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Journalism of Courage
First we need to understand just what we mean by corporate social responsibility. To my mind, it encompasses an organisation’s obligations to all its stakeholders — customers, employees, suppliers and the government. It also involves a responsibility to both society and the environment.
In this article, I would like to focus on two stakeholders: the environment and society. Enlightened organisations accept the reality that since they are a part of society, they have the responsibility to ensure its well-being and that they should not limit this responsibility to the mere paying of taxes.
Enlightened organisations are also aware that governments cannot take care of all the underprivileged and deprived and that governments need assistance and partnering from the corporate world in terms of managerial and financial resources. These companies have their planned social initiatives (with or without the help of civil society organisations) in areas such as education, health, women’s empowerment, community development, employment generation, social auditing, and so on.
But the question that presents itself at this juncture is what happens when a natural disaster occurs. If, for instance, there is an earthquake of gigantic proportions, whose responsibility is it to reach out to the affected people? This is the question that I have been thinking about a great deal, especially after the October 8 earthquake that has claimed innumerable lives in the Kashmir region. Is it fair to expect only the government and civil society organisations to bring in relief and rehabilitation? I think it is the obligation of every citizen of India to offer help during natural calamities and since corporates have the greatest financial muscle, a larger role is expected from them.
If this is indeed the case, I have been asked why is there relative apathy towards the suffering arising from the latest earthquake? Why has the corporate world not been as generous in its response as it was after the Gujarat earthquake?
I have not dialogued with the corporate world on this issue and I do not represent its voice, but I would like to make some guesses and they are in no way a justification for corporate inaction.
As Indians we have become numb to the suffering around us. Perhaps this is the only way we can continue to enjoy our comfortable lifestyles, surrounded as we are by the abject poverty and despair that we perceive everyday. In the last few years we have had spate of disasters — the tsunami, the flooding of Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra, earthquakes and droughts. Just as we become immune to the poverty we see, perhaps we have become immune to the natural calamities that have recently occurred with such frequency. Unless they directly affect us, or the people we care about, they no longer have the power to affect us or provoke a quick response.
With each disaster, we read in the media how donations have been misused and how the real victims do not get relief. There are unscrupulous administrators, politicians and NGOs who exploit the situation for their selfish ends. Without accountability, individuals and corporates doubt the genuineness of fund-collecting agencies and once again rationalise their inaction.
Apart from these generalised reasons, I think the state of Jammu and Kashmir does evoke some strong sentiments. One of the most beautiful tourist destinations in the world cannot be exploited to earn foreign exchange, nor can Indians visit it freely due to security reasons. The reason why the Kashmir issue is unresolved may be due to the cussedness of the Indian and Pakistani governments but somehow it does generate some resentment.
I personally feel that at times like these we need to bury all our differences, our past grievances and hurts, and reach out to the affected people when they need us. If we can do so, it could be the beginning of a genuine healing touch.
I started this piece by saying I will look at corporate social responsibility from the perspective of society and the environment. In the name of development, we have abused Planet Earth and its natural resources. We have not respected Mother Nature and I wonder if the constant disasters we now face are not nature’s warning. Can all of us, specially the corporate world, stop exploiting the earth’s scarce natural resources at this alarming rate? Environmentalists see a direct link between floods in Mumbai and the indiscriminate destruction of mangroves by those who are reclaiming land and building concrete jungles. Meteorologists predict that what were phenomena which occurred once in a hundred years, are expected to strike with far greater frequency today. Take hurricanes like Katrina, Rita and Wilma, which have struck within weeks of each other. It does appear that the ozone layer is being affected and the effects of climate change are for real.
We need to learn to live in harmony with nature and the corporate world has to realise that this sacred earth is our legacy to be kept in safe custody for generations to come. If we do not heed this message, we will be faced with more and more disasters — both natural ones and those created by human beings — which will test our ability to cope with them.
To this end, I would urge Indians — and especially Corporate India — to rekindle their conscience. We must make the effort to find a credible agency for relief measures, put aside historical tensions and disputes and reach out to the victims of the earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir. Let us remember human suffering goes beyond geographic, religious and ethnic boundaries.
The writer is a director of Thermax Limited and its former chairperson
