Down with CSR!

Yes, down with this acronym that is becoming a “dinner-n-conference talk” across the globe when people from the industry hobnob. I condemn this word and the actions associated with it companies take, in the garb of Social Responsibility. For, it allows for causing the biggest oil spills in the world and adopting villages for social upliftment to survive, mainly as a via media to absolve the companies of the sins that they might be committing by letting these spills happen. So many companies are undertaking such activities to keep positive press around, doing such “developmental activities” activities which do not concern their main business in anyway, to keep conducting their business in the most convoluted ways.

We hold on to CSR, as giving alms is considered, as per religion, a way to absolve yourself from the sins that you might be committing. Murderers and bandits are also known to pray!

Every since I’ve understood the farce of “CSR-washing”: I’ve been against the concept of donations and charity, to absolve yourself of the ills you might be doing as a person or as a business. For the last couple of years the world has starting understanding the differences between CSR and Corporate Responsibility. CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) is talking about it in conferences, groups promoting Conscious Capitalism have been formed – Thought Leaders have come around. It took a financial tsunami, brought by probably the so claimed brightest brains in the world, for these discussions to bubble-up.

Today when Warren Buffet and Gates, gives away their wealth for charity (showing gratitude and not covering guilt) and are here in India to promote “Philanthropy Amongst India’s Rich”, and Rao of GMR actually pledges $540 million towards Education, I hate it even more.

On one side Indian companies throw at us unsafe and badly fabricated cars, call drops, electricity cuts, mechanical failures, roads that break in 6 months, poorly fabricated buildings – including the Delhi International Airport’s fabled Terminal 3 (yes one ought to see the omnipresent shoddiness of the work done – I bet the carpet was put as putting tiles would have been a nightmare), on the other they invest in philanthropic activities for good press. It would be good to have a mandate that each and every business, has to first start ensuring that all their Services reach Customer Delight (attained through Compassion and Mindfulness) and are delivered Ethically, can invest every hour and every day to make sure what they are producing is produced for the future, which could be used, reused by upgrading and still keep working, that might be a sign of being thankful to mother nature, of using her resources optimally then invest in CSR, or maybe not!