What's shaping CSR in Asia

Further to my comments on what is driving CSR in Asia, types of CSR activities preferred by companies in Asia, and key challenges for CSR in Asia, here are some of the recent developments in Asia that will potentially influence the course of CSR in Asia:

• Voluntary sustainability reporting guidelines by the Singapore Stock Exchange
• Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
• Voluntary CSR guidelines by the ministry of corporate affairs in India (comprehensive, core elements include care for stakeholders, ethical functioning, workers rights, human rights, environment and social development; includes need for policy, strategy, clear goals, measurement and reporting)
• India pushing for legislation to impose CSR Tax on companies
• Philanthropy in China: Tycoons pledging their wealth for charitable causes
• Asian businesses making headlines for the wrong reasons:
  Foxconn, the Apple Computers supplier in China for working conditions and workers suicides, a bunch of palm oil companies for environmental destruction and human rights issues, Vedanta Resources, a mining company, for controversial mining projects in the state of Orissa in India.

Key challenges for CSR in Asia

In the last couple of days, I have shared some points on "What is driving CSR in Asia" and "Types of favourite CSR activities in Asia" on this blog. These are the points that I made during my speech including a the panel discussion at the International Singapore Compact CSR Conference 2010 held in Singapore on 6-7 October.

As promised, today I am sharing a few thoughts on the real and potential challenges that face corporate responsibility in Asia. Here they are:

Key challenges

• Absence of strong and mature stakeholders means companies are under no pressure or scrutiny to do the right thing.
• In fact, green-washing is going to be one of the biggest problems in the coming months as more and more companies start writing annual sustainability reports to meet government guidelines.
• In the absence of a robust stakeholder community, green-washers will more likely have a free run.
• Green-washing is also going to be a big problem for those companies which are genuinely doing good work. Their work will be undermined by the Green-washers.
• Capability is going to be a major challenge. Companies will need to hire competent sustainability experts if they are to drive a genuine sustainability programme. And such talent is in short supply.

Lack of pressure from activists is actually an opportunity for businesses here. They can formulate a well thought out sustainability plan.
Most western companies did not have the luxury of planning out a well rounded sustainability programme. For most of them, it was a knee jerk reaction. When they were hit by a crisis, they reacted by taking one small step necessary to address the crisis. So every new criticism brought a new action. Only now some of them have started to take a more holistic approach toward sustainability.

Tomorrow, will be writing about the recent developments in Asia that will potentially influence of course of CSR in the region.

Types of CSR initiatives in Asia

Further to my blog post "CSR drivers in Asia" yesterday, here are what I find three broad categories of CSR activities in being pursued by companies in Asia:

• Compliance driven initiatives, mostly in the global supply chain
• PR-led initiatives, glossy reports and tall claims but no real work on the ground, mostly philanthropy
• PR-led initiatives, some initiatives on non-threatening issues such as environment but total silence on the core issues that are really material to their business
• Companies genuinely trying to embrace sustainability or corporate responsibility; this group is in minority

Your views or suggestions to improve/expand this list are welcome! Please leave your comment.

Tomorrow, will be talking about the key challenges facing corporate responsibility in Asia.

CSR drivers in Asia

Recently, I was asked to share my views in a panel discussion on "What is driving CSR in Asia" at the International Singapore Compact CSR Summit held at the Resorts World Sentosa Convention Centre on 6-7 Oct. Here are some of the points I made:

Key drivers:
Compliance was the first key driver in Asia when multinational retailers introduced social responsibility code of conduct for their suppliers. And compliance still remains a major driver.

Much of CSR in Asia is still limited to philanthropy. Last month, India’s leading industry federation Assocham published a report on CSR by Indian companies. The report said the companies’ primary focus is on community welfare.

PR is becoming an important driver. So you can expect to see more and more companies releasing glossy annual CSR reports, largely assembled by their spin doctors, low on substance and high on rhetoric and tall claims.

Reputational risk is becoming a driver in some of the sectors such as the palm oil industry.

More recently, governments have started driving sustainability. Sustainability reporting guidelines by the Singapore Stock exchange, CSR guidelines by the ministry of corporate affairs in India, and CSR reporting guidelines by Bursa Malaysia are some of the examples.

In Singapore, the Green Mark Scheme is another example where it is mandatory for property developers to achieve at least the Green Mark for all new developments.

Singapore has recently approved a national competency framework for sustainable fashion value chain which I help developed. The initiative is aimed at developing sustainable fashion and retail industry in Singapore. And Singapore will be organizing the first international sustainable fashion conference on the 24th of November this year. The sustainable fashion framework will be launched in that conference.

If you have other thoughts, will be happy to know. Please comment.

Tomorrow I will share the three broad types of of CSR initiatives in Asia, and the key challenges ahead. So, please return to this blog tomorrow!