10-07-11 No 5 CSR - only for big business houses - NBI - The Himalayan Times
10-06-27 No 3 CSR in the community - NBI - The Himalayan Times
1. p
Catrin Froehlich
Kathmandu
W
e know and appreciate compa-
nies that sponsor road dividers,
clean up parks or support health
posts in their communities. They do it
as a part of their
Corporate Social
Responsibility
(CSR) and to im-
prove their brand
image, but usual-
ly do not expect
much more than
some media cov-
erage out of it.
These are great and important contri-
butions to the community, but they of-
ten leave the question of sustainabili-
ty open: can the community continue
the initiative on its own if the finan-
cial situation of the company becomes
challenging?
Can the community be supported in
ways that are mutually beneficial and
also sustainable? There are and not
just one but many. Let us look at a few
examples: A hotel owner has a huge in-
terest in keeping the environment
clean in order to secure the business.
So why not develop a long-term joint
venture with other possible concerned
parties, such as the VDC, an NGO or
youth group to develop a waste-collec-
tion system? This approach does not
only have the potential to be more sus-
tainable, since cost and benefits are
equally distributed, it also creates a
partnership and trust which can be
‘used’ to address other issues. It
creates a sense of achievement
instead of waiting for others to take
the initiative.
The same goes for health posts: spon-
soring the equipment and medicine is
only one part. Es-
tablishing a part-
nership with a
c o m m u n i t y
group to run it
and volunteers to
support the main-
tenance helps di-
vide responsibili-
ties and re-
sources. Everybody profits from im-
proved relationships and the feeling of
joint achievement.
Most importantly, CSR in the com-
munity means sharing an entrepre-
neurial spirit that enables others to
improve their living conditions. Local
employment, local sourcing (and the
trainings needed for it), providing ven-
ture capital or supporting potential en-
trepreneurs with ideas and networks
will payback sooner than later. It will
be repaid in good-will, trust, coopera-
tion, new customers, security and all
the informal benefits of improved re-
lationships. It might be an investment
but investing in promising ventures is
what business is all about.
(The author is a CSR expert
at National Business Initiative
and can be contacted at
catrin.froehlich@cimonline.de)
CSR in the community
Sharing an entrepreneurial spirit enables others
to improve their living conditions
responsiblebusiness
