The concept of responsibility to society in business has a long history in contrast to the general opinion. Corporate Social Responsibility is the name of the concept in the modern era that has emerged in the '70s and '80s in the community as a result of rising environmental awareness. With the rise of concerns towards globalization at the end of 90’s, the expectations of the civil society from multinational corporations have increased. The corporate sector addressed those concerns by implementing 'Corporate Social Responsibility' strategies.
In light of this assessment, the most important factor that will determine the future of CSR is the level of the expectations of consumers and civil society as well as the level of incentives for companies at the marketplace. Personally I do not see any reason why these expectations should decline. On the contrary, expectations of social responsibility and corporate investment in these areas are increasing despite we are going through one of history's greatest economic crisis. In addition, enormous pressure on limited resources of the earth caused by growing population and increase in consumption, global health issues and pandemics, the pace of technology transfer to developing countries will be other factors that will determine the future of CSR.
I anticipate two trends related to the future of CSR. First, the weight of CSR strategies is likely to increase rapidly in the developing countries like Turkey, India, Brazil and China. If you look at the history of CSR in those countries, you will see the main driver has been the demands of international business partners. As a result, in these countries the executions have been eclectic and fragmented as opposed to being strategic. In the future demands of foreign customers in these countries will be supported by increasing pressure of civil society and consumers in these countries and that will trigger a movement of integrating CSR practices into the overall business strategy. These countries that have not yet completed their economic development will have different opportunities than already developed countries. As an example, China set a target of providing 15% of energy needs from renewable sources by 2015.
The other development that I anticipate is that, CSR strategies will be seen as a source of innovation and growth and will not be limited to a tool for reputation and risk management or increasing efficiency. In practice that means a switch from the mentality of “writing a cheque” to investing in hybrid business models that combines social and business return. To give an example in the area of environmental sustainability, there will be a shift towards truly integrating the cost of the natural resources and the environmental impact of the production in the cost sheets of products. In such a world, the current business modals will be challenged and only the ones who can adapt will survive.
