Redefining Social Responsibility: Integrating CSR in the Ethos of the Organisation

In India, historically, Corporate Social Responsibility has been perceived as charity and/or philanthropy. However, in the last few years, corporate responsibility has gained significance in India as companies realize that for participation in the global economy, investment in sustainability is essential. It is still, however, at an experimental phase, as few companies have a well considered corporate responsibility strategy. This could also emanate from the fact that as recent as 2012 most companies in India had a lack of clarity on the definition of CSR, its agenda and reporting, hence leading to a lack of unified view. This was evident from a CRY commissioned research on corporate perceptions of CSR.