Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen are considering
the introduction of some kind of CSR certification scheme for local
companies after concluding that corporate responsibility practices
among businesses there are in need of swift improvement.
According to a study from the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Labour and
Social Security, while there are some examples of good CSR in the city,
notably from larger companies such as Pingan (insurance), Vanke
(property) and Huawe (telecoms), corporate responsibility is not
generally strong among firms based there, especially small and medium
sized enterprises, which make up the majority of businesses.
A survey of people in the city found that a fifth thought CSR
performance in Shenzhen was ‘poor’ , while half felt it was only
‘average’. The report says that most CSR problems in Shenzhen
relate to bad labour relations, with many companies still forcing
employees to work overtime and providing less than one day-off per
week.
The Shenzhen municipal authorities say that as a result they are
planning to draft a CSR certification scheme for local businesses later
this year.
