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CSR and Allied issues : Some Resources

1. CSR and Covid
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/how-should-india-inc-deploy-its-csr-funds-for-covid-relief/article31163707.ece

2. Some informative articles about CSR in India

https://www.icsi.edu/media/webmodules/linksofweeks/ICSI-May_2019.pdf

3. Guidelines for CSR expenditure of CPSES

https://dpe.gov.in/sites/default/files/om_csr_niti_with_anexture.pdf

4. Introducing ESG 

 https://www.edelweissfin.com/documents/30595/0/Seeking%20Growth%20The%20ESG%20Way.pdf

https://www.responsibleminingfoundation.org/app/uploads/2019/06/RMF-Research-Insight-Corporate-ESG-disclosure-web-2.pdf

Teaching-Learning Innovations in B Schools

Neena Sinha

University School of Management Studies, GGS IP University Delhi

In this era of creativity and innovations can B School teaching be far behind? When it comes to content Internet has been a great equalizer with students having access to similar level of horizon of knowledge as that of a teacher. So the delivery has to be different .For students internet comes with entertainment and it was logical to integrate the two. So when it comes to teaching Corporate Social Responsibility  and Ethics ,’ Corporate’ the movie forms the backdrop and Mintzberg’s Five Ps are explained using the theme of ‘Guru’. How about the element of surprise and differentiation in pedagogy? Here comes the Open Book Examination where students can refer to any text book / reference material and even internet content using their laptop as long as they do not copy or consult each other. After all management students are expected to apply the concepts, theories and models in the context of a given situation, knowing these is incidental. Eventually though management is about harsh reality of competition and therefore class is divided in groups and for each activity / assignment they have to compete with each other whether it is a Business Plan Competition or pitching for an Advertising Account. Organizational skills of the students are tested by way of hosting of events such as Alumni Meet, Entrepreneurial Development workshop and Cultural Festival. Students and teachers are encouraged to express themselves and in some cases earn money by wring blogs. Teaching learning in B Schools is a reflection of the changing times.....   

Waiting for a Disaster ....

It was a scary experience! The sight of the damage created by the earthquake in Nepal, as seen through our Television Channels was a pointer to our helplessness against the natural disasters. Immediately one wonders what if such a disaster strikes the city of Delhi ?According to a report by Times of India dated 27th April 2015 (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/80-of-Delhis-buildings-wont-stand-a-quake/articleshow/47064441.cms ) , eighty percent of the Delhi buildings will not be able to withstand the tremors if a high magnitude earthquake will strike Delhi. Yet Delhi has not addresses the issue of preparedness for disaster adequately. One of the recent measure by the government is a pointer to this approach. A city that is already short of the amenities for the existing households has been given the mandate for further expansion. The Ministry of Urban Development has hiked floor area ratio (FAR) norms for residential plots in the Capital. Delhi is known for its dense population and the quality of most structures is not good, making it highly vulnerable to disaster like earthquake. As per the 2002 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) map, Delhi fall in seismic zone 4, which means that if an earthquake with intensity measuring 6 or more than 6 on Richter scale strikes the city, it will not be able to withstand the tremors and there is a possibility of a large scale destruction of property and loss of life. 

How can the government ignore the hazard that it is prone to . Look at some of these pictures ...... 

Irrespective of the Party affiliation, all leaders chose to ignore disasters. Their only concern is the Votes. They are not concerned about long term safety and sustainability of cities.It is high time we stop any further expansion.Can any party dare to say that they do not support the mushrooming of illegal colonies in Delhi because it may lead to a disaster situation. Rescue vehicles and relief Team can not move inside the streets of such clusters.Who will save them ? They are filled with illegal electrical lines. Buildings will crumble and it will be so difficult to offer any help. Increase in FAR would again mean higher density of population. We do not even know if the existing buildings were designed to be earthquake resistant or not.Retrofitting is not an expensive solution but are the builders ready for it ? As per the Delhi government data, around one lakh fire incidents have been reported since 2007 and 93 structures collapsed in 2013 alone http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-delhi-government-mulls-ways-to-check-building-mishaps-higher-water-and-electricity-rates-for-defaulters-2000981 . I do not know if it is mandatory to have the structural safety  certificate for all buildings in Delhi .It is indeed a difficult situation and unfortunately no agency or government seems willing to take tough measures for the safety and sustenance of our cities.

A research on RESEARCH

Suddenly focus in teaching profession has shifted towards research. AICTE and UGC have incorporated a model of performance management for faculty that rewards scholarly research in their area of expertise or interest. So far so good. But it is time to reflect what are we promoting in the name of academic research.In social sciences including management a new breed of professionals have come up who specialize in creating relationship even when none exists, proving universally known and accepted facts null,generating principles of management bases on perceptual survey without referring to the organizational processes and results.Statistical modelling is named as research.There are research syndicates that can offer to collect data about anything from anywhere.So there is every possibility that we end up with a new piece of wisdom that proves that pricing decision is a critical factor for commercial success of a product, after a survey of a sample of 1000 respondents spread over 200 towns of India comprising of 500 males and 500 females representing 4 age group i.e. between 18 to 28 , 28 to 38, 38 to 48 and 48 to 58 that can read and write any of the Indian languages.We can also test the hypotheses that father's age is more than that of the son by taking up another such representative sample.

I do not wish to say that research should not be encouraged. However overemphasis on a set of methods and tools is what is undesirable. Tables and graphs that researcher draws using computer packages add to the volume of knowledge no doubt but what about the depth of knowledge ? Whose concern is this? How about mounting cases of plagiarism ? Does it have anything to do with the kind of rat race that we are promoting in the name of research ? I believe we need to investigate these issues. Oh ,my God, that calls for literature review on the subject to begin with........??

Why be whistle blower....

I remember one of the Newshour Debates featuring the revelation of Justice Katju . Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju  alleged that  three ex-Chief Justices of India allowed a judge in Tamil Nadu to continue in office even after being informed of his corrupt deeds. It had among the Guest Mr. Ram Jethmalani and Mr. Soli Sorabjee who were of the opinion that Justice Katju should have followed his complain to its logical conclusion as and when he came to know of it.If no heed was paid to his complain , he should have resigned rather than allowing that Judge to continue when he knew of the adverse Intelligence Bureau reports .It is easier said than done. In this country where corruption has become a way of life, one will land up with more number of friends and associates if he or she will pursue corruption than the other way round. He acted like a whistle blower but who pays attention to such allegations !!!

It is easy to romanticize the heroic act, standing up for what is just, righteous and even legal but the path is not easy. You will be left alone,  ridiculed and victimized. Tagore in his poem said "  Jodi tor dak shune keu naa aase tobe ekla chalo re", and yes , indeed one has to walk alone. When Mr  Ashok Khemka pointed to irregularities in land deals involving businessman Robert Vadra, he received a threat call. The call, made to Mr Khemka's office was extremely obscene, vulgar and intimidating to his family members (http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/threat-call-vulgar-and-intimidating-says-senior-ias-officer-ashok-khemka-287440)  .The Haryana government , under Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda served him the chargesheet for “having caused damage to the reputation of Robert Vadra and that of DLF”, and also for "illegally" cancelling the land deal. It also started an investigation into Dr Khemka’s role as the MD of Haryana Warehousing Corporation. This is nothing but  harassment and intimidation.Not just that the state government also ordered an audit by State Auditor General in an attempt to ensure he is not able to get central government deputation as well.

Some people say with change of regime i.e. Mr. Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister things will change for better. It is too early to pass any judgement but even after Parliament passed the Whistleblowers Protection Act, the rules required to implement the law have not been framed so whistleblowers have no protection. So what do we infer from these examples ? We should remain a silent spectators to all acts of corruption, injustice, impropriety, falsehood and dishonesty ?????

CSR INTRODUCTION

Defining CSR

•         “The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce, and their families, as well as of the local community and society at large.” (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2000)

•         “Operating a business in a manner that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business”. (Business for Social Responsibility, 1998)

 What is CSR

• Maximize company’s overall impact on the society and stakeholders.

• More than a collection of discrete practices or occasional gestures, or

initiatives motivated by marketing, public relations or other business benefits.

CSR  approaches and attitudes differ largely due

•         – to social and economic systems

•         – legal and regulatory frameworks,

•         – cultural practices,

•         – local societal and public needs and expectations.

CSR

•         “A business that does not show a profit at least equal to its cost of capital is irresponsible; it wastes society’s resources. Economic profit performance is the base without which business cannot discharge any other function, cannot be a good employer, a good citizen, a good neighbour. But economic performance is not the only responsibility of a business…Every organization must assume responsibility for its impact on employees, the environment, customers, and whomever and whatever it touches. That is social

    responsibility.”

Values

—  Values are the rules by which we make decisions about right and wrong, should and shouldn't, good and bad. They also tell us which are more or less important, which is useful when we have to trade off meeting one value over another.

—  Dictionary.com defines values as:

 n : beliefs of a person or social group in which they have an emotional investment (either for or against something); "he has very conservatives values"

—  Value

—  Values are beliefs. But they are beliefs tied inextricably to emotion, not objective, cold ideas.

—   Values are a motivational construct. They refer to the desirable goals people strive to attain.

—   Values transcend specific actions and situations. They are abstract goals. The abstract nature of values distinguishes them from concepts like norms and attitudes, which usually refer to specific actions, objects, or situations.

—   Values guide the selection or evaluation of actions, policies, people, and events. That is, values serves as standards or criteria

—   Values are ordered by importance relative to one another. People’s values form an ordered system of value priorities that characterize them as individuals. This hierarchical feature of values also distinguishes them from norms and attitudes.

 PLEASE READ ABOUT VALUE SYSTEM on the link 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_system

Morals

—  Morals have a greater social element to values and tend to have a very broad acceptance. Morals are far more about good and bad than other values. We thus judge others more strongly on morals than values. A person can be described as immoral, yet there is no word for them not following values.

—  Dictionary.com defines morals as:

—  n : motivation based on ideas of right and wrong

Ethics

   

—  Dictionary.com defines ethics as:        A theory or a system of moral values

—  Ethics tend to be codified into a formal system or set of rules which are explicitly adopted by a group of people. So you have Medical Ethics, Professional Ethics of Auditors etc.

—  Value

—  A value is a view of life and judgment of what is desirable

—  It is part of a person’s personality.

—  Ex. Benign attitude to labor welfare is a value which may prompt an industrialist to do much more for workers than what the labor law stipulates. We have seen its culmination in the value system that guided JRD Tata to create the toewnship Tata Nagar for its employees with housing, hospital, parks, water, electricity  and guarantee of one job for next generation of the worker !

—  Values- individual vs organizational values

—  Values are the embodiment of what an organization stands for, and should be the basis for the behavior of its members. However, what if members of the organization do not share and have not internalized the organization's values? Obviously, a disconnect between individual and organizational values will be dysfunctional.

—  Values- stated vs operating values

—   Additionally, an organization may publish one set of values, perhaps in an effort to push forward a positive image, while the values that really guide organizational behavior are very different. When there is a disconnect between stated and operating values, it may be difficult to determine what is "acceptable." For example, two of the Army's organizational values include candor and courage. One might infer that officers are encouraged to "have the courage of their convictions" and speak their disagreements openly. In some cases, this does work; in others it does not.

Ten motivationally distinct, broad and basic values are derived from three universal requirements of the human condition:

—  needs of individuals as biological organisms,

—  requisites of coordinated social interaction, and

—  survival and welfare needs of groups.

Ten Types of Values

1. Self-Direction. Independent thought and action; choosing, creating, exploring.

2. Stimulation. Excitement, novelty, and challenge in life.

3. Hedonism. Pleasure and sensuous gratification for oneself.

4. Achievement. Personal success through demonstrating competence according to

     social standards.

5. Power. Social status and prestige, control or dominance over people and resources.

6. Security. Safety, harmony, and stability of society, of relationships, and of self.

7. Conformity. Restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses likely to upset or harm others and violate social expectations or norms.

8. Benevolence. Preserving and enhancing the welfare of those with whom one is in

  frequent personal contact (the ‘in-group’)

9. Tradition. Respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs and ideas that

traditional culture or religion provide the self

10. Universalism. Understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people and for nature.

—  A pattern of relations of conflict and
congruity among values

—  An Example

—  The pursuit of achievement values may conflict with the pursuit of benevolence values - seeking success for self is likely to obstruct actions aimed at enhancing the welfare of others who need one's help. However, the pursuit of achievement values may be compatible with the pursuit of power values - seeking personal success for oneself is likely to strengthen and to be strengthened by actions aimed at enhancing one's own social position and authority over others.

Formation of Values

—  Personal Values are imbibed from Parents, Teachers and Elders

—  As individuals grow, values are adapted and refined in the wake of new knowledge and experiences.

—  Within an organization Values are imparted by founder-enterpreneur  or a dominant CEO , and they remain in some form , even long after the person’s exit.

—  Ex. Formation of Values

What forges Tata group companies together ?

—  J.R.D. Tata

I would call it a group of individually managed companies united by two factors :

—   Part of larger group that carries name and prestige of TATAs and public recognition of  honesty and reliability- Trustworthiness

—  Another reason is  metaphysical – There is an inate loyalty , a sharing of certain belief, a pride in the fact that we are somewhat different from the other.

Jamshedji Tata   

Value and Ethics

—  Business ethics operate as a system of values relating business goals and techniques to meet specific human need.

—  A major task of leadership is to inculcate personal values and a sense of  business ethics to the organizational members.

—  At one end values and ethics shape the corporate culture and dictate ways how politics and power will be used and at the other end clarify the social responsibility in the organization

CSR Paradox !

in order to maintain a socially responsible business model, companies should act a manner that will benefit society. Conversely, in order to benefit society, companies should act in a manner that benefitted themselves.

Theories

—  Social Contract (Donaldson, 1982; Donaldson and Dunfee, 1999) – There is a tacit social contract between the firm and society; the contract bestows certain rights in exchange for certain responsibilities.

—  Stakeholder Theory (Freeman, 1984) – Argues that it is in the company’s strategic interest to respect the interests of all its stakeholders.

•          CSR (Carrol, 1979)

Firms have responsibilities to societies including economic, legal, ethical and discretionary (or philanthropic).

Philanthropy  to   CSR

—  THE 21ST CENTURY IS PROVING A BOOM TIME for philanthropy, social enterprise and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Two of the world’s richest men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, are vying to give away their fortunes. Innovation is blossoming in clean-tech and socially minded businesses. And companies are increasingly boosting efforts in CSR as consumers demand more ethically sourced goods.

—  The former Microsoft chief executive is a prime example of a corporate hero who has left the business world in order to focus on his charity work. The hope is that he can foster the efficiency of the private sector in his foundation, which focuses on global health challenges.

—  Percy Barnevik, The former chairman and chief executive of Swiss-Swedish engineering group ABB, and former chairman of drugs giant AstraZeneca, has switched his focus from commercial interests to poverty relief. To run  Hand in Hand International, which extends small loans to poor women, including women in the  Indian state of Tamil Nadu

—  Television, the internet, foreign travel and issues like the tsunami have opened our minds to the fact that there are huge numbers of people who don’t have the capacity to live like people with privileges !

CSR

—  C.K. Prahalad of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, and Jeb Brugmann, a sustainable development specialist, highlight oil giant BP’s arrangements with NGOs to distribute stoves in rural India and Dutch bank ABN AMRO’s collaboration on microfinance in Latin America with ACCION International, an NGO that is itself beginning to develop a multinational business.
They wrote in the Harvard Business Review: “CSR started as a way for companies to gather intelligence about NGOs and manage their reputations. It has wound up providing them with the tools they need to pursue business opportunities in untapped markets.”

—  These corporations have recognised the business need to focus on CSR and are increasingly formalising their activity in the area. More than 3,200 have signed up to a United Nations initiative known as the Global Compact.

—   This was launched in 2000 after then UN secretary-general Kofi Annan challenged business leaders to join an international voluntary initiative to support universal environmental and social principles. But the scheme has been criticised for having no teeth. Companies need only to sign up to ten broad principles, which many subsequently ignore.

Key Drivers: NGO Activism

—  Facilitators:  IT (esp Internet), media, low cost travel

—  Boycotts, brand damage, influence legislation, domino effect

—  e.g. Shell in Nigeria, Exxon in Cameroon, Sinopec in Sudan, Apparel Industry (Nike, Gap), GMO, Wood Products, etc.

Key Drivers: Responsible Investment

—  Roots of:  South Africa Apartheid Divestment

—  Significant size:  US SRI = 2.3 trillion $ in 2005 or 10% of all professionally managed investments

—  Shareholder activism:  shareholder resolutions; voting process

—  Influence corporate reporting and disclosure requirements

—  New rules on CSR reporting

—  Principles for Responsible Investment
www.unpri.org

—  Investor opinion survey (IFC)

Key Drivers: Litigation

—  Foreign Direct Liability

—  Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA): human rights, environmental rights

o        Unocal Burma

o        Coca-Cola Columbia

o        Rio Tinto Papau New Guinea

o        Del Monte Guatemala

o        The Gap Saipan

o        Shell Nigeria Other tools:  RICO, False Advertising

o        E.g. Saipan ‘sweatshop’ cases; Katsky v. Nike

United Nations Initiatives

—  UN Global Compact

—  UN Principles for Responsible Investment

—  UNEP Equator Principles

—  ILO  Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration)

—  UNHCHR Business and Human Rights

—  UNODC Anti-corruption

—  UNCTAD Corporate Responsibility Reporting, World Investment Report

•         Defining CSR

•         “The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce, and their families, as well as of the local community and society at large.” (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2000)

•         “Operating a business in a manner that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business”. (Business for Social Responsibility, 1998)

•         What is CSR

• Maximize company’s overall impact on the society and stakeholders.

• More than a collection of discrete practices or occasional gestures, or

initiatives motivated by marketing, public relations or other business benefits.

• approaches and attitudes differ largely due

•         – to social and economic systems

•         – legal and regulatory frameworks,

•         – cultural practices,

•         – local societal and public needs and expectations.

•            CSR

•         “A business that does not show a profit at least equal to its cost of capital is irresponsible; it wastes society’s resources. Economic profit performance is the base without which business cannot discharge any other function, cannot be a good employer, a good citizen, a good neighbour. But economic performance is not the only responsibility of a business…Every organization must assume responsibility for its impact on employees, the environment, customers, and whomever and whatever it touches. That is social

    responsibility.”

•         Peter Drucker, The Daily Drucker, (HarperBusiness, New York), 2004, p 126

•         CSR reconciles stakeholder expectations

•         1.Meet customers’ legitimate needs (Marketplace)

•         ☺ Innovate, recognizig they have choices

•         ☺ Provide products “fit for purpose”; safe to use and that do no harm to the

•         environment

•         ☺ Provide value for money; avoid rent-seeking behavior

•         2. Meet employees’ needs (Workplace)

•         ☺ Treat them with respect and dignity

•         ☺ Recognize the importance of merit and reward performance reinforcing fairness

•         ☺ Give them fulfilling jobs that build self-respect

•         ☺ Provide safe and pleasant working environments

•         ☺ Allow appropriate work-life balance

•         3. Meet society’s needs (Community)

•         ☺ Pay fair share of taxes

•         ☺ Recognize impact of “externalities” and mitigate them

•         ☺ Protect the environment and the neighborhood from degradation

•         ☺ Contribute to society

•         4. Meet shareholders’ needs

•         ☺ Make sufficient profits to cover costs of  Innovation and R&D, experiments and mistakes, product launches

•         ☺ Upgrades of plant, facilities and people

•         ☺ Capital and shareholder expectations

•         Summarizing CSR drivers:

•         What business does the company choose to

•         do? (30%)

•         • How does it go about doing that business?

•         (60%)

•         • What does it do with the money it makes?

•         – Build capacity (8%)

•         – Do philanthropy? (2%)

•         UN Global Compact and Social Capital

•         Principle1: Businesses are asked to

   support and respect the protection of

   international human rights within their

   sphere of influence; and

•         Principle 2: make sure their own

    corporations are not complicit in human

    rights abuses

•         Human Capital

•         Labour:

•         • Principle 3: Businesses are asked to uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;

•         • Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;

•         • Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and

•         • Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

•         Natural Capital

•         Environment:

•         •Principle 7: Businesses are asked to support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;

•         •Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and

•         •Principle 9: encourage the development

•         and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.”

•         Human Capital

•         •Principle 10: "Businesses should work

•         against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery."

 CSR: In a developed country:

•         •governance,

•         •Business ethics,

•         •human rights and

•         • Environment

In a developing country( India):

•         •Focus on nation building

•         •Socio-economic development

•         •Rural development

•         •Employment

•         •Education

•         •Health care

•         •Community support

•         The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum defines CSR on basis of four issues:

•         – corporate governance to include reputation, transparency, accountability, and anti corruption;

•         – safety and environment which comprises product/service safety, worker health and safety, local environment quality ;

•         – access/development that includes initiatives in education, health-HIV/AIDS, digital divide, enterprise development, and;

•         – Human Rights that in labour standards, security and

•         indigenous people.

•         CSR philosophies India

•         R Edward Freeman

 Companies respond to the needs of stakeholders – customers, employees, Stakeholder communities

•         Statist –J.L. Nehru

•         Liberal –Milton Friedman

•         Ethical-Voluntary commitment by

•         Ethical companies to public welfare- Gandhiji

•         Drivers of CSR

•         Values - a value shift has taken place within businesses where they not only feel responsibility for wealth creation but also for social and environmental goods.

•         Strategy - being more socially and environmentally responsible is important for the strategic development of a company.

•         Public Pressure - pressure groups, consumers, media, the state and other public bodies are pressing companies to become more socially responsible.

•         Corporate Benefits of CSR

•         Reducing risks and operating costs,

•         Reducing regulatory oversight by working closely with regulatory agencies to meet or exceed guidelines,

•         Increased appeal to investors and financial analysts.

•         Building a strong corporate reputation, image and clout as well as strengthen brand positioning,

•         Attracting and retaining a motivated workforce,

•         Building strong community relationships with organizations and agencies that can provide technical expertise.

•          Strategic Partnerships

                                                 

•          Partnership = new development approach favoured by the multilateral and bilateral donor community, industry, public and private sector organizations.

•          Advantages include pooling resources, building respect and understanding between potential adversaries, and transferring knowledge.

•          Tri-sector partnerships requires business, government and civil society to pull together complementary resources.

•         Stakeholder Engagement

•          Stakeholders are individuals or groups who have a vested interest in a company’s operations, who interact with a company in one or more of its activities and whose co-operation or active involvement a company needs for its ‘license to operate’.

•          Engagement methods include consultation papers, perception surveys, stakeholder workshops, public and private meetings, liaison groups and academic roundtables.

•          The overall success of the engagement process will depend to a large extent on corporate communication.

•          Government  Support

a) Mandating - define minimum standards for business performance.

b) Facilitating - provide incentives for companies to engage with the CSR agenda.

c) Partnering - act as participants, convenors or facilitators.

d) Endorsing - direct recognition of the efforts of individual enterprises through award schemes or ‘honourable mentions’ in speeches by top government officials.

•          Starbucks, USA

                                 

•         Starbucks, USA

•          Entered into partnership with Conservation International in 1998.

•          The aim was to promote the adoption of agricultural practices that are socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.

•          Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices (C.A.F.E. Practices) offer incentives to suppliers who demonstrate independently verified performance of environmental and social criteria.

•          C.A.F.E. Practices has become a model for addressing environmental and social concerns through a company's supply chain.

                                 

•         Statoil, Venezuela

•          Statoil ASA was a Norwegian petroleum company established in 1972, now part of StatoilHydro.

•          Had negative experience involving human rights issues in several countries, including Venezuela.

•         This prompted its subsequent selection of human rights as a core value of its business and the focus of its CSR program.

•         Statoil, Venezuela

•          Partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Amnesty International to train local judges on basic human rights and the legal processes in 1999.

•          Statoil made significant financial contributions for the training, but maintained a low profile by monitoring progress rather than trying to control the programme.

•          The reformed judicial system in 2001 was accompanied by new legislation with a stronger human rights focus and a new penal code.             

•          UNDP found the Venezuelan project as ‘a best-practice case’, for possible replication in other countries.

•         Conclusions

•          CSR is an increasingly important part of the business environment.

•          Companies developing and implementing their policies must take the socio-cultural context into consideration.

•          CSR needs to be integrated in core business strategies and should not be seen as an add-on.

•          CSR is not a replacement for the rightful role of democratic governments to set regulatory frameworks for the benefit of the society and their people.