With increasing globalisation and competition, companies are focusing on corporate social responsibility (CSR) to strengthen their brands and obtain competitive advantages, seminar participants heard in HCM City yesterday.
The International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) defines CSR as the responsibility of an organisation for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment.
Pham Gia Tuc, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told the seminar titled “CSR: A tool to create an image and competitive advantage for Vietnamese enterprises,” that consumers in developed countries also considered how a product was produced and not just its quality.
In many countries, the movement to protect consumers’ rights and the environment had developed very strongly, and encompass movements to boycott cancer-causing additives and products using animal feather and child labour.
Due to society pressure, businesses globally considered CSR an important strategy to help them stand out in the minds of employees, consumers, and potential partners, he said.
Many large Vietnamese companies too were becoming aware that CSR was indispensable for them to enter the global market.
Thus, they were undertaking programmes like reducing carbon dioxide emissions, using renewable energy, supporting victims of natural disasters, and so on.
But many did not understand the concept thoroughly.
Prof Wayne Visser, founder and director of CSR International, said many companies in Viet Nam were small or medium-sized and so had limitations on resources.
Thus, they should not worry much about formal CSR practices like policies, codes, and CSR managers and reports.
Instead, they should adopt the principles underlying CSR — like good governance, economic development, stakeholder consultation and environmental integrity — and implement them informally in their business.
“The exception of course is where you are a part of the supply chain where the international companies require certain formal codes and that should guide the practices of small companies in Viet Nam,” he said.
Around 150 businesses took part in the event organised by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
