The concept and practice of CSR is evolving and ways to ensure international best practices are constantly being explored. The need to employ CSR to ensure sustainability is apparent and urgent everywhere in the world but perhaps nowhere more so than in Africa.
In light of this, the Etisalat CSR centre at the Lagos Business School recently organized an international conference on corporate social responsibility and its contributions towards sustainable development and organizational competitiveness in Nigeria.
''The centre is a unique initiative that gives people the opportunity to compare and contrast the development in CSR, and puts forward a framework for CSR to flourish. The question we are here to answer is whether organizations can use CSR to differentiate themselves,'' CEO Etisalat Nigeria, Steven Evans said in an opening remark. According to him, it is about how a business conducts itself as regards its activities which include operating ethically and fairly in dealing with all stakeholders as well as sustainably impacting the communities in which it operates.
''There are huge expectations by the communities on what the role of businesses should be,'' Jedrzej Georg Frynas, Professor of CSR & Strategic Management at the Middlesex University said in a presentation on CSR and Innovation. ''Despite the fact that CSR does not have a universal definition, it is the recognition by businesses that it has a responsibility to the society, to third parties, and the natural environment, and encompasses the social, political, economic environment.'' ''CSR is most effective when it drives off core competencies of a company's values, skills and resources, and is not an add-on.
It should not just be about competitiveness, but an overall market development and sustainability. It is not just adopt the effectiveness of an organization's strategies, but inculcating the concept into its strategies, that will in turn trigger a new load of relationships.'' ''CSR goes beyond the old philanthropy of the past, donating money to good causes at the end of the financial year,'' Ernest Ndukwe, Former Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission said in a sectoral presentation on CSR in telecommunication sector and national development.
He stated that investments in the telecoms industry before 2001 estimated was at $50 million (N7.85 billion), and has gone up to $18 billion (N2.83 trillion) to date, with revenue currently at N1.3 trillion and projections of N1.8 trillion by 2014. ''Since 2001, the telecoms industry has expanded the reach of advanced communication technology while giving hope to many communities in Nigeria.
It is indeed difficult to truly separate telecoms business from CSR because of how vital it is to human existence,'' Ernest asserts. Raising environmental concerns in the sector, people tend to be scared when mast are mounted close to their buildings, hence telecommunication companies should be committed to CSR in managing the level of environmental pollution and embarking on pollution control activity, as this would directly contribute to staff, community and organizational welfare. ''Poor nutrition is a prominent and underlying cause of poverty, poor health, education and income attainment.
There is a new awareness and concern about nutrition, and CSR can be a lever to help make markets nutrition-friendly especially for the poorest,'' says Steve Godfrey, Senior Adviser at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in a presentation on CSR as a tool for bridging the gap between National food and nutrition security.
According to him, the World Bank estimates that poor nutrition cuts GDP by 3% per annum, stating that adults affected by malnutrition throughout their lives have been raised to earn almost 20% less than their non-affected counterparts. Nigeria still accounts for 5% of malnutrition deaths globally, with people working in agriculture and forestry spending an average 59% of their income on food. Speaking on the sustainability issues in the oil and gas sector of the Nigerian Economy, Uwem Ite, team lead - audit, compliance, monitoring and evaluation at Shell Nigeria stated that sustainability originates from the environmental movement and alarmist ideas of ultimate limits to economic growth and development.
He argued that integration of the economic, social and environmental dimension of sustainability is crucial to the enhancement of the Nigeria's oil and gas sector. The oil sector accounts for 95% of export earnings and 80% of the government earnings respectively, and postulates that achieving economic and social sustainability calls for equitable distribution, Uwem notes.
''It is not a one way thing, the public sector has a role to play, in complementing CSR efforts of the oil and gas companies.'' ''CSR is about creating an economic and social benefit by adopting creativity and innovation,'' Chris Ogbechie, Director at Etisalat CSR centre of the Lagos Business School said in an interview. A bank for instance that decides to focus on poverty alleviation by delivering entrepreneurial trainings to women would have improved the quality of life of these people while contributing to economic development, he explained.
