A campaign to raise awareness of CSR standards such as SA8000 and the
OECD’s guidelines for multinationals has been started by the
Confederation of Indian Industry. The organizers initially want the
campaign to reach 1600 businesses in India’s southern region.
TT Ashok, chairman of the confederation’s southern region CSR
sub-committee, said: ‘Though many corporates are interested to
kick-start CSR in a meaningful way, they do not have the required
methodologies to measure, manage and report the outcomes of their CSR
initiatives. In this context, promotion of world-recognized processes
through workshops and awareness creation programmes will help these
companies invest in CSR and make it a culture and an integral part of
their business.’
Other initiatives accompany the awareness campaign. The confederation
is forming a CSR Networking Forum with a national-level steering
committee, a technical advisory committee and working groups to promote
best practices. The forum’s work will include training, ‘sensitization
workshops’ and provision of materials to Indian corporates.
In addition, the confederation is to set up an award to recognize the best CSR initiatives by Indian corporates.
