Corporate Social Responsibility – Creating a link between People, Planet & Profit
Corporates, earlier, were prompted to take care of one ‘P’ that is Profit while doing their business but now corporates, also in their interest, need to take care of three ‘Ps’ that is People, Planet and Profit. Strategic CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making and honouring the triple bottom line viz. People, Planet and Profit. An approach where the Business, Society, less privileged community and the Nation as a whole grow and develop.
Under strategic perspective all the business decisions are taken keeping in view community development and inclusive growth.
In the long term perspective of any corporate the inclusive growth concept needs to be one of the objectives thereby raising the standard of living of the less privileged and creating the demand of the products. Inclusive growth helps in sustainable economic growth , Poverty reduction , inequality reduction & providing access to opportunities for all.
The ‘PPP’ approach creates a positive image for an organisation thereby boosting creditworthiness,bottom-line and shareholders’ value. Strategic CSR is a way of life instead of compulsion and highlights the enlightened self-interest of serving the society and the nation.
Its essence is Compassion which is one of the attributes of Indian spirituality and promotes Spirituality, Nature, Livelihood & overall Success. Without compassion, corporations can become machines. We are moving into an era of machine language, we need to use new technology to improve the lives of the overall community and promote sustainability. This approach is in accordance with the laws of Nature and the Universe and promotes a circular economy.
India is a spiritual country of the world. Our scriptures like Gita promote service to society. Gita said we are born for serving others and not to harm others. Whatever is said in the is law of Nature, if we go against nature we may suffer. Many corporates consider CSR as unnecessary and a dent on their profitability and resources which is a misnomer. Because all the great organisations in India and the world follow good governance and CSR practices and are continuously flourishing.
On the other hand, as per one study, the corporates which did not believe in good governance and CSR practices are lined up before NCLT under IBC (Insolvency Bankruptcy Code) provisions for being taken over by other Corporates or for being liquidated.
We also need to promote simple living under ‘PPP’ model, particularly after the pandemic Covid, respecting the Nature and the environment. Materialistic living & unnecessary consumption is a dent on Environment and Sustainability. We need to have zero tolerance for Environment degradation. The world now needs more responsible and sustainable capitalism in this time of Climate Crisis.
