We also make steel

On a cold December day in 1988, when Doordarshan was still the queen of
Indian TV, a refreshing and highly inspiring commercial ran on the national
network that portrayed shots of happy employees, customers, students and common
Indians who were involved in helping the country grow and prosper. That unusual
ad was from Tata Steel and had a humble but triumphant tagline: We also make
steel.

That seminal ad captured the essence of Indian philosophy, philanthropy and
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in a 15 second spot. It also encapsulated
the vision of one of Indias greatest industrialists, the venerable JRD Tata. In
1988, when I believe the ad first ran, Tata Steel was honored as the first
integrated steel company in the world outside of Japan to be awarded the Deming
Application Prize for excellence in Total Quality Management.

Raju Chellam

This column is not about the Tatas or about steel, but about CSR . In India,
the Tatas with 350,000 employees and current group revenues exceeding $63 bn,
61% of it coming from outside Indiapersonify CSR and philanthropy more than any
other corporate group.

The top six philanthropists in terms of percentage of net worth given to
charity in 2007 according to Forbes, were Intels Gordon Moore at (63%),
Microsofts Bill Gates (42%), investor George Soros (41%), TV tycoon Ted Turner
(39%), space entrepreneur Alfred Mann (27%) and real estate tycoon Eli Broad
(23%).

Why is CSR so important? Because many MNCs are now revenue-wise bigger than
the GDP of some countries. If you compare corporate sales and GDP of 100
largest economies, nearly half of them are corporations, writes Willie Cheng in
his just-released book, Doing Good Well.

Chengs book is an exhaustively researched tome on CSR and philanthropy. His
credentials? Former managing director of Accenture Singapore, managing partner
of Accentures communications and high-tech practice in Asia, ex-chair of
Singapores National Volunteer & Philanthropy Center, and chairman of the Lien
Center for Social Innovation. The hardcover book, published by John Wiley, is
available on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Doing-Good-Well-Sense-Nonprofit/dp/0470823895/ref=sr_1.

In India, the top 10 industrial houses have revenues that contribute to over
10% of Indias GDP. Globally, governments alone can not solve the earths
problems. Corporations have to step in. They have the reach of multilateral
agencies such as the WHO and WWF. All they need is awakening of their social
conscience. That seems to be happening now.

The example that large conglomerates set in philanthropy will have a
cascading effect on SMBs as well, globally and in India. According to AMI
Partners, there are some 4 mn SMBs (companies with up to 999 staff) in India.
About 98% of them are small businesses that employ fewer than 100 staff.

SMBs in northern Europe are consciously looking at green alternatives as a
normal business practice. Over the next few years expect this trend to
accelerate worldwide. And companies that dont have policies to specifically
care for the needy, or protect the environment, or respect animals, or enhance
our biodiversity, will notand should notsurvive in the tough global economy.

It makes business sense too. Investors who put their money on socially
responsible firms will technically be investing in higher quality companies. A
managing director who promotes ethical values and environment friendly policies
is less likely to get hit by lawsuits and bad publicity.