Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Corporate Social Responsibility - at what cost?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs are gaining traction as a form of team building in which companies volunteer their time to do something for the social good. Whether the activity is building bikes for underprivileged children or revegetating a local reserve, who should pay?


 
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There seems to be a perception that if people are donating their time, then everything else should be provided, but by whom? Government agencies and volunteer organisations rely on funding and sponsorship and they don't have the resources to coordinate and supervise corporate programs.

A typical revegetation day involves transportation, catering, personal protective equipment such as gloves and eye protection and the provision of seedings, weedmat, specialist contractors and equipment including wheel barrows, tree planters and loppers.

Companies that contact the appropriate agency at a fortuitous time may be able to access Government funding for a specific event but once this funding has been spent then the opportunity no longer exists for the next group.

For CSR programs to be able to run the entire event needs to be self funded, and this may be a surprise to companies that assume that volunteer work is free. It remains to be seen whether an appropriate funding or sponsorship model can be developed to enable these programs to be run on a regular basis.