Corporate social responsibility programs that make a difference

Manila Times.net
Published : Tuesday, March 06, 2012 00:00 Written by : Andrea L. Santiago


Many organizations today are conscious about the need to care for society. They engage in various CSR projects, ideally aligned with their corporate vision, that are within their financial and human capabilities. Philanthropic activities are commonplace and many would center on individual scholarship grants as well as volunteerism work in pre-selected communities. The more financially endowed organizations go one step further by investing in nation building projects that the government cannot manage on their own. These organizations get into the project alone or lead a group of organizations for greater social impact. Often, these projects center on education, enterprise development, and environmental protection.


The efforts of government, industry, and civil society are laudable considering the country has made significant progress from benchmark figures in 1990, although it does pale in comparison to the progress made by some neighboring countries. The World Bank beckons the government for more inclusive growth noting that economic growth has made little or no impact on the lives of those truly at the bottom of the pyramid. In response, the government has stepped up its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program that provides cash to households subject to compliance with conditionalities. The total budget allocation for 2012 is P21billion.


Another social protection program of the government is the Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) that has been substantially funded by the World Bank in the amount of $100 million. This is a community driven development program that receives funding, on a competitive basis, for small infrastructure projects as determined by the community. The critical element of this funding source is that communities must collectively decide the project that would address a critical need. Since its inception, a majority of the investment has been made in roads, water systems, and livelihood.


The problem with many CSR projects is that its long-term effects are not harnessed. To do so, communities must become self-sustaining. This means that communities first address their energy needs so that they can become more productive. Affordable, clean, and reliable energy can be used for cooking, illumination, refrigeration, sanitation, and mechanization, among others. As the mental and physical health of community members improve resulting from access to energy, household member become more productive. They may then engage in work activities that bring in more resources into the community.


The weakness however in communities is that they do not have the capacity to determine the best energy technology, the skill to maintain the technology, the creativity to identify a livelihood project that may yield higher returns, the managerial ability to prepare business plans and to operate their enterprise, and the financial resources to start. Companies can thus target a disadvantaged community and provide human capacity building programs so that their selected community may first learn how to prepare a competitive business plan for funding under the Kalahi-CIDSS, and then develop skills that will make their enterprise project sustainable. The actual impact of the intervention can then be measured.


CSR managers interested to know more about the benefits of focusing their CSR activities on sustainable communities may attend a professorial lecture on Community-Based Renewable Energy Projects for Enterprise Development: A Corporate Social Responsibility Opportunity, to be presented on March 12, from 1-230 pm at DLSU.


Dr. Santiago is a Full Professor at the Management and Organization Department of De La Salle University where she teaches Corporate Social Responsiveness, Sustainable Organizations, Leadership in Organization, Family Business Management, Human Resource Management, and Finance in Education. E-mail: ma.andrea.santiago@dlsu.edu.ph.