|
The book “Small but Meaningful: CSR in Practice” advocates the need for corporate engagement with community, a critical mechanism to complement the efforts of government in community development. The book argues that theories of CSR in different stages of evolution were shaped by the social philosophy rather than the economic philosophy of the time. Business corporations as some of the most powerful actors in the World have the potential to affect the life of community living in their periphery and beyond. Hence the book argues that responsibility of corporates needs to be socially inclined with the potential to impact a larger section of society. The driving point in the book is that institutions and regulations have to play a role in shaping the corporate behaviour.
The book discusses the events in the economic, social and political history of the World to give an understanding of the rise and evolution of the concept. The book uses landmark events in business history to show a linkage between early form of CSR and contemporary CSR. Through this book, authors highlight the relevance of responsible corporate behaviour to deal with issues of social importance.
The CSR initiatives executed by the 11 corporates in Gujarat have been analysed using a qualitative framework. Sectors encompassing agriculture based livelihood, education, environment protection and health services are taken for analysis. The analysis has been made using the information provided by 11 corporates about their CSR activities in a specific locality.
The book will be a useful reading for corporates, intending to create some impact through their social behaviour, i.e., Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The Gujarat Industrial Policy, 2009 advocates the need to synergize social development activities of corporates with Government initiatives to ensure better reach, impact, visibility, sustainability and outcome. The cornerstone of the policy is promotion of community development activities in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode to ensure corporate involvement in development programmes. Further, the policy provides for identification of specific sectors, which may be chosen as a priority sector for facilitating social development in the state. The Industrial Policy apart from addressing a wide range of areas for intervention gives adequate thrust to ensure holistic development in the state. In this context, the Government of Gujarat in addition to facilitating PPP projects, intends to make the corporate entities as partners in several holistic development activities, thereby promoting “Creation of Wealth with Social Health” in the state.
– adapted from Chapter 4 Interventions Proposed Under the New Industrial Policy
|