Corporate Social Responsibility

Nowadays, it can be seen that many companies actively involve in social activities. They conduct programs which involve society and community such as creating awareness about usage of paper bags, conducting campaigns about pollution, planting trees project to save the environment, and conduct charity-based programs. These kinds of activities are actually stands as examples of CSR. CSR is the abbreviation for Corporate Social Responsibility. Most of welfare works done by the corporate organizations and reputed companies for community come under this Corporate Social Responsibility project. Corporate social responsibility, as referred to the name itself refers to a corporation’s responsibilities or obligations toward society and this particularly involve activities or projects for the benefit of society and the community. It is now a part of common business practices involving initiatives that benefit society.

The practices of CSR are so broad that it can be different from one organization to other organizations. It is much influenced by the type and the nature of business conducted and held by a particular organization. Besides that, it is also differs greatly in different country as different society has different culture, and of course, cultures of society will give some impact on the way CSR is implemented. Moreover, CSR is a very broad concept that addresses many and various topics such as human rights, corporate governance, health and safety, environmental effects, working conditions and contribution to economic development. Whatever the principles of CSR held by an organization is, the common and main objective of CSR is to drive change towards sustainability. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a business approach that contributes to sustainable development by delivering economic, social and environmental benefits towards the society.

Most of organizations believe that, the commission of social responsibility initiatives has its own paybacks. It is actually a win-win situation for the society and also for the organization conducting it. For the company, apart from aiming to make a different towards the society, the company will also get to improve their image and reputation amongst member of society. The company will be appealed as socially sensible towards the surrounding community, consumers and employees. It is also stands as one of the mediums for the organization or company to engage with their customer. They will be able to enhance their relationship with their customers through social activities under CSR. Not only that, they also will get some benefit in terms of taxation. The Malaysian Government indirectly provides tax incentives to businesses that implement broad CSR programs. In this regard, donations made to charities or non-trading institutions from income earned is usually not deductible as they are not wholly incurred in the production of income.

On the 5th of September 2006, Bursa Malaysia established CSR Framework for public-listed companies. The CSR Framework provides a guide to Malaysian companies to develop CSR strategies as well as to communicate them effectively to stakeholders. The CSR Framework focuses on four CSR practices which are environment, workplace, community and the marketplace. This structure supports the new rules incorporated in Bursa Malaysia Listing Requirements that require public-listed companies to include their CSR activities in their annual report. Bursa Malaysia as the front line regulatory body governing all Public Listed Companies and operates the country’s stock exchange plays an important role to promote CSR among the companies on its list. It strives to encourage a balanced business environment among its listed entities. It also strives to improve market force without disregarding the importance of moral and ethical values contribute to the community and the environment.

The example of company that notably involve in CSR activities is Nippon Paint (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd which is the Malaysia’s most famous paints and coating solutions provider. It is part of Nippon Paint Holdings Co. Ltd, the biggest paint manufacturers in the region of Asia. Nippon Paint Holdings Co. Ltd has opened it branches in several countries. Nippon Paint (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd continually strives to strengthen its roots and foundations to meet the customer demands. However, besides exploring new technologies and markets to create paint innovations that respond to the ever-evolving needs of customers, it also concerns about the society well-being. Nippon Paint (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd always plan and build strategy to encourage people everywhere to seek personal growth by giving back to society and supporting community programmes. Even though it strives for its growth to make it at par with the latest technological innovation in paint industry, it does not disregard the importance of focusing on their customer, personal growth and environmental care. These are the things that govern their work ethics. For that, Nippon Paint (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd also focuses on corporate social responsibility as one of its initiatives to contribute to the society.