Wider scope of corporate social responsibility needed

17  January 2013

A wider scope of corporate social responsibility needs to be considered by Chinese companies, experts said.

Chinese corporates have adapted to the concept of corporate social responsibility, or CSR, quickly, according to the Fortune China CSR Ranking Report 2012, by comparison with the 2011 results.

But they concentrate on a narrow scope of charitable activities, such as donating money, instead of participating in a wider variety of CSR events.

“It is not a phenomenon only seen in China, but quite common around the Asian region,” said Michael Schreiber, president of GBCHealth. “They just need time to distinguish between charity and pure donation in philanthropy.”

At the recently closed CSR Asia Summit 2012, about 450 top international companies in energy, manufacturing, health and medicine, among other areas, attended the conferences and discussed the field in the region. But only a few Chinese companies showed up or participated in the event.

Many Chinese corporate sponsors did not exhibit their brand products in a booth during the two-day summit, which was concluded on Wednesday.

“I don’t think the companies yet associate their CSR programs with their brands,” said Richard Welford, chairman of CSR Asia. “There is a strong link between CSR and reputation. I think Chinese companies will learn it very quickly.”