CB Bureau‘Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not just charity. It is like an obligation and we owe it to the next generation,’ said Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs and Ministry of Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid while inaugurating a seminar ‘Corporate sustainability: the driver of innovation’ in Chennai.
The minister stressed that sustainability meant ‘justice between generations’. He said corporates should realize that they have a responsibility towards the next generation. He agreed that the sustainability concept is taking shape in the country. Earlier, he said, it was just a concern for environment, which is gradually expanding to other serious issues as well.
Highlighting the government’s efforts, Kurshid said that despite the economic recession and inflation, the government had not restricted the allocation for the social welfare sector.
Addressing the media, Kurshid said that the performance in terms of CSR was easily measurable with regard to public sector units, as they had been directed to spend a specific portion of their profit towards CSR. He also confirmed that certain voluntary guidelines would be introduced with the launch of the new companies’ bill.
CauseBecause had reported last month that the ministry of corporate affairs was revising the guidelines on corporate social responsibility (CSR) issued last year and would be adding detailed norms on environmental sustainability. The new rules will primarily prevent wasteful use of natural resources and ensure scientific treatment of industrial waste.
The present norms only urged companies to be environmentally conscious and left it for them to take steps in that direction. They failed to provide a clear framework for compliance, leading to companies not taking adequate measures.
The participants at the event included Sudha Raghunathan, founder and chairperson of Samudaya Foundation and an eminent Carnatic musician. She highlighted the efforts of the organization towards sustainable development.
MB Nirmal, founder-chairman, Exnora International, talked about environment-related worrying issues and also stressed on conservation of farmland. He insisted that as part of their CSR, corporates may grow paddy in place of landscaping as it can help in curbing the food problem. M Rafeeq Ahmed, chairman, FICCI, Tamil Nadu State Council, said any business should be ‘societally and economically responsible,’ emphasising that ‘people, planet and profit’ are the three pillars of corporate sustainability.