Contemporary Drivers for CSR

Business leaders identify the following major drivers which have compelled them to
integrate CSR as a business strategy:

·      Meeting Changing Expectations of
Stakeholders:
Various stakeholders are increasingly looking to the private sector to help
them with myriad complex and pressing social and economic issues.

·      Shrinking Role of Government: In many countries, national and
local governments have taken a more hands-off approach to regulating business,
due to the globalization of commerce and shrinking resources.

·      Increased Customer Interest: The growing interest in CSR comes
from both business to business customers and consumers. In the former, there is
a significant move by many companies, government universities and other
institutions to align their purchasing decisions with social criteria,
particularly those related to companies environmental and human rights performance.

·      More Competitive Labour Markets: In a tight labour market, many
workers especially professional, technical or highly skilled employees are
looking beyond pay checks and benefits to seek employers whose philosophies and
operating practices align with their own beliefs.

·      Increasing Supply Chain
Responsibility: As
stakeholders take a growing interest in companies corporate social
responsibility, many companies are finding that they are responsible not only
for their own CSR performance, but for that of the companies upstream and
downstream that is, a company’s suppliers as well as its customers. The result
is that some companies are imposing codes of conduct on both their suppliers
and customers to ensure that other company policies or practices do not reflect
unfavorably on them.

·      Growing Investor Pressure: The growth of socially responsible
investing has accelerated in recent years, with investor groups increasingly
pressurizing companies on social issues. Many if these investors are using the
shareholder resolution process to pressurize companies to change policies and
increase disclosure on a wide range of CSR issues, including environmental
responsibility, workplace policies, community involvement, human rights practices,
ethical decision making and corporate governance.

·      Demands for Increased Disclosure: Customers, investors, regulators,
community groups, environmental activists, trading partners and others are
asking companies for more and more detailed information about their social
performance

New and Emerging Issues: Recent years have seen a growth in
the breadth of topics considered under the “corporate social responsibility”
umbrella. Included among these is corporate governance issues, such as how
boards of directors are directors are chosen and compensated.