When a company has a diverse, ethically-grounded and socially-conscious workforce, CSR gets coded into its DNA. Building such a workforce is the best and the most sustainable contribution an HR team can make towards realizing the CSR vision of a company.
The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goes back a long way in history both in the Indian and global context. In ancient times, traders and businessmen carried the burden of the welfare of the people on their shoulders to some extent, the real onus of course resting on the royalty. The concept of CSR was largely synonymous with philanthropy those days and it continued to be so for a very long time. Only in the modern times did the thinking undergo a fundamental shift and a more rational approach to CSR began to emerge. Our current understanding of CSR is best captured by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) definition of it: “Corporate social responsibility is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR is generally understood as being the way through which a company achieves a balance ROLE OF HR IN CSRI The people dimension of economic, environmental and social imperatives (Triple-Bottom- Line Approach), while at the same time addressing the expectations of shareholders and stakeholders.”
