In the wake of the Sichuan earthquake, some companies gave millions of yuan to help.

Was that corporate social responsibility (CSR)?

That’s up for debate.

Some say CSR is not philanthropy or charity. Others say philanthropy can be a part of CSR, but a company that takes CSR seriously incorporates socially responsible action into its day-to-day activities, rather than leaves it to be an after-profit afterthought.

Thus, CSR watchers largely have found that those donating to earthquake relief have acted responsibly, but those that went the extra mile – sending tents if part of a tent business, for example – were true agents of CSR.

Over the coming days, in our series, “Corporate’s Social Response,” we will briefly explore ways in which companies responded to this terrible earthquake tragedy, which left near 70,000 people dead according to current reports.

You might call some of these efforts true measures of CSR. Or you might just call them humane. Hopefully, these tales will ignite the corporate imagination to continue to help Sichuan recover and rebuild in unique ways. And perhaps companies will consider what kinds of responses worked best, and remember them the next time disaster strikes.

    Channel: Vital News     |