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CSR still a vital component of business growth: Experts
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) remains crucial for sustainable and strategic development of businesses despite the global economic recession, a seminar in HCMC heard Friday.
The first CSR Vietnam 2009 seminar, jointly held by the Office of Sustainable Business Development under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), the Vietnam Marketing Institute (VMI) and Masso Group attracted more than 100 businessmen including CEOs and public relations executives.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development defines CSR as the continuing commitment by businesses to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life for their workforce and their families as well as the community at large.
CSR is really a work in progress, said Felipe Alfonso, executive director of RVR Center for CSR under the Asian Institute of Management (AIM).
“Along with making profit, a business’s final target, the globalization of world’s business context since the nineties has directly affected the relationship between a business and its community,” Alfonso said.
This has also created new requirements for CSR, he said, adding that a business’s role in the community must follow social changes in various fields including education, poverty and environment.
Businesses now cannot pass the CSR buck to the government as their role is being elevated, he said.
According to a recent World Business Council for Sustainable Development survey, there is a changing set of expectations about how companies are being held accountable.
CSR has increased businesses’ reputations and given them a real competitive advantage, the study found.
According to the AIM’s RVR Center for CSR, the benefits of a strategic CSR strategy include an improvement in financial performance, reduction in operating costs and increased customer loyalty.
A win-win deal
Nguyen Quang Vinh, deputy director of the office of business sustainable development under VCCI said business development and CSR are two inseparable issues.
He said the VCCI’s current CSR activities to support Vietnamese firms include the Vietnam Business Linking Initiative, the Work Safety project for small and medium enterprises and the enhancement of businesses’ role in the fight against corruption.
Ho Thi Thu Uyen, corporate and public relations manager of Intel Products Vietnam, said the triangle of cooperation between the business, government and nongovernmental organizations is quite important in formulating an effective CSR strategy.
“A good CSR policy would bring many win-win deals to a company,” she said.
She said CSR is not a brand polish but a global sustainable development policy for Intel despite the current economic turmoil.
Nguyen Lam Vien, CEO of Vinamit said CSR comes from the businessmen’s heart that wants to share responsibilities with community.
Vinh said VCCI plans various CSR activities this year including a CSR week, CSR training courses for companies’ and the launching of a CSR website.
Alfonso said the company’s size is not a matter of concern because the integration of CSR into a business development strategy mainly depends on the matching the business’ skills and the community’s need in a specific sector.
Vinh Bao
thanhnien
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