Transformative CSR - a new business paradigm
The development of a country's economy dependents on successful
partnerships between Government and private sector entities.
The Government has direct access to people and resources, while
companies have the capital and expertise. Therefore, high impact can be
achieved if synergistic partnerships are formed and business strategies
and processes are aligned through transformational thinking.
The founder of CSR International and Director of think tank,
Kaleidoscope Futures, Dr. Wayne Visser will be in Sri Lanka to deliver a
series of keynote speeches on transformative CSR from April 22 to 24, on
the invitation of CSR Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka spends over Rs. 4 billion annually on CSR initiatives, yet
little attention is paid to sustainability in most projects. There is no
mechanism to measure the impact or map the continuity of the projects.
In the past, companies used CSR for philanthropic or public relations
purposes. This concept is now outdated. A new business paradigm that
looks at creativity, scalability, responsiveness, 'glocality' which
means 'global localisation', and 'circularity' which is an alternative
to the traditional linear economy will be expounded in greater detail by
Dr. Visser.
He said, "Increasingly, society and governments look up to business
to help them address urgent economic, social and environmental
challenges we face. Yet, the old approaches of CSR - defensive,
charitable, promotional and strategic, have failed to reverse the
negative trends."
"Today, the real business pioneers are going further and adopting
transformative CSR (Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility), which
creates innovative solutions and integrated value," Dr Visser said.
According to him, a new era in relationships between business and
society is being ushered in. It is defined by actions such as 'global
commons', 'innovative partnerships' and 'stakeholder involvement'.
It is a shift from centralised to de-centralised, from marginal to
mainstream and a change in application from single and exclusive to
multiple and shared.
CSR Sri Lanka (Guarantee) was launched in October 2014 to be the apex
body in providing strategic guidance and the resources to create
long-term sustainable value in the CSR efforts of the corporate sector.
CSR Sri Lanka also seeks to build private and public sector
partnerships focused on national priorities such as education and
vocational training, rural development and poverty reduction. |