First principals and factors governments should be mindful of when embarking on CSR promotion initiatives

As with any policy intervention, it is important that government does not seek to expend limited public funds on actions that can be undertaken by existing players in the market. At best, that is duplication, and a misallocation of limited funds. Rather, it should identify where there is market failure or weakness, and seek to catalyze activities in that space, in ways that can become sustainable in the long-term, thereby allowing the government to exit, and move on to other tasks. This is no less true in promoting sustainable and responsible business, which must inevitably be a task that is embraced and practiced by relevant members of the corporate community. Therefore, legislating for CSR, through separate laws on CSR is generally not advisable, as the direct and indirect consequences of doing so can be costly and ineffectual, at best, and even counter-productive at worst.

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development