What is Corporate Social Responsibility? - InnoTrain CSR

Fields of action of CSR
5.8. CSR and development cooperation
In short
Companies can be economically associated with newly industrialising and
developing countries in different ways. They obtain raw materials and products
for their value chain from there. They export into newly industrialised and
developing countries or make investments on site. In some cases, they are
using the financial power at the expense of the local population. Other
companies in turn make donations or transfer know-how and campaign for
sustainable development and the advancement of minimum standards in newly
industrialised and developing countries. Based on the mutual goals,
companies focusing on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are valuable
partners in the development cooperation.
Learning targets
� Get to know CSR within the context of developing and newly industrialising
countries
CSR learning contents
In the European Union, CSR is understood as voluntary commitment that goes
beyond legal provisions. However, numerous countries exist outside the OECD
(Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, largely represented by
western industrialised nations), which are inadequately regulated or in which existing
laws are not enforced. For example, virtually undeveloped or poorly functioning
governmental monitoring and operational systems are characteristic for many
developing and newly industrialising countries. The same CSR understanding as in
industrialised countries can rarely be adopted directly in these regions.
These days, some developing countries are also in the possession of modern labour
and environmental laws. But the normal corporate practice often shows a completely
different picture: In many industries and sectors even the majority of market
participants disregard legal minimum standards. In this challenging competitive
environment, a company may already be acting responsibly if it is not involved in any
violations of the law. Therefore, corporate activities are in some cases referred to as
CSR which are not at all going beyond legal provisions in the narrower sense.
Developing countries are particularly dependent on the western economy for several
reasons: They are competing for investments and international capital, production
The project "InnoTrain CSR" is organized by GILDE GmbH and has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the
views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 12/2010
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