Q1) If you were the CEO of GIL, what other CSR activities would you have undertaken that would have aligned well with the company’s current CSR portfolio and current line of business?
Godrej industries stand as a hallmark of successful CSR activity, leading with the baton especially in the field of sustainable development and conservation of the environment. Their involvement with initiatives involving afforestation, animal protection and conservation (through the WWF), green revolution (through their Green Business Centre construction) are but a few examples of how Godrej Industries has a set a standard for other companies to work efficiently in pursuing their CSR goals.
Tracing the nature of the company’s business and aligned CSR activities
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(Retail supply chain for fine and gourmet foods and beverages from across the world)
Overall, Godrej Industries in its operation over a century, has come to establish itself as a multi-billion dollar company (more specifically, a US$1.875 billion conglomerate) that has established international presence across the globe, in countries including 40 countries in North and South America, Asia, Europe, Australia and Africa.
Keeping in mind its leadership position that it continues to maintain particularly within the chemical and consumer product markets, the stand that GIL (Godrej Industries Ltd.) holds on the CSR initiative within India is assumedly expected to affect the trend for CSR initiatives not only among smaller companies in the same or related industries but also the CSR initiatives among SMEs that receive investments through the parent Godrej
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is something that affects all companies and should be an active factor in the company’s decision making. It is something all corporations need to care about. CSR is when business’ or corporations take part in an initiative or campaign for a cause that will benefit society and/or in some way make the world a better place (Taylor, 2015). Initially, Corporate Social Responsibility started to take shape around the 1950’s, but some say that it dates all the way back to the 1800s, the idea of CSR was seen (Carroll, 2007). One may think that because it is dated so long ago, it doesn’t have an important impact today nevertheless, it is proven that Corporate Social Responsibility is a pathway for entities to self benefit as they are in the process of benefitting society.
Rather, they claim that the majority of companies practice more of a flexible and comprehensive version of CSR that extends from “pure philanthropy to environmental sustainability to the active pursuit of shared value” (42), adding that the majority of successfully managed businesses are “less interested in totally integrating CSR with their
Secondly, Gap is investing in CSR to improve its operational efficiency. A major part of CSR is about energy reservation and environmental protection (Hollender and Visser, 2011). As a player in the apparel industry, Gap’s factories are consuming considerable gas, oil and electricity. Statistics show that in apparel industries, the wasting of these resources is quite common (Nevaer, 2010). The wasted energy and resource is not only a loss to the human kind, but would also incur unwanted operational costs for the cloth production in Gap, a practice with great harm to Gap’s operational efficiency. In this case, honoring the energy and resource
CSR is how companies control their business processes to provide an overall positive impact on society. There are many factors that determine how socially responsible a business is, but alongside these are the benefits and costs relating to the level of CSR produced in this essay, I will be analysing companies from the retail industry and a car manufacturer to discuss the potential costs and benefits to both business and their stakeholders of CSR.
According to which business houses are looked upon as trustees of the resources which they draw from the society and are expected to return them back to the society in various forms. CSR is an extremely important concept for sustainable development of all stakeholders which includes all the people on whom the business has an impact particularly the society at large. Critics argue that CSR distract the companies from the economic role and dwindles their progress report, however the importance of CSR cannot be undermined. With the amendments of the companies act,Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 contains provisions exclusively dealing with Corporate Social Responsibility. Where in the meaning of “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)” has been defined very clearly. A new provision relating to Corporate Social Responsibility has been introduces with the Act which provides that every company having specifies net worth or turnover or net profit during any financial year shall constitute the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee of it’s Board of Directors to formulate policies for the activities specified for the social and economic welfare of the people, particularly those who have remained deprived or neglected so
Although there is substantial variation in the environment and the corporate approaches that reflected in the literature, interest in the field that shows the poised to stimulates the further research and to provide both researchers and CSR practitioner some valuable direction for reflection and action.
Through globalization the gap between the rich and poor has increased, while the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. This can be one of the many reasons why companies choose to be more social responsible as CSR aims to reduce conflicts between stakeholders. Although, individuals are aware that more companies are producing social responsible goods, companies can benefit from CSR practices in different ways. When companies decide to be socially and environmentally active, not only will the society and the environment benefit from the companies ethical practices, but they can also differentiate themselves in today's competitive market.
Despite the increasingly obvious trend of CSR, conflicts around the topic are common especially in real businesses. Conducting CSR initiatives or programs requires investing corporate resources, including charitable giving, investing in green solutions, paying for better working environment and assisting community development, for returns that are usually distant and uncertain. For the decision makers within corporations, it is hard to judge because they would be at someone else’s expense to create social value. Another conflict occurs when it comes to the role of CSR in businesses’ development: whether it is harmful or helpful for the businesses’ profitability is still quite a concern, not to mention that the difficulties to get a measurable bottom line out of CSR initiatives.
In the today’s business world, there are many strategies being used to run businesses. In the recent past, the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has grown rapidly.
The major of (CSR) is establishing social, environmental and economic sustainability. Initially, (CSR) is a requirement. However, some firms extend the jurisprudence towards engagement in social activities that are going beyond the interest of the firm (Cadbury, 2006). However, the entirety of this phenomenon gets its basis on embracing responsibility for corporate actions. In addition, it issues a general affirmative impact of its external environment
The notion of Corporate Social Responsibility is a phenomenon globally known for many years. In spite of the fact that CSR has been neglected for quite a long time, nowadays several authors deal with this issue, as revealed by the development of theories in recent years concerning the topic. In spite of the fact that there has been a huge growth of literature it is still impossible to simply define CSR. Many definitions trying to capture the concept of CSR exist, but their content varies (Matten & Moon, 2008).
CSR is majorly working in a sustainable proximity of optimal utilization of resources furthermore progressing towards societal development and the protection of environment. CSR has become an indispensable part of growth for companies all over the world. It aims to incorporate a self-regulatory mechanism wherein a business monitors and ensures its assent with the spirit of law, ethics and international norms. However for many organizations today corporate social responsibility is much more than just following the above mentioned practices, they believe in growing with the people and have set standards and goals in order to realise their notions of societal development. CSR helps an organization in many ways by building good reputation in the market; encourage a positive impact on the stakeholders both internal and external and also proves to be an aid to recruitment and retention particularly with such competitive world market.
CSR has several definitions and can be comprehended differently by various stakeholders. One of the definitions mentioned by ACCA (2014) is “a company’s obligation to all of its stakeholders across all of its activities with the aim of achieving sustainable development in the economic, the social, and the environmental dimensions”.
A lot of work has been done in Western countries to identify an organization’s behaviour regarding consumer purchasing decisions. However, not many studies have been conducted in emerging markets, such as India. CSR activities should enhance a corporation's image.
“ What are the main characteristics of CSR strategies and what influence do they have on financial performance?”