Social responsibility lacking

Many clients prefer to buy products from customers who are involved in CSR programmes. They also prefer to buy products from companies involved in ‘green manufacturing’.

Companies like Econet have been giving out scholarships to underprivileged students under the Joshua Nkomo Scholarship Fund and Capernaum Trust. In the manufacturing industry Tongaat Hullets, BAT Zimbabwe, Delta and ZIMASCO run social responsibility programmes.

A broader view

The traditional view of a company suggests that its primary responsibility is to its owners, or stockholders. However, CSR requires that organisations adopt a broader view of its responsibilities that include not only stockholders, but many other constituencies as well, including employees, suppliers, customers, the local community and environmental groups.

Many companies in Zimbabwe say they are not performing well to be involved in CSR, but there are also companies that are doing very well but are not involved in any social responsibility activities. Companies should know that they can become great enterprises if they start donating, through various CSR programmes.

Businesses and organisations do not operate in a vacuum. The International Standards Organisation believes that companies’ relationship to the society and environment in which they operate is a critical factor in their ability to continue to operate effectively.

Companies need to recognise that they cannot act independently from the society and environment in which they operate. Recently, we have seen many companies in the mining sector forming community share ownership trusts, to give back a significant percentage of their profits to the local communities in which they operat. Although this is law under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, it is also a CSR oriented approach towards doing business.

Embrace CSR

Zimbabwean firms should embrace CSR because it is an integral part of a successful and sustainable business strategy, pre-empting social and environmental problems while optimising conditions for long-term profitability. There is also a big link and correlation between enterprising, profitmaking and social development, as Econet and other companies involved in CSR can bear witness.

The problem in Zimbabwe is that many companies expose their marketing programmes and activities as CSR programmes. For instance, a company might introduce an aggressive sales promotion strategy, where you buy one and get one free, and mistake that as CSR. However, ISO 26000 provides guidance on how businesses and organisations can operate in a socially responsible way. This means acting in an ethical and transparent way that contributes to the health and welfare of society. It also helps clarify what social responsibility is, helps companies translate principles into effective actions and shares best practices relating to social responsibility.

As we emerge from economic meltdown and try to restore lost fortunes, we should rethink paradigms attuned to optimizing corporate social responsibility. Although CSR is not law, it is fast becoming a de facto law, written and enforced by customers themselves.