Social Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship: CSR & CSI

Descriptions, terms and explanations

Social responsibility

An ethical viewpoint that says every organisation must benefit society as a whole.

Social responsibility forms

Avoiding any action that could harm the environment

Implementing initiatives that can benefit the society

Triple bottom line (TBL)

Suggests that business should commit to measuring their social and environmental impact in addition to their financial performance rather than solely focusing on generating profit.

(TBL) Three P’s

People/Social

Profit/Economic

Planet/Environmental

The link between social responsibility and the TBL: People/Social

Businesses should not harm or exploit people, their employees, customers, or the community

Business should engage and invest in sustainable community programmes or projects that will benefit and uplift communities

The link between social responsibility and the TBL: Profit/Economic

Businesses should not focus on their profit and charge high prices but should invest in CSI projects

Businesses should not make a profit at the expense of their community

The link between social responsibility and the TBL: Planet/Environment

Businesses should not exhaust resources or harm the environment for production or to gain profit for themselves

They should support energy-efficient or eco-friendly products and production methods

Ways in which a business project can contribute towards the community

The business can make a charitable contribution to NGOs

The business can be involved in community education

The business can employ members of the local community in their projects for the community