Are CSR activities directed towards sustainable development goals?: a study in India

Description

Billions of people around the world lack access to basic necessities. In 2000, the United Nations adopted a set of eight goals, termed the “Millennium Development Goals” (MDGs), for member states for the period 2000–2015. These goals addressed poverty and hunger, primary education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability, and global partnership. By 2015, these global goals had been only partially achieved. In September 2015, the United Nations adopted a new set of 17 “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs), with 169 associated targets for the period 2016–2030. The SDGs retain a focus on the challenges addressed by the MDGs but also expand to new areas such as energy, employment, infrastructure, cities, consumption, climate, and peace. While the responsibility for achieving the SDGs lies primarily with the governments of UN member states, corporations can also contribute to their achievement through corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. The need for human development is particularly acute in developing countries in Asia and Africa, and well-directed CSR initiatives could support governmental efforts. An important research question, therefore, is whether the CSR activities of large, well-funded corporations in developing countries align with the SDGs. In this study, the CSR sections of the websites of the 50 largest companies in India are examined, and the reported CSR activities are analyzed. Content analysis methods are used to classify these activities into categories related to the SDGs, and inferences are drawn regarding the extent to which companies are directing CSR efforts toward SDG achievement. Based on the findings, several recommendations for CSR are proposed. This study contributes to the literature on CSR in developing countries and offers useful insights for corporate executives responsible for planning and implementing CSR activities.

Publication Date

1-1-2017

Publisher

CIRU

Keywords

CSR, India, Sustainable Development, Corporate Social Responsibility

Conference

5th International OFEL conference on governance, management and entrepreneurship: 7 - 8 April, 2017, Dubrovnik, Croatia (Hrvatska)

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