CSR should be integrated into modern business strategy, says CJI Ranjan Gogoi

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on Friday said that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be integrated into modern business strategy.

Speaking at the second annual Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial Lecture in Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM), Gogoi said, "In order to achieve the goal of social justice in the best possible manner, it is necessary that CSR is integrated into our modern business strategy so as to make it sustainable."

"We can do that by making our business adopt, demonstrate and practice more holistic approaches to business where financial drivers together with sustainable development performance like social utility, environmental protection and economic growth are incorporated into mainstream business strategy and are embedded in organisational values," Gogoi said.

He further said that CSR goes beyond charity and requires the companies and businesses to act beyond their legal obligations and to integrate social, environmental and ethical concerns into a company's business process.

"CSR at its best is about the corporate sector reaching out from within to society outside in order to benefit both business and social and physical environment from which it springs and within which it functions. CSR does synergize social and business interests. It is because of such interdependence of business and society in modern times that makes CSR exceedingly important and it is because of that reason that CSR has been made mandatory in our country," said Gogoi.

Terming the Companies Act 2013 as a historic milestone in the context of the growth of CSR, the CJI said the Act "provides an opportunity in the corporate sector to socialise its business operations. The 2013 Act has introduced several provisions which will change the way Indian corporates do business and one such provision is spending on CSR activities. Thus CSR which has largely been a voluntary contribution by corporates has now been mandated by law.