Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Development: A case study of ITC

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept where by companies integrate social, environmental and health concern in their business strategy (policy) and operations and in their interaction with stake holders on a voluntary basis. The social responsibility of business encompasses the economics, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time. CSR in India has traditionally been seen as a philanthropic activity.In keeping with the Indian tradition, it was an activity that was performed but not deliberated. As a result, there is limited documentation on specific activities related to this concept.The Companies Act, 2013 has brought in the idea of CSR to the forefront and through its disclose-or-explain mandate, it is promoting greater transparency and disclosure. Schedule VII of the Act, which lists out the CSR activities, suggests communities to be the focal point. On the other hand, by discussing a company's relationship to its stakeholders and integrating CSR into its core operations, the Act suggests that CSR needs to go beyond communities and beyond the concept of philanthropy. It will be interesting to observe the ways in which this will translate into action at the ground level, and how the understanding of CSR is set to undergo a change. The Act is unique in two ways. While it has provided a cutoff for the identification of companies which have to compulsorily spend on CSR, it also identifies the activities which are approved under the CSR rules.The present studyaims to understand the contribution of mandatory CSR to human development in general and in particular to Mysore district though a case study of ITC. It is based on the premise that majority of the companies have spent CSR money on health, education and rural development projects (CII Report, 2015). Access to education and health and sustainable livelihoods are critical inputs for the promotion of human development.The study adopted case study approach. The CSR strategies of ITC is studied in depth to understand the contribution CSR to Human Development in its operational area.