Social Audit for Raising CSR Performance of Banking Corporations in Bangladesh

Abstract

Social audit, a mechanism to check corporations’ social responsibility performance, can ensure that organizations stay firm on their social commitments rather than greenwashing by creating a multi party communication platform where stakeholders get chance to crosscheck firms’ performances for social causes, for example, CSR. In the absence of mechanism in corporate regulation and a well designed framework, corporations try to maintain their social performance similar to their business performance i.e. profit purpose driven. Using the Bangladesh banking sector as a case study, this chapter assesses the role of an effective social audit in raising meaningful social responsibility performance of corporations in a developing country context. It suggests that the regulatory framework for the banking corporations in Bangladesh should focus on developing a culture that embraces social auditing, so that corporations are expected to align their CSR expenditures with social expectations. Such a development would also assist the stakeholders of these corporations in making informed decisions.