Economy
  Policy
  Themes
  Staff
  Links
                            
 
 
 
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Cluster of NiZA’s Economic Empowerment Programme


"In South Africa democracy is still very fragile. Corporations can help this government, or any future democratic governments, by bringing the profits of capitalism to the people."

Mokhethi Moshoeshoe (director van African Institute of Corporate Citizenship)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is about responsibility that a corporation holds in a society. This goes beyond its own behaviour and includes the conduct of all other corporations in the supply-chain: the presence of corporations have consequences in social, economic, ecological and political spheres. These consequences can be positive as well as negative.

Therefore, civil society organisations, governments and consumers are more frequently demanding corporations to be accountable for their conduct. These parties also expect corporations to listen to the interests of other role players, such as municipalities, local population or environmental organisations. In this manner, corporations can contribute to the sustainable economic development of a country.


Emphasis Points of CSR Theme
NiZA pays particular attention to the following topics:


Discussion
How can corporations be convinced of the importance of corporate social responsibility? What strategies can civil society organisations use to achieve this?
  1. Opposition: Organisations monitor a corporation on the basis of universal norms that corporations are obliged to comply with. If these norms are not met, then there are ramifications for the firm. The objective is to convince the corporation of the importance of the norms and to adjust its policy accordingly. A civil society organisation can focus on one corporation or, on a number of corporations in general.
  2. Co-operation: Another frequently applied CSR-strategy is co-operation. A civil society organisation, together with a corporation, examines the positive role that firm can take up and, in turn, what changes the firm would need to make in order to play this role. The aim is to convince the corporation about the importance of corporate social responsibility and to assist in adjusting its policy towards this end.

Corporate Social Responsibility in southern Africa
The Economic Empowerment Programme co-operates with 19 civil society organisations in Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa and Zambia in order to be able point out the responsibilities of corporations and governments in these countries. This co-operation is geared towards the mutual exchange of information, common activities on lobbying and campaigning and capacity enhancement amongst participating partners.
The goal of the co-operation is to point out the responsibilities of corporations and governments in these countries. The emphasis here is upon firms that extract (raw) minerals and precious metals as they have significant influence in these countries. They control large portions of the economies and determine to a great extent national budgets. Additionally, these firms bear great influence upon the lives of local populations and the environment. To date, the income from mining corporations has contributed minimally to sustainable and equitable economic development.

Powerstation South Africa, Kadir van Lohuizen ©

The Role of NiZA
In order to influence corporations, strong civil society organisations are essential. The Economic Empowerment Programme therefore supports organisations in the areas of:
  • Capacity development
  • Strengthening of local networks
  • Lobbying
  • Publicity

Activities in the Netherlands
NiZA is part of the Dutch CSR Platform, a coalition of over thirty civil society organisations. The platform aims at compiling recording and clarifying guidelines that businesses should comply with. Furthermore, information and knowledge is shared with the organisations in the CSR Platform. Within the platform NiZA works to clearly bring the voice of its partners to the fore.

In 2002 the CSR Platform launched the CSR Frame of Reference. This is an inventory of norms, agreements and operational guidelines that play a role in the international context of corporate social responsibility.

CSR in the Economic Empowerment Programme
The cluster Corporate Social Responsibility is closely connected to the other programmes of NiZA. The Fatal Transactions campaign and CSR are extensions of one another. This campaign pays specific attention to the conduct and responsibility of corporations with regard to conflict and peace building. Additionally, within the cluster Trade, the responsibility of corporations is also an important topic.

  • Summary NiZA Programme PPP.pdf (76 Kb) :
    Executive Summary of the NiZA Programme: Peace, Principles and Participation, Corporate Social Responsibility and Natural Resource Exploitation in Southern Africa (October 2004).
  • Sumário NiZA Programa PPP.PDF (78 Kb):
    Sumário Executivo Programa do NiZA: Paz, Princípios e Participação, Responsabilidade Social das Multinacionais e Exploração dos Recursos Naturais na África Austral(Outubro 2004)
  • Résumé NiZA Programme PPP.PDF (78 Kb):
    Résumé NiZA Programme: Paix, Principes et Participation, Responsabilité sociale des corporations et exploitations de ressources naturelles en Afrique australe (Octobre 2004)

Further information
Questions about the cluster Corporate Social Responsibility? Write to Anouk Franck at economie@niza.nl


Themes Economy Programme
trade relations | debt | NePAD
corporate social responsibility| Fatal Transactions campaign