ABSTRACT
CorporateSocialResponsibilityisgainingwideimportancegraduallyastheeconomyhasbecomeglobalised.Withexpansionofbusinessopportunitiesandapparent changesinclimateandincidencesofglobalwarmingtheCSRshouldbeconsideredveryimportantinshoulderingtheresponsibilitytoneutralisetheimpactofclimate changeandworkforsustainabledevelopment.CorporateSocialResponsibilityhastoplayadominantroleintheeconomicsystemofthecountrybyreinvestingthe profitswhichacorporatecreatessothatitcanimpactthesocietypositivelyandinjecttheforcestoobtainsustainabledevelopment.TheactivitiesthatcomeunderCSR shouldrespectfullybetargetedtowardsthesustainabledevelopmentandshouldconcentrateonthewaysthateffectsthepopulationandenvironmentproductivelyand positively.The human race has obtained economic development via destruction of environment.We are the species that's paying for our own destruction. Global warming,diminishinganddepletingresources,theextinctionofvariousanimalsandplantsspecies,globalpopulationincrease,frequentmigration,floodsetc.are someofthechallengesthatwearewitnessinggloballywhichshouldbeaddressedimmediately,butalongwithittheavailabilityoffood,educationandhealthforall should also be ensured. Therefore a plan of economic and technical progress along with environmental preservation is the need of time. Keeping in mind these challengesthedevelopmentalplanshouldbemoresustainableanditrequiresassociationandinvolvementofeachandeveryindividualandspeciallycompaniesas theyshouldcomeupwithaplanwhichinvolvesnotonlyeconomicprogressbutmayalsoincludesocialjusticeandenvironmentalwellbeingthroughCSR.
KEYWORDS:CorporateSocialResponsibility,SustainableDevelopment,ClimateChange,GlobalWarming.
INTRODUCTION:
Corporate Social Responsibility has been a part ofWelfare economics and has beenwidelydiscussedbyeconomistslikePigou,wherehepointedouttheimportance of ethics in business and also pointed out how a corporate sector should wiselyreinvestandcompensatethenegativeexternalitiesitoccursduringtheprocessofproductionandmakingprofits.Heclearlyoutlinesthatitistheresponsibilityoftheprofitmakingunitstocompensateandgivebacktothesocietyapart ofitsprofitinordertomaximisethewelfareofthesocietyasawhole.Theproductionofprivategoodsshouldbebundledwithprovisionofpublicgoodorto compensatethelossofnegativeexternalitiesgeneratedduringtheproductionof privategood.Thiscompensationthenlateronbeenmadeacompulsoryormandatory part of businesses with the name Corporate Social Responsibility This majorchangebringsintherealisationthatcompaniescannolongerworkonthe soletrackofprofitmaximisationandexpansionfortheirbenefitiftheywantto existforlongandhencetheyalsohavetoearnpublicgoodwillbybuildingthe trustandbondingwiththepublicatlargescale.Thiscanonlybedonewhenthe companiesundertaketheworkoncertainspecifiedtargetslikehealthcare,education,ecologicalbalance,ruraldevelopment,afforestationprojectsetc.
CSRiscriticalforbusinessesasitactsasaguidinglightforbusinessestobecome more sustainable and to take care of society Corporates have the potential to bring a positive change to the environment and the society Specially in India whereCSRisamandatorylaw,itcomesagreathopetodealwiththeproblems likepoverty,illiteracy,poorhealthcareetcwhichisstillthestigmatoIndianeconomy. Public-Private-Partnership of NGO's, corporate and Government can be quitebeneficialinachievingsustainabledevelopment.
Corporate social responsibility requires complete sense of social compliance where a responsibility of social, economic and environmental conservation is importantfrombothorganizationalandindividualpointofview Thereshouldbe anapplicationofdynamisminapplicationofresourcesfordifferentpurposesand thatkeepsonchangingwithtimefacingthechallengesofenvironment.Presently we are witnessing extreme weather events throughout globe like heatwaves, stormsanddroughtswhicharebecomingmorefrequentandintensedaybyday andposingthreattoeveryaspectofourlives.Theclimatechangeismainlythe outcome of man-made destructive developmental goals which is no more the topic to be taught or discussed in seminar or syllabus. These events are now impacting our lives causing global warming with a long term impact on planet withincreaseintemperatureasthemainagenda.Thereisapersistentriseinthe temperature as compared to the temperature of pre-industrial era. Climate changeisnotanoutcomeoffewyearsdevelopmentalstrategyratheritisashiftin average weather conditions that have gone out of balance since pre and post industrial civilizations. This climate crisis could solely be attributed to human activityandneedsurgentattention.Withexpectedriseoftemperatureby4C,millions of people may loose their homes due to rise in sea water level. Events of heatwaveswillbeanormaloccurrencethatmaycauseanirreversibledamageto plantsandanimals.
Comapnieshavetherighttousetheirsocialresponsibilityintheformofempow-
ermentofwomen,tribesandindividuals,variouseducationalandhealthprojects etc.Thecorporatesocialresponsibilityofvariouscompaniesarehelpinginenergizingthegrowthanddevelopment.Itishelpfulindeliveringbusinessandenvironmentalvaluethroughprojectswhicharebeneficialforbusinessandatlargeto theecosystem.It'spersistentlyworkingintoensuresustainablepowerdevelopment besides also making sure the minimal wastage across operations. These CSRwereactivelycontributingtowardssocialdevelopmentofthelocalcommunityandofthenationaswell.Itnotonlyhelpsinsocialdevelopmentbutitalso worksintheareaofresettlementandrehabilitationandenvironmentalproductionincludingeffectiveutilizationofwastage.
Corporate social responsibility is now an integral part of any business activity with a spirit of caring and sharing, so that the benefits of growth can also be enjoyed by the communities situated in the vicinity of the project. Their duty shouldbetoformastrongnexusbetweenthecorporateandlocalcommunitiesso that they can all grow as good neighbours and a well developed community developmentprogrammemayhelpinbringingbenefitsofpositivechangetothe localmasses.
TheroleofCSRistocovertheoverallextensivedevelopmentthroughit'skey programmes at the grass root level and also at the regional and central level. It constitutes of basic infrastructure development, education, community health andsanitation,capacitybuildingandgenderempowerment.
CSRisCorporateSocialresponsibilitythroughwhichthehugebusiness'scontributetowardssustainabledevelopmentbytakinginitiativestowardssocial,economicandenvironmentalwellbeing.
Itisexpectedfromthecorporatetogivebacktothecommunityinordertoshow howsociallyresponsibletheyare.Itwillnotonlybenefittheimageofthecompanybutwillalsohelptheminincreasingeconomicbenefitsbyattractinginvestors.
CSR
:NeedofTime–
Intheprocessofdevelopmentandprofitmaximizationthecompaniesshouldnot onlyaddeconomicalvaluetotheirbusinesslinebutalsoaddhumanandenvironmentalvalueaswell.Theconceptfurtherevolvedextensivelyandwereincorporatedbybusinesshousesconsideringeconomic,socialandenvironmentalvalue totheirprojectoutcomes.Theideaofsustainabilityincluded'People,Profitand Planet',init'sagendawhichwillworkforlongtermgoalsofbusinessorganizations. It is the need of time to realise the need of CSR to fulfil the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals.SDG'sfocuson17goalsdealingwiththeproblemslikepoverty,hunger,goodhealth,qualityeducation,genderequality,cleanwaterandsanitation,affordableandcleanenergy,decentworkandeconomicgrowth,climate action,lifebelowwateretc.Theseareprimarilytargetedtomaketheworldand workmoreinclusiveandsustainable.Wearenowfacingvariouschallengesnot only in our country but throughout the globe where the ill effects of climate change could be witnessed apparently In our country the problem is more intense in rural India where the need for sustainable development is badly
needed.Aproperandaconcreteplanningthenaturalresourcesisbadlyrequired inruralIndiasothereisaneedtopaymoreattentiontowardsmakinglifeeasy andsustainable.OurruralIndiaisfacingvariousproblemsrelatedtoagriculture and water which has further spiked farmer suicides. Rural India is mostly dependentonprimarysectorwheretheproductionisdonemainlythroughnature and its component.Therefore problems like drought, famines, crop failure etc. Havebeenfrequentlywitnessedinthispartofthecountryandthishasfurthercontributed in widening the gap between rich and poor and rural and urban India. Thisisnotonlyeffectingtheproductionbutalsofurthercontributingtoforced migrationleadingtooverburdeningonavailableresourcesinurbanIndia.There is a huge need for CSR to concentrate on SDG's as it deals with various programmesthatcaneradicatehungerandpoverty,promoteeducation,promote genderequalityandempoweringwomen,reducingchildmortalityandimproving maternal health, combating human immunodeficiency virus, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, employment enhancing vocational skills, social business projects, contribution to the Prime Minister's relieffundoranyothergovernmentfundsetupforsocio-economicdevelopment and relief and working on various rural developmental projects.As we can see thatalltheseprogrammesaredirectlyrelatedtoSustainableDevelopmentGoals andtheyhelpincreatingdecentlivelihoodthroughvocationaleducationetc.
PresentlyCSRhasahugeresponsibilitytoaddressthese17SDG'sandtochoose one among them as a priority Although there has been times where disjointed effortshasbeentakentofocusonactivitiesthatgivesshorttermresults,likeeradicating poverty has been constitutes to distribution of money through various schemeswhileeradicationofhungeralsohasbeendealtbydistributionoffood thathasledtosolvetheprobleminshortrunbutforaddressingtheseproblems permanentlythereisaneedtoaddresstheseSDG'sinsystematicwaytocreate longtermimpact.FordealingwiththeseproblemsifSDG-8i.edecentworkand economicgrowthisdealtproperlythenvariouschallengesfacedbythedevelopingworldmaybeaddressedsimultaneously Whichmeansthatifwefocusonprovidingadecentworkandboosttheeconomicgrowththentheproblemslikepoverty,hunger,education,health,genderquality,equalityetc.willallbedealtwith. Thereforeitmeanseconomicempowermentisthekeytoobtainsustainablecommunity,peaceandjusticeonthisearthinlongrun.Ifeverybodyhastheaccessto goodfood,educationandhealthetc.therewon'tbeanyeconomictussle.
The principle to achieve socio-economic development should be based on parameters like empowerment, education and entrepreneurship. If the beneficiaryisprovidedwithfoodtosatiatethehungerandmoneyisprovidedtodeal withtheproblemofpovertyitdoesn'tgodeepintheroot.Itjustservestheshort termneedbuttheideashouldbetocreatethemicropreneursthatmayearntheir own bread and can survive on their own. There should be democratization of wealthwhereinsteadofconcentrationofwealthinfewhandsitshouldbedistributed among many The value proposition differs from one community to the other This value proposition must equally benefit people, planet and progress becauseitsnotonlyeconomicprogressorprofitmaximizationthat'simportant for survival but also people and planet that constitutes the SDG 13, 14 and 15 comes into consideration. Therefore empowerment , education and entrepreneursshouldbecombinedtocreateavaluepropositionthatshouldequallybenefit people, planet and progress in order to obtain sustainable socio-economic development.
Every community have different stages of development and their requirement keeps on changing.We should concentrate on making these changes more and moresystematicwhereweshouldfocusonruralsustainabilityanddevelopment first which can only be done by ensuring water and electricity in rural areas is ordertogeneratelivelihoodopportunitiessothattheproblemofmigrationdueto poorincomemaybestoppedorreversed.Hencethefarmersshouldbeempoweredatthefirstlevelofdevelopment.Agriculturewhichisthemainsourceoflivelihoodinruralareasrevolvesaroundtheproblemofavailabilityofwaterandelectricityallthroughoutthepreandpostharvestingoperations.Bythistheproduction of food can be made more and more sustainable as the major problem of watershortageleadingtofarmsuicidescouldbedealtveryeasily Thereshould be more global and local partnership involvement for making it a success.The global-local partnership with the villagers is the key to unite technology with resources leading to sustainability Most of the solutions coming out of the techno-socialbondingwillleadtogreatresultstowardssustainabilityandit'sa cyclethatshouldkeepongoingwithvarioustypesofinterventionneededatdifferentlevels.Economicdevelopmentcouldbemademoresustainablebydeveloping interventions locally.When the techno-social partnership occurs there is anefficientutilizationofenergy,waterandotherresourcesthathelpinmultiplyingemploymentopportunitiesanddevelopentrepreneurship.Italsofocuseson skilldevelopmentwhichalsoempowersthewomenandyouthandallthesefurtherhelpsinenablingthetechnologies.Henceitimprovestheaccesstoresources ,betterlivelihoodopportunitieswhichfinallycausestheeconomicdevelopment. Whateveristheneedofthatparticularlocalcommunityshouldbeprioritizedand thenthedevelopmentshouldbedoneeventuallywhichwillsystematicallycatalyze the growth of ecosystem for development and improve the quality of life througheconomicgrowth.
CSRfundshelpinachievingsustainabledevelopmentbyfundingthelongterm employment projects in the locality that will help in creation of livelihood and microentrepreneurshipopportunities.Thiswillengagetheyouthstothesemicro
projectsthroughskillgenerationandwhichwillfurtherpreventmigration.CSR alsoinvestsinprojectspromotingwomenempowerment.Theseeconomicbenefitswillfurtherbechannelizedinimprovinghealthcare,education,agriculture and finally the climate of the region. There should be long term commitment wherethefundsareutilizedtocreatelongtermimpact.Thegenerationoflivelihood, micro entrepreneurship, skill enhancement, women and youth involvementandempowermentwillcreatethelongtermimpactintheareaconcerned. The CSR should work in providing persistent training for developing and promotingtheselocaloperationsandshouldbeprovidedbytrainingandtechnical support from the company.The transparency should be maintained in carrying outtheseCSRactivities.
The local communities should also be made aware of the feasibility of the programmes to be carried out in collaboration so that their priorities and resources should be in accordance to these programmes. Projects of irrigation andsustainableenergyoutletsetc,inruralareaswillnotonlyenhancetheproduction but will also impact the environment positively at the same time. It shouldbeatwowaylearninganddevelopingprojectsbothforthecompanyand the villagers as well. Needs and community engagements should be the key to developmenttheareaandaddressthechallengeofsustainabilitythroughCSR. Sustainabilityistheideawhichisveryvibrantandinordertomakeitsuccessful ithastobepracticedbyeveryone. Itshouldnotbeleftasatasktobeperformed bythecorporateortheagendaofgovernmentalschemes,ratheritshouldbeapart ofeveryone'slifeasitisextremelyimportantforhumansurvival.Thisneedscommitmentandunderstandingforeveryindividualtoidentifyandlearnthedifferencebetweenneedandgreed.TheCSRworksasachainbetweenthelocalsand thesustainableprojectswherethesecompaniesdothejobofhiringandtraining thelocalswhichwillgraduallybecometheoperatorsandwilllateronbecomethe changemakersinthesocietythatcanaddvaluetothelocalitywhichwillbenot only economical but sustainable too. This operation is totally a learning by doingprocesswhereonelearnswhata,whenandwhyisthatparticularintervention important for that locality and it end up with developing various tools and models which are appropriate for that locality and the projects the becomes desiredbythecommunity Thiswilldefinitelyadduptothevaluebotheconomicallyandenvironmentally TheseCSRwillhelpinconvertingthewastelandinto an active land to generate livelihood on which the whole community could be fed.Theeconomiesofscaleincreasesanditshouldbemadesurethatwhateveris producedmayfetchenoughmarketandheplthemdevelopwiththeiravailable local resources. This will help in developing the smart microeconomic zone which will not only boost the economy economically but will also address the environmentalissuesofthelocality
CONCLUSION:
CSRistofocusoncreatingvaluewhileusingresourcesattheirbestbykeepingin mind environmental management, mostly by implying better environment friendly techniques and human capital management. The problem of climate change is getting complex day by day therefore an intelligent plan of developmentistheonlykeywheretheuseofnaturalresourcesshouldbebalancesand modifiedkeepinginmindthepresentchallenges.Foregthepresentglobalcallof divorcefromfossilfuelisdefinitelyamajorchangeinthestrategyofproduction which every industry should incorporate throughout the globe. It's definitely goingtobealitmustestforthecorporatesectoracrossglobetofulfilthisobligation towards the planet. It will not only involve the business and production approachbutitalsorequirestheintensivephilanthropicattributethatacorporate should have towards the society that will certainly enhance ethically oriented practicewhichwillbuildandconserveahealthyglobewhichisaprerequisitefor humansurvival.Thereisgrowingneedforcompaniestoenforcetheirroleinpractisingsocialresponsibilityandfulfillingtheirlongtermgoalforgivingbackto thesociety
Theanalysisofvariousbusinessenterprisespointsoutthatthebigbusinesseshas solely concentrated in making profits compromising the question of sustainability Despiteofthevarioustoolstocheckthefeasibilityoftheproject like'EnvironmentalimpactAssessment'and'CostBenefitAnalysis'whichhas beenmadeessentialtoobtainanapprovalfortheprojectwefindthatthereare loopholesthatmakethesetoolsappearlesssensitivetowardstheenvironmental sustainability TheCSRwhichcouldbeusedasabalancingtoolbythebigcorporatearenotutilisedfeasibly Thereshouldbepropercoordinationbetweenlocal and corporate bodies in prioritising and identifying the areas that needed more attentionandrequiresspecialemphasistomaintainthesustainability.Itisquite evidentthatintheprocessofdevelopmentthereisapercentageofcomfortand environmental concern which will be compromised but the fact is that the resourcescouldbemadetoutilizedmoreeffectivelyandefficientlyinanoptimal mannerwherethelosstotheenvironmentcouldbeminimizedinordertomaximizetheeconomicoutcome.Thislosscouldbefurtherneutralizedbytheefforts takenbythecorporateinthenameof'CorporateSocialResponsibility'wherethe damage done if could not be reversed then atleast they could be minimised or compensatedinthebestpossibleway Inpresenttimesitisamatterofhumansurvivalandexistencethatismoreinquestionthereforethecompaniesshouldnot onlyfocusontheeconomyofGDPandprofitsbutonsustainabilityofeconomy andhumanexistence.Attheendit'sthehumanwhoisinthecentreofproduction, hencetheproductionisdonebythehumanandforthehuman.Thereforehuman existenceisreallyimportantforensuringtheexistenceofprofitsandmarkets.
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