Yesterday we had the rare privilege of interviewing, the "Queen" of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) in Nigeria and this provided clarity on why businesses need to act responsibly. We are pleased to announce that we have a guest contributor, Oluwadamilola Famakinwa, an entrepreneur with a passion for CSR (please see full profile below), who would be enlightening us on being responsible in business. Enjoy
Businesses do not function in a
vacuum, they exist and function within an environment that is linked to
communities and societies. The structures they occupy are built on land gotten
from the society, the people they employ are from the society, the goods and
services they offer are at different costs to the people in the society and in
fact the pollution that occurs through their functioning affects the
environment and wider society. So no matter where a business lays its head, it
is closely linked and in fact dependent on the environment and society at
large.
So, with the wider society not
keeping its voice quiet and always being quick to lend its voice against any
unfairness or ills done to it, businesses need to tread carefully and avoid
stepping on toes. Businesses may say “but most of what we get from the society
we are paying for them” but the society, like Oliver Twist, will say: “Oh! You
don’t say, what about the pollution you create, shall I begin to name, air,
noise, crowd, etc”. In order not to get into this back and forth with
justifications and arguments, businesses in their own best interest should
within their inner caucus set-up a structure that addresses its relationship
and behavior with all its stakeholders within the wider society. The worst
thing businesses can do, is to create a good impression of responsible behavior
on the outside but the inside is neglected or overlooked, forgetting that the
people on the inside are also part of the outside.
Internal Stakeholders
are Employees, Board of Directors and Shareholders. External Stakeholders are Suppliers, Customers/Clients,
Competitors, Communities, Regulatory bodies and government.
The whole concept of CSR, Corporate Social
Responsibility seeks to address this idea of setting up a structure to guide
the businesses relationships and behaviour with all its stakeholders. However,
this term CSR has been misunderstood. The first thing that pops in the mind of
anyone who hears CSR is build schools, paint schools, provide pipe-borne water
to communities in need but CSR is much more than this. CSR is not just an
external concept but first of all an internal concept.
Let’s use Wikipedia’s definition
of CSR,
“CSR
is a process with the aim to embrace responsibility for the company's actions
and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment,
consumers, employees, communities, competitors, shareholders and all other
members of the public sphere who may also be considered stakeholders”.
From this definition, it’s important to observe
that CSR is a process i.e. it is always ongoing. Then it speaks of
responsibility towards both internal and external stakeholders. So any business
considering CSR, must integrate it to affect all the internal and external
stakeholders.
Now that the definition has begun to set our
thoughts on a clear line of what CSR really is, the next question is “Is CSR
just about drafting a policy to guide responsible behavior to all stakeholders”?
We will find out in the second part of this article.
...to
be continued
Oluwadamilola Famakinwa is an Entrepreneur who strongly believes in Cross-sector partnerships i.e partnerships across the private, public and third sector towards solving social issues. He is passionate about the Education in the Public Sector and its impact on the wider community. He is in an intimate love relationship with Jesus and that is his main secret to everything in his Life.
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