A STUDY ON THE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY SPENDING OF 20 INDIAN COMPANIES

Abstract

Globally, there is growing concern about the impact of business on environment and society. It is not enough for businesses to get financial returns only; they need to get social returns also. Financial performance alone is not the indicator of success for a business today. Important indicator of sustainable development of economy is measuring the performance of businesses in terms of what impact their operations have had on environment, society and government. According to CSR Asia, “CSR is a company’s commitment to operating in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner whilst balancing the interest of diverse stakeholders”. World Business Council for Sustainable Development defines CSR as “The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large”. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a process to ensure businesses are conducting sustainable business activities in a manner that has a positive impact on consumers, employees, communities, general public and the environment. CSR is nothing but a selfregulatory mechanism adopted by corporates to ensure that all its business activities are according to law, follow ethical standards and international norms. It is a procedure where corporates learn to respect legislative laws, moral values, people, communities and the natural environment. Also the Indian government wants the business units to include CSR in their vision, mission and in their strategic plans. Through these CSR initiatives, government wants to bring about overall development of society, rural development, healthcare, sanitation, education and promoting sports activities too