On Corporate Social Responsibility

I’m finally done with the Annual Report! It looks rather nice, I think. I used some of my own photographs, in it, including the one with a beetle eating bread. Anyway, click here to download our Annual Report for the academic year 2007/2008. I’ve left the bleeding in because I like a little bit of raw construction… and it’s tedious to remove. ("Bleeding" is the border around the document that printers chop off when they send it to print. I’ve no idea why it’s called that.)

All in all, it’s been a pretty good year. I even have some confidence that we now have a somewhat stable core of members, which is something we’ve never had before. I’m really heartened by it. We can now go on to do even more substantial things!

Also, I must say, we welcome feedback and ideas from anyone. Mail us at nus.csrsm@gmail.com to do so or just to talk to us or even simply to say hi. Have a good day, everybody! 

NUS CSR Week (which swallowed all my time!) has just gone by but we’re not done with the semester yet. Unfortunately, I can’t paste images on Blogsome, but if you happen to be in Singapore next Friday, feel free to come to our seminar. The details:

Title: Learning from Starbucks - When the Beans Just Don’t Add Up
Date: 4 April 08, Fri
Time: 6.00pm-7.30pm
Venue: Conference Room B, Biz-2, NUS Business School

Prof Bryant Simon, whom you can see here giving a short and funny lecture, will be talking about the company’s corporate practices and how it has impacted our world. 

Seats are very limited, so do mail us at nus.csrsm@gmail.com if you’re coming. See you there!

I keep wanting to write about the possibility of the world turning towards a newer form of economics but time disallows me. So, here’s a bit from an IHT article that might tempt you to find out more:

"And signs of a protectionist backlash are multiplying as worries about climate change, the rise of state-run investment funds and the bursting of the recent credit bubble give novel ammunition to those in the West who question free markets and clamor for more shelter from globalization…

When students of economics open their history books in 2030, they might read about 2008 as the year when the groundwork was laid for a re-regulation of certain markets, a more redistributive tax system and new forms of international policy coordination, economists say."

I recently attended a Singapore Compact lecture by Dr Jem Bendell on the luxury industry and he highlighted to us how Beijing has taken down billboards of the luxury brands and how India has raised taxes on luxury items more than 100%. Both actions were direct results of concerns over unrest fomenting due to very perceivable inequalities in society. Looks like there are to be some serious changes coming. I wonder how the corporate world will deal with it.

In other news (full article here), Singapore has tasked an "Inter-Ministerial Committee" to look into sustainable development. Our PM says,

"How do we get economic development and growth, and at the same time, grow in an environmentally friendly way? That’s the idea of sustainable development, where you build into your whole development strategy this awareness of the environment, energy, conservation and efficiency," said PM Lee.

This committee will "seek to build new competencies and facilitate mindshare across the public, private and people sectors to develop Singapore as an "Eco-Hub". The aim is to make Singapore an innovative thought centre and hub for urban and environmental sustainability."

The continued mindless use of the word "hub" and "mindshare" aside, it’s a good piece of news. Let’s hope we go beyond simply environmental sustainability soon, though. Sustainability has so much else to offer.

This comes a little late, but at least it’s here now. Our Annual Report can be found here. It is downloadable as a PDF file.

I think we made some headway last year in introducing CSR into NUS. Not much headway, but still some. At least now there is wider awareness of the acronym "CSR". The way I see it, there are a number of problems why it is so difficult to ppopularize this and other ideas.

1. Students are extremely busy with studies, work and what little personal lives they have left.

2. After so much studying and working, they want to relax, not read about more ideas.

3. There is not enough free time in the NUS calendar to allow students to explore things other than what’s in their modules.

4. There are too many activity groups in NUS vying for the tiny community’s attention.

5. Many students are materialistic, so unless they stand to gain from an idea, they’ll not want to waste time on it.

How do we go about solving these problems? I’m thinking of getting internships for the Movement’s members, asking companies, certain government agencies and NGO’s to let us try implementing CSR and business strategies for them (helps them and gives us practice), and also getting us into a position to organise sharing and networking sessions for companies. These will allow our members to have practical experience and expand the individual’s network, which I think are what students nowadays want.

Another idea is to make things more fun, but I can’t think how CSR can be made fun. 

I am also in the process of getting as many groups in NUS as possible to come together to make an on-line calendar of events wherein we project all our events for the year and so be able to see where there is too much competition or chances for collaboration. That would lessen rivalry, hopefully.

Maybe one day, we can get credits in our modules for doing such CSR activities. That would be great. But that’s kind of a far-off wish at the moment.

Well, if there are any ideas floating around out there, do tell us about them. We are always seeking to overcome our challenges and improve. 

Most packaging for our goods such as food, drinks and toiletries end up as trash. Packaging makes up about one-third of household waste. Packaging waste can be recycled. There is also scope to minimise packaging waste by redesign or changing to another material.

Some countries have implemented laws to make producers bear responsibility for the environmental impact of their packaging (e.g. they have to bear the costs for recovery and recycling of the packaging waste).

In Singapore, instead of moving straight away to introducing legislation to curb packaging waste, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has decided to work together with industry to develop a voluntary programme in which industry would have more flexibility to adopt cost-effective solutions for reducing packaging waste. The programme also facilitates and fosters closer collaboration among industry members, the community and the government.

To help businesses better understand this new programme and how you can play a part to reduce packaging waste, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) will be organising a briefing session on "Voluntary Packaging Agreement 2007".

Date	:  January 31 2007, Wednesday
Time	:  10.00 am – 12.00 pm
	(On-site registration begins at 9.30 am)
Venue	: Conference Room, Level 2   SCCCI Building, 47 Hill Street
Fees	: Free-Of-Charge (Registration is required)

 

+ Source

+ Also see the Guidebook on Waste Minimisation for Industries (NEA) 

+ Also see the Principle of Extended Producer Responsibility

31 Oct - 2 Nov: Eco-Products International Fair

Event dedicated to environmentally-friendly products and services. Flex that consumer muscle of yours and learn how to spend with a conscience. Free.

31 Oct - 2 Nov:  "Growing the Eco-nomy" – Learning from the Best Eco-practices

Featuring international speakers, the programme includes topics on corporate environmental planning and management, green procurement, eco-design and product development, consumer labelling schemes, alternative fuels, water and climate change management. Registration required.

2 Nov: Singapore Compact for CSR - Inaugural Distinguished Lecture

Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Chairperson of the UN Global Compact Foundation delivers his personal sharing and insight on "Why am I a Social Responsibility Champion". This inspiring lecture is presented by the Singapore Compact for CSR, the national society driving the CSR movement. Registration required.

3 Nov: People, Planet and Profits

Join the CSR Student Movement for an informal dialogue on the ideas and workings behind corporate social responsibility! This intimate session encourages sharing, active discussion and peer learning. If you know nothing about CSR, this will be a splendid introduction for you. 5pm, Committee Room 2 (Yusof Ishak House). Free.

6 Nov: People, Planet and Profits

 Join the CSR Student Movement for an informal dialogue on the ideas and workings behind corporate social responsibility! This intimate session encourages sharing, active discussion and peer learning. If you know nothing about CSR, this will be a splendid introduction for you. 5pm, CR 3-4, Bukit Timah Campus. Free.

9 Nov: Building Energy Efficiency

Learn from industry professionals as they share their expertise in building energy efficiency. The Professional Sharing Series (PSS) is part of the Singapore Environment Institute’s efforts to build capacity for greener businesses and industries. Free.

10 Nov: Preventing Site Contamination

Learn from an industry professional as he shares his expertise in how responsible site design and management can prevent long-lasting, harmful and costly contamination. The Professional Sharing Series (PSS) is part of the Singapore Environment Institute’s efforts to build capacity for greener businesses and industries. Free.

13 Nov: Trends and patterns of corporate giving to charities in Singapore

Seminar on the corporate philanthropy landscape, hosted by the NUS Department of Social Work. Free.