Defintion of Corporate Social Responsibility

The basic question about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that is often debated is related to its definition itself.

CSR has been defined in different ways by different authorities, some of the more widely accepted ones being-

CSR is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society- Mallen Baker

CSR includes the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time" Carroll and Buchholtz

Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large- Lord Holme and Richard Watts

Operating a business in a manner that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business- Business for Social Responsibility

A concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment. A concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis- European Commission

Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. Ideally, CSR policy would function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms- Wikipedia

Thus we can see from the above that CSR is primarily concerned with the social responsibility of the Corporate. Without going into the facts here why there is an immense need for CSR today, I would strongly present the following definition of Corporate Social Responsibility-

Corporate Social Responsibility would mean the compulsory integration of every Corporate functioning with the social, ethical, legal and ecological responsibilities and liabilities associated with all such corporate functioning.

Amitabh Thakur, President, CSR(India), Lucknow