CSR’s challenge in China

As Rich and others well know, business in China is moving rather fast. For most Multinationals they are under pressure to make profits in China, gain market share, open new branches or R & D Centres, recruit more (quality) staff and so on. The Olympics are around the corner which is adding extra pressure along with increasing numbers of high profile CEO and political visits because of China's growing importance in the World -environmentally, socially and economically.

What this means is that things like risk management tend to get pushed down the agenda (which is a big, big mistake), volunteering gets sidelined unless HQ orders everyone to do something on 'company's volunteering day' (as employees are too busy to take time off of work and companies unwilling to spend too much time organising anything) and community partnerships or other elements of CSR (like HR diversity programs or governance) tends to be dealt with rather hurriedly.

This is a missed opportunity for all concerned. Working on CSR is by necessity a long-term strategy. There is now a slow trend of companies in China to start to engage in more meaningful community partnerships, but only a slow trend. Most companies still lack the time, the ability, the people or the will to really engage meaningfully, even though the more meaningful the engagement the greater the benefits. Yes, more and more organisations are offering consultancy related to CSR in China, more and more are also providing outsourcing services (such as PR or legal companies, let alone those in supply chain areas); but the major issue is still there. Consultants or other agencies rarely train staff. They make suggestions that are accepted or otherwise or they implement directly and what is really needed is training (not just conferences) of staff dealing with these issues accompanied with high level support providing the time and will power to make something meaningful happen.

I expect that, for Foreign companies, their 'Global CSR people' will start playing a more important role in the future, as they recognise the limitations their China staff have and the environment these local staff operate in. It also means we will see more high level Global CSR meetings in China, attended by Global staff. By this i do not just mean the UN GC or those events, i mean meetings by WBCSD or BSR as well as smaller meetings. I also expect companies to start having their internal Global /Asia CSR meetings here more often. Unfortunately those people will still struggle to find a 'green' venue for their meetings too!