Professor Daniel Frimpong Ofori, Provost of College of Humanities, University of Ghana (UG), has urged organisations to integrate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as part of their key operations and functions.
He said CSR should not be seen as merely a philanthropic gesture by organisations, but as part of the organisational structure and functions .
Professor Ofori said this during his UG inaugural lecture on the topic: ‘Of Indomie, Kalyppo and Condoms: An Intimate Conversation about Corporate Social Responsibility in Ghana’.
The lecture discussed the history, concepts and key drivers of corporate social responsibility and proposed recommendations to organisations, national authorities and policymakers.
Prof Ofori said CSR revolved not only on what companies did with their profits, but how they made them.
He said that went beyond philanthropy and compliance and addressed how companies managed their economic, social and environmental impacts.
‘In effect, it is about managing relationships in all
key spheres of the organisation’s influence, the workplace, the marketplace, the supply chain, the community and the public policy realm,’ he said.
Prof Ofori said CSR had become more important as corporations were expected to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
He said as organisations worked to outperform each other along traditional measures of competition, CSR had become a competitive tool to derive advantage.
‘Corporate Social Responsibility has come to stay because organisations too have come to stay, leading to the grim realisation by organisations that they are required to do more – across the entire gamut of their operations – to be more economic, efficient and productive.
‘Therefore, organisations have no choice, as it is no longer a matter of ‘whether’ or ‘if’ corporate social responsibility is to be considered,’ he added.
Source: Ghana News Agency