Corporate social responsaboity or CSR is a concept that can be considered new and in
constant evolving even though its been mentioned by academics and philatrophist since 1963
when Joseph W mcguire stated that “The corporation has not only economic and legalobligations
but also certain responsabilities to the society which extent beyond these”(mcguire, 1963). The
biggest developments and breaktrough in the topic have taken place from the 1990´s up. The
decade of the 200´s showed the first corporates reports including CSR where the impoact of those
strategies where actually measured and evaluated their results, all these popularized thanks to the
Global Pact by the UN.
To clearly undertand the background of CSR lets have a look at the fisrt postulates of it and
who it migrated from being something carried on by philapist to precise companies and who
where the first intelectuals who discussed the subject after Mcguire. One of the most importa
texts is the article published by nobel price winner Milton Firedman in 1970 where he stated that
the responsibility of the company or corporation is directly to with their share holder, his article
was published in the New York times giving it global visibility. For instance Maria Alejandra
Gonzalez in her paper on “corporate social responsibility and international Business “ for instance
she mentions the principle of stewardship where “organizations have an obloigation to see that the
plublics interts are served by corporate actions and the way un which profits are spent.”(Dunham
& Pierce, 1989)
Companies including corporate social responsabilities in their pland and goals are showing
a new image to the world where they humanized their businesses. All those startegies and social
impact plans to comunnities, stake holders, employe have a deeper impact in the people, in the
industry and the global percepction around it. For instance lets have a closer look at how corporate
social responsabolity strategies more than bringing benefit to indiciduals brings benefits to entire
industries and the conception the world has on them.
The benefit of CSR ir reciprocal for everyone involved in them. For instance the benefit is as big for
the company as for the shareholders. In 2001 Ford was the first company to include CSR reports in
their balance´s from there on many other companies have been taking more seriously there CSR
component, even to the point on stablishing companies 100% based on CSR. Companies such as
Toms are based completely based on CSR where they generate value by the good deeds do they do
with each pair of shoes sold. The relevance of CSR grew to such point tha during 2009 Walmart
build their own sustainability index for suppliers where they required all suppliers ti detail the
environmental effects fo their prodcuts. This sort of strategy from Walmart helped them change
the bad image and reputation they had aligningin its culture to CSR.
The busbject took such relevance that investment banks as goldman sachs started
evaluation these companies which included CSR in there daily operations. Goldman sachs was able
to identify that if a corporation aligned their enviornmemtal practices and there CSR all together
giving it the right and necessary level of importance the price of there shares in the market will be
destine to rise. Since then everyone has been call to rethink there approach and as a result there
has been iniatiatives to evaluate sustainability and CSR created; Dow jones sustainability index, The
London stock exchange FTSE 400 good index, the Korean Corporate Governance , the domini 400
index between many others.
CSR goes beyond a single corporation or a single industry but changes perceptions broadly, and not
only perception but actual lifes. One of the most polemic and criticiezed industries in the worls is
the mining industry where the diamond industry has always been in the public eye. Diamonds are
widely known as blood diamonds to tose who are not exploited by actual government or private
coporations but by groups as guerillas and other illegal ones. But the diamond industry is getting a
new image world wide thanks to their commitment to CSR and the measures they’ve commit to.
To show the world that diamonds are good theres been several organizations stablished to regulate
the industry and there CSR. The Diamond empowerment Fund was creates and tha diamond
devolopmente initiative, those initiatives impact in a postotve way all sort of communities involved
around the minning process. IN Surat, India a 75 million investment took place where Krawitz built
the Kiran Hospital, one of the most modern and best equipped in the region and all for the
diamond manufacturing comunnities.
De Beers is most important player for the diamond industry globally where abut 40% of all
diamonds are supplied by them. The company has been committed to improve the quality of
surrounding communities and there employes. De Brees has contributed to the improvement of
the Botswanan GDP Per Capita from 80$ to 13,100$ . Thay have trained locals as their top
executives, “De Beers has built roads, hospitals, and schools in Botswana. The prevalence of HIV and
AIDS is second highest in the world, so De Beers has launched HIV/AIDS treatment and awareness
programs. The transformation of the social/economic/political culture in Botswana is nothing short of a
miracle. However this transformation was possible because of the cooperation between the
government of Botswana and De Beers.”(