — climbed four places above us at 124 this time.

 In Asia, countries like Vietnam — victim of the conflicts

since World War II — rose further in the charts, to rank 105
this year.

 Sri Lanka, is way ahead of us at 99. So are nations like

Kazakhstan and Mongolia. They too have risen in the
ranks. The former from 79 to 73 and the latter from 116 to
114.
Disparity
 India rose in the dollar billionaire rankings. From rank 8 in
2006 to number 4 in the Forbes list this year.

 The TOI reports, Mukesh Ambani alone “increased his wealth

by roughly Rs.40 lakh every single minute.”

 It is doubtful if the wages of agricultural labourers went up by

just Rs.40 (just 40, not lakhs) in years, let alone by the minute.

 We rank fourth in super-rich and 128th in human development

!!!!!
What is the role of
business in
Sustainable
development?
 Need for Intervention of Business for
Sustainable Development
 If business has to be developed, the society
needs to be developed, business sector cannot
flourish in any country, if the environment
required by business is not conducive.

 Increasing social issues impacts the entire

society in general and business in particular
because to a large extent business is dependent
on the society for its growth and prosperity.
Need for Intervention of Business for
Sustainable Development
 The most fundamental impact on society is from
technological and social change.

 Creation of new cultural and social attitudes

 New set of relationships between the business firm and

the surrounding society.

 Stakeholders, who have long remained dormant, have

stirred awake and are now proving themselves as major
forces to be reckoned with.
 
Need for Intervention of Business for
Sustainable Development
 Challenges in the 21st Century cannot be tackled by
yesterday’s rule of governance.
 There is a need to develop new ways of thinking
and new approaches to governance at every level
of society.
 It is an accepted fact, that, there are crucial linkages
between economic growth, human development,
social cohesion and environmental sustainability.