CSR guideline spurs sustainable development

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By Liu Jie (China Daily)

The guidelines for CSR (corporate social responsibility) were released earlier this month, which urge industrial corporations and related institutions to shoulder social responsibilities to obtain sustainable development. The guidelines are issued by 11 national industrial federations and associations, including the CFIE (China Federation of Industrial Economics), a group of federations and associations engaged in iron, steel, oil, chemicals, light industry, textiles, building materials, non-ferrous metals, electric power and mining industries.

According to the guidelines, all industrial companies and industrial federations of China should establish a CSR system in four sectors: management, execution, information and supervision in order to run business in a methodical and regulatory way. For industrial federations or associations, the system, in addition to the above four sectors, also involves establishing executive bodies in charge of promoting, coordinating and supervising related companies in fulfilling their social responsibilities. They also act as service providers for the enterprises, the industries and the government.

There are three basic requirements for Chinese industrial companies for CSR implementation. First, companies should strictly abide by laws and social ethics. It means that, besides keeping in line with legal rules and regulations, corporations should always consider the influences of their operation regarding society and the environment when conducting businesses. Second, companies should design their CSR strategies in accordance with Chinese conditions and their own business characteristics and keep in mind that China is still a developing nation. Third, companies should insist on principles of reliability and openness for their CSR operations.

Besides operating as responsible corporate citizens, all industrial companies should release their CSR reports, sustainable development reports or corporate citizen reports regularly. CSR involves strong awareness of social responsibility and business operation in line with laws and rules and ethical standards of honesty and trustworthiness, shareholder interest protection, supports for social causes. A CSR report should cover eight aspects of business performance, a development model, environmental protection, energy savings, production safety, care of employees, stakeholders' interest, as well as social community involvement. It is intended to provide communication channels between companies and the public in order for the public to better observe the company's social and ethical stance.

Xu Kuangdi, CFIE chairman, points out that domestic industrial companies have already made a remarkable contribution to China's economic and social development. "On the other hand, we must note that the industrial sector is a key consumer of natural resources and greatly influences the environmental balance," says Xu. Xu explains that when an enterprise melds its CSR with its business development strategy and corporate culture, it benefits the companies' technological innovation, management system, staff quality upgrading and creates a positive public image . "It will also pave the way for Chinese industrial enterprises to build their brands in the international market and go abroad for further expansion," Xu adds.

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