state of corporate social responsibility in...

STATE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN BANGLADESH / 67

STATE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYIN BANGLADESH

AMIR MOHAMMAD NASRULLAH*

Abstract: Corporate social responsibility (CSR), an emerging issue in the developingcountries, has generated a significant debate in the academic and corporate circles inrecent times. This debate acknowledges the importance of CSR in the first-world, butraises questions regarding the extent to which corporations operating in developingcountries have CSR obligations. The aim of this paper is to review the current scenario ofcorporate social responsibility in Bangladesh. For the purpose, the nature of CSR inBangladesh, especially, CSR policies, practices, areas, and contribution by the differentorganizations collected from various secondary sources are critically analyzed. The studyfound that the CSR contribution by different organizations in Bangladesh is veryinsignificant in proportion to their annual net profit. Moreover, major Bangladeshi lawsrelated to corporate social responsibility do not possess necessary features to develop asocially responsible corporate culture in Bangladesh. This paper suggests that acomprehensive policy by the government regarding CSR contribution, involvement oflarge corporation in CSR activities and mandating CSR disclosures in the annual reportswill fulfill the intended goals of the corporate organizations and also ensure a successfuland sustainable development of the society.

Key Words: Corporate Social Responsibility and Bangladesh

INTRODUCTIONCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an evolving process and its manifestationvaries between countries and between cultures. It is a voluntary role of business incontributing to a better society and a cleaner environment beyond its financial andcapital commitments. It is more often misunderstood as giving back to the societyand considered to be synonymous with philanthropy. The dominant school of thoughtis that CSR is not philanthropic activity and a business must earn for what itinvests. The company does it for its own long term good. Drawing a parallel withpublicity and public relations it is argued that philanthropy could earn publicitybut CSR, like public relations is a long term investment with assured returns. Itadvocates that CSR constitutes a series of initiatives taken by a company in itsenlightened self-interest (Porag, 2014). CSR is seen as more than a collection of

JOURNAL OF ASIAN BUSINESS MANAGEMENTVol. 8, No. 2, July-December 2016: 67-91

* Professor of Public Administration, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh

68 / AMIR MOHAMMAD NASRULLAH

discrete practices and occasional gestures or initiatives motivated by marketing,public relations or other business benefits. Rather, it is viewed as a comprehensiveset of policies, practices and programmes that are integrated throughout businessoperations and decision-making processes (Belal, 2008). This qualitative reviewaims at critically evaluating the policies, practices and challenges of CSR inBangladesh. For the purpose various literatures collected from different secondarysources such as official documents, web sources etc. were reviewed and analyzed.This paper ends with suggesting some recommendations to face the challenges inpracticing CSR in Bangladesh.

DEFINING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)CSR is a reality of recent decades, but there is no universal definition of CSR, evenacross global corporate bodies. However, CSR means open and transparent businesspractices that are based on ethical values and respect for employees, communitiesand the environment which is designed to deliver sustainable value to the societyat large, as well as to the shareholders. It also refers to business decision makingcompliance with legal requirements. It is a comprehensive set of policies, practicesand programmes that are integrated throughout business operations that aresupported and rewarded by the top management (Porag, 2014). McGuire (1963)defined CSR as “the idea of social responsibilities supposes that the corporationhas not only economic and legal obligations but also certain responsibilities to societywhich extend beyond these obligations”. Holme and Watts (2000) defined CSR asthe “continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute toeconomic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and theirfamilies as well as of the local community and society at large” (Holme and Watts,2000). Fundamentally, CSR is governed by the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) i.e. people,planet, and profit. By incorporating CSR policies, businesses embrace theirresponsibility towards the environment, consumers, employees, stakeholders,suppliers, communities and the other members of the community, and contributeto their social obligations by promoting and encouraging community developmentand eliminating the practices that harm it. Though various definitions have beenattached to the term, CSR in its broadest sense delineates the relationship betweenbusiness and society and the role of business in sustainable development. Thefundamental idea behind CSR is that a corporation or company incursresponsibilities to society beyond maximization of profit and beyond meeting theminimal requirement of the law (Porag, 2014).

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: INTERNAL VS EXTERNALAs of James Epstein-Reeves, a Forbes Contributor, CSR is a way for companies tobenefit themselves while also benefiting society. However, there are six reasons asto why companies should embrace CSR. These are: innovation; cost savings; branddifferentiation; long-term thinking; customer engagement; and employeeengagement. CSR has numerous aspects. Corporations are overwhelmed by many


issues in the name of CSR, such as stakeholder demands, environmental issues,issues of sustainability, diversity, labour conditions, ethical investment, andphilanthropy among others. Clearly, there is no agreed concept. An importantdistinction should be made, however, between internal and external CSR practices(Quazi et.al., 2007). Internal CSR refers to programmes that focus on the corebusiness and on the workforce, such as, human resources practices, health, safetyand environmental practices, codes of conduct, fulfilling and motivating workenvironment, employee development programmes, local content policies, assessingand increasing the social and environmental impact of a company, environmentalmanagement systems, and product responsibility. External CSR refers to socio-environmental programmes directed towards the external environment, includingcommunity development, sponsorships, donations and contributions to civil societyorganizations, educational programmes at various levels, supply-chain management,cluster development, and involvement in the development debate. It is differentfrom philanthropy and public relations/marketing. Unlike philanthropy, CSR is“an investment from which companies should expect tangible returns and positiveimpact on their net profits”. In contrast, philanthropy relates to “donations orcharitable giving from which companies do not necessarily expect any direct positiveimpacts on their business activities” (Porag, 2014).

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF CSRCSR has been historically viewed as a developed-country phenomenon. As such, alarge body of literature on social performance of firms has emerged in the contextof developed countries. Literature on the theory and practice on CSR in thedeveloping countries therefore remains scant (Belal, 2000). Literature shows thatthe key CSR issues affecting developing countries relate to the strategic motivationsfor adopting socially responsible practices.

CARROLL’S PYRAMID OF CSRArchie Carroll (1991) explains CSR as a multi layered concept that can bedifferentiated into four interrelated responsibilities such as economic, legal, ethicaland philanthropic. In this multilayered pyramid those four categories are notmutually exclusive, nor are they intended to represent a continuum with economicconcerns on one end and social concerns on the other. The following figure illustratesCarroll’s CSR pyramid summarized by Hemphil (2004) and Windsor (2001):

From the essence of Carroll’s model, a firm is considered as socially responsible ifit is profitable, obeys the law, engages in ethical behavior and gives back to societythrough philanthropy. Accordingly Hemphill (2004) summarizes these fourcomponents of CSR as striving to make a profit (economic), obey the law (legal), beethical (ethics) and be a good corporate citizen in its relationship with stakeholders(philanthropic). Windsor (2001) summarizes Carroll’s model as societal expectationwhere economic and legal responsibilities are socially required, ethical responsibilitiesare socially expected and philanthropy is socially desired (Sweeny, 2009).


Here the economic responsibility of the firm is the bedrock foundation forbusiness and represents its fundamental responsibility. Legal responsibilitiesrequire a firm to abide by the laws of the society. Ethical responsibilities requirethat businesses abide by moral rules, do what is right, just and fair; respect people’smoral rights; and avoid harm or social injury as well as prevent harm caused byothers. A firm’s altruistic or discretionary responsibilities entail its voluntary socialinvolvement, humanitarian contributions guided only by firm’s desire to participatein social activities that are not mandated, not required by law and not generallyexpected of business (Quazi et.al., 2007).

Although there is a considerable value in Carroll’s model, this model wronglyreflects a natural progression from economic to philanthropic responsibilities, as isthe case for example with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Thorne et al, 1993); as itmakes the assumption that, the category at the top of the pyramid (philanthropy)is the most important or highly valued category, one that organizations shouldstrive for. But this hierarchy is confusing and possibly unnecessary as ‘true’ socialresponsibility requires the meeting of all four levels uninterruptedly (Amin, 2014).

From the above discussion, there is no confusion that, CSR is an ethical conceptand the sense of doing CSR comes from the moral values of corporate owners.Corporate initiative for social responsibility does not come from mere social or legalpressure. We find it originates from corporation’s role in society, responsiveness oranswerability of the corporate owners and also from the sense of moral duty towardssociety to maximize expected social utility.

Source: Lorraine Sweeney (2009)

Figure: Pyramid of Responsibility


Combining Caroll’s (1979) framework with Quazi and O’Brien’s (2000) modelfor corporate social responsibility provides a useful mechanism for investigatingCSR in Bangladesh. Caroll (1979) suggested that all firms strive to balance theireconomic, legal, ethical and philanthropic/ discretionary responsibilities in orderto meet their social obligations. Quazi and O’Brien (2000), on the other hand,considered CSR actions within a two-dimensional model that positioned such actionsin terms of whether their strategic motivation was altruistic or corporate.

The following figure provides a graphical representation of the conceptualframework of CSR (Quazi et.al., 2007).

Figure: Corporate Social Responsibility Framework

Source: Carroll, (1979 and 1991); Quazi and O’Brien, (2000)

As of this framework of CSR, economic responsibilities lay the foundation of allsocial obligations and are deeply rooted in the classical doctrine of “business ofbusiness is business” as endorsed by noble laureate Milton Friedman (1970). Legalresponsibilities are mandatory for corporations as these are prescribed by law.Therefore, corporations have no choice but to comply with these basic “ground rules”(Carrol, 1979). Ethical responsibilities of corporations are additional responsibilitiesgoing beyond legal compliance and profit making and include those that firms believeare the right things to do. Ethical responsibility stems from humanistic, religiousand moral orientation of corporations (Lantos, 2001). The philanthropic/discretionary responsibilities refer to the voluntary nature of obligations rooted inthe altruistic principles that are neither required by law nor are expected by thecommunity. The drive for such responsibilities arises from the reciprocal obligationof giving back to community in exchange of profit and power that businesses receivefrom society (Quazi et.al., 2007).


LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR CSR IN BANGLADESHThere is no specific legislation in Bangladesh to assist the regulation of CSR.However, in the recent days, CSR has drawn much attention of the policymakers(Rahim 2012). CSR issue has been emphasized much more specially after collapseof the garments factory building ‘Rana Plaza’ in 2013 in Savar, Dhaka. TheBangladesh Labour Act 2006 has been questioned and amended. However, inBangladesh the Companies Act 1994 and the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 areconsidered the bases for corporate social responsibility practices in Bangladesh.Recently the government recently approved the final draft of “The Bangladesh EPZLabour Law, 2016” that also supports CSR.

The following section describes the nature and provisions of CSR in Bangladeshas described in those Acts.

THE COMPANY ACT 1994The Company Act 1994 describes the provisions to initiate a company as well asthe rights and liabilities of a company, its shareholders, directors and managers.The Act also defines the rights and liabilities of business owners or boards ofcorporate directors. Corporate governance attributes of a company is also definedin section 104 and Schedule 1 of this Act, but the social responsibilities of directorsor their management strategies are not specified in this Act (Khatun, 2014).

Liabilities of DirectorsAccording to this Act, company directors are liable for most of the financial operationsonly to the stockholder and they are rarely personally liable for any damages to thestakeholders caused due to their irresponsible business strategies.

Publication of Annual ReportAccording to the Act, companies have to publish annual reports based on the financialperformance of the company which is as an indirect initiative to present corporatestrategies before the corporate constituencies. Moreover, the annual reports do notcontain their non-financial performance. Recently, a requirement concerningenvironmental disclosure on the expenditure on energy has been made mandatoryfor corporate bodies.

Social Responsibility of DirectorsThe Act does not provide adequate judicial observation related to its provisions topromote the social responsibility of directors. Section 145 of the Act imposesliabilities on directors and officials for disclosing untrue statements, but it does notmention the liabilities of other people such as lawyers, auditors, underwriters andso on who are also involved with the preparation of the prospectus.

In fact, the Act does not require any specific duty for corporate management tofulfill social responsibility and the provisions in the Act related to these issues and


the suitability of these provisions to reach the objective are to be reviewed, as thiscould help to evaluate the strength of the legislation to make companies sociallyresponsible (Khatun, 2014).

THE BANGLADESH LABOUR ACT 2006Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA) 2006 is a comprehensive set of labourregulations that reflects its ratification of all the core labor standards ofthe International Labour Organization (ILO), though the labourers in themanufacturing sector of Bangladesh experience numerous violations ofworkers’ rights supposedly guaranteed in the Act (Rahim, 2012). Up until 2006,there were 44 labour-related laws covering four broad categories of labour issues:(a) wages and employment; (b) trade-union and industrial disputes; (c) workingenvironment and occupational health; and (d) labour administration and industrialrelations. BLA, 2006 has repealed almost all of these laws and consolidated thematters of all these four groups of issues within its ambit (Karim 2009). Governmentof Bangladesh passed the Labour Act 2006 on the 11th October, 2006 repealing theexisting 25 laws of the country. However, the Act has been amended several timeslater on.

The provisions of amended BLA 2006 related to issues of corporate socialresponsibilities are discussed below:

Right to Termination of a ContractProvisions have been made for the termination of a contract by either of the parties.An employer has to provide at least a 120-day notice or payment of wages for 120days. Similarly, a permanent worker may resign from his service by giving to theemployer in writing sixty day’s notice. In both cases, the employer has to paycompensation equivalent to 30 days’ wages for each year a permanent worker hasbeen working for him or her

Benefit for Sudden DeathBLA 2006 has also addressed another important issue “benefit for sudden death”which was not included in the previous labour-related laws. Now, the owners haveto pay an amount equivalent to 30 days’ wages or gratuity, whichever is higher, tothe nominee of the deceased or his or her dependants in case a worker dies while inservice after a continuous service of not less than three years. This benefit is inaddition to the benefits the worker would have received as retirement benefits.Employers are also liable to pay compensation for personal injury caused to a workerby accident arising out of and in the course of his employment.

Provision and Definition of OvertimeThe BLA 2006 has made provision and clear definition of overtime, however, theprevious law was unclear regarding the calculation of overtime. Every worker is


now entitled to ten days’ casual and 14 days’ sick leave in a calendar year with fullbenefits.

Formation of Trade UnionThe BLA 2006 has ensured the right for workers to form trade union primarily forthe purpose of regulating the relations between workers and employers or workersand workers. Regarding membership this law describes that it is not possible tobecome a member of a trade union of a company if the person is not employed inthat particular company.

Provision for Workplace Safety and HealthThe present amendments specially considered two burning issues related to workplacesafety and health and freedom of association. In the amended law provision has beenmade for an accidental death while working in the establishment or on duty at therate of forty five days for every completed year of service. The employer also liable tocontinue treatment, on his own cost and responsibility of the worker suffering fromoccupational disease or until the worker becomes completely cured. Under theamendments compensation for work-related deaths will be provided after two yearsin employment, compared to the current three years.

Provision for Health CentreSeveral provisions have been included to improve workplace safety in the amendedlaw. The employer should run a health centre for establishment or part of it having5,000 or more workers are employed or arrange for a Welfare Officer where in anyestablishment, 500 or more workers are employed.

Inspection of Workplace Safety and Health ConditionsThe labour inspectorate is also given new responsibilities to inspect safety andhealth conditions of workplaces and conduct on-the-spot inspections in the presentamended Act.

Provision for Group InsuranceThe present law ensures group insurance by the Employer in the establishmentswherein 100 permanent workers are employed instead of previous 200 workers.Additionally, accident-insurance scheme for workers under group insurance is alsointroduced in an establishment where there is a minimum of 10 workers, theemployer shall introduce and implement accident-insurance. The benefits or moneyreceived from such an accident-insurance scheme shall be utilized for the purposeof the treatment of workers.

Rahim (2012) analyzed and compared BLA, 2006 with seven internationallyrecognized general codes of conduct related to labour issues in business industries


such as the SA8000 of Social Accountability International, Base Code of the EthicalTrading Initiative, Fair Labour Association, Fair Wear Foundation, Business SocialCompliance Initiative, Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production, and JointInitiative on Corporate Accountability and Workers’ Rights. He concludes that, ifthe manufacturing units of a company of Bangladesh were 100 per cent compliantwith the Code, it would address 85 percent of the requirements of the general codesof conduct just mentioned (Khatun, 2014). However, BLA 2006 mainly focuses onthe rights of the employees in the industries and responsibilities of the employer inBangladesh but lack specific rules covering other aspects of CSR such as externalresponsibilities.

BANGLADESH EPZ LABOUR LAW, 2016The cabinet recently approved the final draft of “The Bangladesh EPZ Labour Law,2016” keeping a provision for constitution of labour organisations in the ExportProcessing Zones (EPZs) as well as (formation of) a permanent wage board for theirworkers. The law is going to be framed in the light of the existing Labour Law2006. The advantages of the law include financial facility for the workers, theirretirement benefits, mandatory group insurance, compensation in case of deaths,cash payment for earned leave, paying full salary as festival bonus and maternityleave for 16 weeks.

Some of the provisions of the Law are discussed below:

Right to AssociationThe law ensures the right to association of the EPZ workers. The law proposed alabour organization, to be formed by the EPZ workers, would be named as ‘ShramikKalyan Samity’ and it’s consistent with the central bargaining agent (CBA) andtrade union.

Compensation for on-duty DeathUnder the proposed law, the family members of a worker would get compensationof Taka 2 lakh if he or she dies while on duty, while Taka 2.25 lakh have been fixedfor a worker for his or her “permanent” or “complete” disability.

Formation of Permanent Wage BoardThe law has kept a provision for forming a 12-member permanent wage boardcomprising the representatives from workers and investors as well as representativefrom a neutral source. The Executive Chairman of BEPZA would act as the chief ofthe permanent wage board for fixing the minimum wages for the workers. The lawhas ensured the right for joint wage bargaining for the workers where the workersrepresentatives would be able to bargain directly with the owners for fixing wage,working hours, appointments and the conditions for appointments and observingstrikes.


Provision for RetirementThe law kept a provision for the workers to retire from their jobs from the EPZfactories on completion of 60 years of age while they could also opt for (voluntary)retirement upon completion of their jobs for 25 years. The workers would enjoyprovident fund facilities in both the cases.

It is hoped that the EPZ Labour Law would ensure labour-friendly atmospherein the EPZs and protect the rights of the workers. The law is framed in line withthe ILO convention since Bangladesh is a signatory to ILO while there were alsodemands from the international agencies. However, EPZ is yet to accept and ratifythe law. It is also seen that this law covers few of the aspects of CSR, especiallyemployee rights issues in Bangladesh.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PRACTICES IN BANGLADESHCSR practices differ from country to country and between developed and developingcountries. Furthermore, the nature and patterns of CSR vary between types ofindustry (Imam, 2000). CSR is still an evolving concept that enables corporateexecutives to create and apply self-determined policies to best meet the needs anddemands of its stakeholders. Hackston and Milne (1996) used six categories:environment, energy, human resources, product and safety, community involvement,and other. However, till today, most of the businesses in Bangladesh are familyowned and first generation businesses (Mondol, 2007). Businesses are involved incommunity development work in the form of charity without having any definitepolicy about the expenses or any solid motive regarding financial gains in manyinstances. It is evident that the importance of CSR in the first-world, questionsregarding the extent to which corporations operating in developing countries haveCSR obligations are still to be worked out (Jamali and Mishak, 2007).

However, the discussions on CSR practices in Bangladesh in its modern globalterms, are relatively new, but not so for the concept itself. CSR concepts and practicesin Bangladesh have a long history of philanthropic activities from time immemorial.These philanthropic activities included donations to different charitableorganizations, poor people and religious institutions. Till now, most of the businessesin Bangladesh are family owned and first generation businesses. They are involvedin community development work in the form of charity without having any definitepolicy regarding the expenses or any concrete motive regarding financial gains inmany instances (Miyan, 2006; 2011).

Moreover, most of the SMEs fall under the informal sector having lowmanagement structure and resources to address the social and environmental issues.These limitations drive the top management of local companies to think only aboutthe profit maximization rather than doing business considering the triple bottomline: profit, planet and people (Mondol, 2007).

There has been increasing pressure on national and multinational corporationsin Bangladesh to consider the social implications of their actions (Belal, 2001).


Companies are getting aware of it because being a part of global market, it is reallydifficult to ignore CSR standard particularly in the export sector. It is evident thatCSR practices are gradually getting integrated into cross-border business practicesand consequently becoming one of the determining factors for accessing market. Itis becoming equally instrumental for local acceptability as well. Bangladeshi firmsare to focus on CSR not only for improving corporate governance, labour rights, fairtreatment of workers, community development and environment management, butalso for industrialization and ensuring global market access (Miyan, 2011 andMondol, 2007).

A number of corporations are now following an increased commitment to CSRbeyond just profit making and compliance with regulation. It is also found thatinitiatives in CSR activities in Bangladesh are pioneered by MNCs. SinceBangladesh is now exposed to global standards, it can be anticipated that the CSRactivities in Bangladesh will continue to be extended. Firms are now trying to upholdtheir corporate image of socially responsible firms and consequently influenceconsumer buying decisions in favor of the goods and services marketed by them(Alam et.al.; and Belal, 2008).

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT TO CSR IN BANGLADESHA review of the CSR practices reveals that a number of corporations are showingan increased commitment to CSR beyond profit making and compliance withregulation. For example, CARE Bangladesh, Katalyst and Bangladesh EnterpriseInstitute (BEI) are working at the forefront of CSR programs in Bangladesh. Katalysthas been developing programs for CSR and have prepared a Corporate Social Audit(CSA) catering to small/medium enterprises. Similarly CARE had initiatedsuccessful CSR programs with BATA where the company is using the extensivenetwork of CARE to promote its environment friendly products door-to-door in ruralcommunities. While these initiatives are more discretionary in their nature, theyhave resulted in the creation of jobs and value-added services to communities whichBATA and CARE are showcasing as CSR programs in action (Quazi, et.al., 2007).

The following table provides a summary of the organizational commitment andactions reflected by different prominent multi-national corporations and large localfirms operating in Bangladesh. Some banks and consumer products companies havedirectly, or through their established foundations, undertaken CSR programs.Several pharmaceutical companies have also social responsibility activities. It ismentioned in their annual reports that, they had shown commitment to CSR byfunding activities such as city beautification projects, employing physicallyhandicapped people, sponsoring medical camps, education scholarships, providingmedicines and support for disaster recovery programs.

The above table shows that most of the firms implemented CSR for mostlyethical or discretionary reasons. Some firms have no CSR related information intheir reports. But some firms have CSR initiatives for different strategic reasons,


TableOrganizational Commitment to CSR

Organization’s Name Organization’s Commitment to CSR Type of action

Southeast Bank Ltd Undertake CSR activities towards Corporate Giving, Ethical/ discretionary(SEBL) a component of CSR activities.

Dutch Bangla Bank Undertake sustainable CSR activities such as Ethical/ discretionary(DBBL) improvement of health, education and poverty

alleviation’ in Bangladesh.

HSBC Bangladesh Supporting disability centers for the benefit of Ethicaldisable people.

CARE/BATA Promotion of CSR through commercial partnerships. Discretionary

Katalyst Providing ethical consulting services to SMEs in Ethicalorder to raise awareness of CSR.

British American Providing free basic IT education, Legal/ discretionaryTobacco Company re-forestation program.

Rangpur Foundry Promoting corporate governance and social DiscretionaryLimited responsibility strategies.

Advanced Chemical Responsibility to shareholders and other EthicalIndustries (ACI) stakeholders.

Unilever Bangladesh Empower the economic situation of women Ethical/ discretionarythrough trainings, scholarships, and IT education.

Renata Ltd Funding city beautification projects, employing Ethical/ discretionaryphysically handicapped people, and sponsoringmedical camps.

Square Commitments to the area of supporting acid burn Ethical/ discretionaryPharmaceuticals Ltd victims and sporting events.

Ibn Sina Commitments to running free Friday health clinics, DiscretionaryPharmaceuticals and offer disaster management grants.

Beximco Commitment to donate medicine support for Ethical/ discretionaryPharmaceuticals AIDS patient and disaster recovery supports.

Source: Quazi, et.al., (2007)

indicating that even though such firms could be ethically motivated, they were stillkeen to exploit any economic benefits associated with their CSR activities. However,overall, we can say that corporations in Bangladesh are concerned with CSR, andare implementing CSR initiatives to build social equity within their employees, thecommunity and relevant stakeholders, even if the motivation is altruistic (Quazi,et.al., 2007).

NATURE OF CSR ACTIVITIES OF VARIOUS COMPANIES IN BANGLADESHCSR activities in Bangladesh have increased significantly in importance.Corporations are now trying to uphold their corporate image of socially responsiblefirms and expected to perform well in areas such as human rights, business ethics,environmental policies, community development, corporate governance, safe


working conditions and contributions to community groups. To understand therecent trend of CSR in the context of Bangladesh, we briefly pointed out CSRactivities of some selected companies below:

TableCSR activities of some Bangladeshi Companies

Name of the Company Nature of CSR Activities

Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited CSR activities: Education, health, environment etc such as(DBBL) scholarships in Bangladesh for the meritorious students, well-being

of children with special needs, plastic surgery operation for the poorcleft-lipped boys and girls, free cataract operation camp for the poorpatients, establish a Teachers’ Training Center with full facilities foryear round training to the school teachers of rural non-governmenthigh schools etc.

Prime Bank Limited CSR activities for the greater interest of country’s socio economicdevelopment such as, renewable scholarship program forunderprivileged but meritorious students, Dristy Daan project forpoor/ultra-poor cataract patients, supported to setting up hospital& trauma centers; provide treatment and care of non-communicablediseases; initiate activities related to prevention of maternal mortalityand provide health care for garments workers, establishing healthcenters and a teachers’ training college and off shore health line callcenters, prevention of environment degradation and promotion ofenvironment; support to people living in the coastal and ‘char’ areas

Grameenphone Limited CSR initiatives of GP are based on 3 main focused areas: Health,Education and Environment such as Online School, free eye caresupport, Hygiene Sanitation, safe drinking water supply, and solarbased community power project.

Robi Axiata Limited CSR Activities of Robi include increasing IT literacy among thestudents of rural and semi-urban areas; promoting safe drinking waterfacility; promoting solar driven technology among the needy people

Givensee Garments Limited CSR activities of Givensee include Old Rehabilitation Centre andMedical Services’ all basic amenities like accommodation, foods,cloths, medicines and other facilities are provided free of cost to theneglected and helpless old people till their death.

Viyellatex Group CSR activities of Viyellatex rehabilitating physically challenged andunderprivileged individuals in the RMG industry through the Centerfor Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP)

PHP Family CSR activities of PHP include low-cost quality medical services, freemedical camp, health education program, maternity & child healthcare, sanitation & hygiene, cancer awareness to the villagers, andvoluntary medical & relief team during flood & other disasters, treeplantation program

SQUARE Pharmaceuticals CSR activities of SQUARE include facilitate education and healthcareto the disadvantage population, supports ICDDRB for research onchildhood Diarrhea and Post-Partum Hemorrhage (PPH), establishtraining institutions to train the underprivileged community, donatemedicine at disaster stroked area, help flood victims, distributeWinter clothes among poor families during Winter

Source: Annual Reports of the Concerned Companies


CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: THE CENTRAL BANK’SINITIATIVESThe investment of Bangladesh companies in CSR is not significant, particularly inthe light of their large annual profits. Also some of the CSR practicing companiesdo not follow the labour act properly in their organization. The major areas inwhich CSR activities were undertaken are underprivileged child development,education, health, youth development/Sport, and Environment. The Governmentdoes not have a CSR policy and there is no designated focal point for CSR withinthe Government. Only Bangladesh Bank, the Central bank of Bangladesh, plays asignificant role in CSR promotion to the banking sectors. Bangladesh Bank hastaken various steps for the promotion of CSR.

The Board of Directors of BB has approved a separate fund named ‘BangladeshBank Disaster Management & Corporate Social Responsibility Fund’ as own CSRactivities in FY14. Taka 50 million from the annual profit is contributed to thefund during the year for capacity building in different social responsibility projectsaddressing health, education, environment and human resources development etc.

Moreover, BB itself has created a fund of Taka 1.0 billion with the assistance ofJapan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to improve safety standards inthe RGM sector to help factory owners for having credit facility from commercialbanks at a maximum of 10 percent interest for rebuilding and relocating factoriesand equipment purchase (BBR, 2015).

CSR ACTIVITIES OF BANKS AND NON BANK FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS(NBFIS)CSR initiatives of banks and NBFIs mainly focuses on i) financial inclusion of lessprivileged population segments and underserved economic sectors, ii) promotion ofhealth, education and cultural/recreational activities for advancement and wellbeing of underprivileged population segments, iii) promotion of environment friendlyprojects, iv) humanitarian & disaster relief v) adoption of energy efficient, carbon

TableCSR Expenditure of Banks and NBFIs in (million Taka)

Banks Banks NBFIs NBFIs

Sectors 2014 Sectoral Share 2014 Sectoral ShareHumanitarian & disaster relief 792.3 17.8 10.7 23.1Education 1238.6 27.8 10.2 22.0Health 1058.2 23.7 8.8 19.0Sports 208.8 4.7 0.3 0.6Art & culture 368.2 8.3 6.4 13.8Environment 128.5 2.9 1.8 3.9Others 667.2 15.0 8.2 17.7Total 4461.8 100 46.4 100

Source: Bangladesh Bank, 2015


footprint reducing internal processes and practices in own offices andestablishments. Total amount of CSR expenditure by banks and NBFIs in 2014was nearly Taka 4500 million (BBR, 2015). The following table shows thedetails about the sectoral share in CSR in 2014 by different banks and BNFIs inBangladesh.

CSR PRACTICES OF DIFFERENT COMPANIES IN BANGLADESH OTHERTHAN BANKSA list of companies in Bangladesh other than banks has different CSR activities.The following table shows the yearly turnover and their expenditure for CSRactivities of some companies in Bangladesh.

TableCSR Budget of Different Companies in their Annual Report

Company Name Yearly Turnover: BDT in Million Expenditure for CSR: BDT in Million

BRAC Bank Limited 194,549.0 (Annual Report 2011) Not mentioned in Annual Report.

IDLC Finance 2,160.0 (Annual Report 2012) Not mentioned in Annual Report.

Grameenphone Ltd 89,060.0 (Annual Report: 2011) Not mentioned in Annual Report.

Apex Tannery 3,067.2 (Annual Report 2012) 0.55

Apex Adelchi Footwear Ltd 95,498.5 (Annual Report 2011) Not mentioned in Annual Report.

Beximco Pharmaceuticals 7,892.4 (December 2011) Not mentioned in Annual Report.

Summit Alliance Port 4,757.2 (Annual Report: 2011) 12,4.1 (Annual Report: 2011)Limited

Singer Bangladesh 5,461.2 (Annual Report 2011) 1.5 (Annual report, 2011)

Titas Gas Dist. Co. Ltd 68,551.2 (Annual Report 2010-11) 1.3

Nestle Bangladesh No Annual Report Kept confidential

Babylon Group 131.0 Not mentioned in Annual Report.

Gemini Sea Foods Ltd 1,077.8 Not mentioned in Annual Report.

Source: Porag, (2014) Compiled from Respective Companies Annual Reports

The table shows that most of the companies were hesitant to report their yearlyCSR Budget in their annual reports. Only Singer Bangladesh, Summit Power, ApexTannery and Titas Gas presented the amount of financial aid for CSR activities totheir annual reports.

CSR PRACTICES AND DISCLOSURES OF NBFIsCSR practices and disclosures of non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) on thebasis of their extent of disclosures of contribution towards CSR activities and theprofit after tax are presented in the following table. It shows the overall resultsfound from the annual reports of 15 NBFIs. The table shows the average results ofthe contribution of NBFIs as CSR and net profit for a specific year.


TableRelationship of CSR Contribution by NBFIs to Net Profit

Year Average CSR Contribution Average Profit After Tax Percentage of CSR of(Tk. in millions) (Tk. in millions) Net Profit

2010 1.40 717 0.19%2011 1.03 473 0.22%2012 1.07 503 0.21%2013 2.59 473 0.55%2014 3.06 788 0.39%Average 1.90 586 0.32%

Source: Hamid, (2016)

The above table shows that the relationship of contribution to CSR by the NBFIsto net their profit is very poor. It is very pathetic that despite being social units anddespite exploiting social resources, the NBFIs are not taking care of the society inwhich they are operating. That is why CSR activities like other business activitiesshould be made mandatory to certain percentage of profit or revenue, which maylead the NBFIs to report CSR activities in a better manner (Hamid, 2016).

PROMOTION OF CSR IN BANGLADESHTo promote CSR in Bangladesh government as well as different other organizationshave initiated different programmes and policies. The following are few of those:

Tax Exemption for CSR CompaniesAn initiative by the Government of Bangladesh that has moved CSR project fundingforward is the offer of a 10% Tax Exemption by the NBR. Initially SRO 08 set outthe projects and causes, including city beautification by companies adopting andplanting in the road central dividers, which could be recognized for Tax Exemptionfor CSR and this list was then later revised in a budget speech by the HonorableFinance Minister.

Awareness Raising Initiatives on CSRDuring the last few years a wide range of organisations have offered CSR discussionsand events such as seminars, workshops, and round tables. Sometimes these eventswere facilitated by universities, embassies, donor agencies, companies and evenbanks. Chambers of Commerce and Industries in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulnahost CSR seminars. BGMEA and BKMEA also organize workshop and discussionon CSR issues. These bodies often have their own CSR Sub Committees or StandingCommittees.

Establishment of CSR Think TankThe Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) established CSR Centre, as a trust,which is now working as a full-fledged think tank for CSR in Bangladesh. The


primary objective of the Centre is to become the prime source of information,resources, and advisory services on CSR in Bangladesh, and the operational principalis to contribute to achieving the human development targets set in the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) through private sector led growth. CSR Centre is alsothe focal point for UNGC in Bangladesh which is the prime UN body of CSR. TheCentre is continuously working for the better CSR practices in Bangladesh throughtrainings, workshops, seminars, conferences and policy-advocacy. CSR Centre alsopublishes an Annual CSR Report which highlights the best practices of CSR inBangladesh.

CSR Awards in BangladeshSeveral organizations in Bangladesh have highlighted good CSR practice in thecorporate sector by presenting CSR Awards. These include Standard CharteredBank and HSBC. The national print media’s reporting of CSR projects generallyand of these award ceremonies in particular have also been influential in thedevelopment of CSR in Bangladesh. The leadership of the Daily Star and theFinancial Express in CSR reporting has been important as has been the role playedby Editor’s and Deputy Editors in pioneering the MRDI-Manusher Jonno ‘ConnectingCSR with Development to Address Poverty’ initiative.

CSR ACTIVITIES AND PRACTICES: WHERE DOES BANGLADESH STAND?In Bangladesh most of the companies have some common CSR activities mainlytargeting marginalized group which covers the area of education, healthcare, sports,environment and humanitarian assistance. Researches on CSR show that most ofthe organizations though they understand the concept of corporate socialresponsibility, they do not follow any CSR guide line, policy or advice from anyCSR consultation center. Most of them simply do some philanthropic activity anddeclared that as CSR activity.

Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) identified some gaps in the concept ofCSR in Bangladesh. BEI noted that while the CSR concept assumes compliance tolaws, in Bangladesh, compliance to some laws are either absent or non-existent.Many business enterprises with a very good track record in CSR have been involvedin deliberate attempts to hide information to reduce tax burden, receivinggovernment supports as well as have not been paying their loans. Weak financialregulations and legal enforcement is considered a major cause for such attitudes.Consequently, their voluntary participation in CSR shows their strong commitmentto social responsibility but a very pitiable record on corporate responsibility (BEIreport).

Companies with evidence in working for the society have ignored their ownemployees in terms of paying dues, supporting minimum wage rules, and abidingby other clauses of the labor and company laws. Moreover, most of the companieswere hesitant to report their yearly CSR budget in their annual report as well.


In terms of CSR activities related to human rights and labor rights, companieshave little to no interest in supporting rules related to employment of child labor,overtime payment, working hours, right to secure leave during maternity periods,etc. Similarly, verification of employment records, severance pay due to terminationof services, etc., are also not followed in many companies (BEI report).

BEI noted that many companies in Bangladesh are engaged in activities likeproviding education for the children of their workers, scholarships, medical facilities,and other workers’ welfare scheme which are primarily voluntary in nature. Theseare CSR activities in Bangladesh but in many western countries they are obligatoryin nature. Similarly, healthy environment within the factory premises is also partof CSR in Bangladesh. These are legally required but are never enforced inBangladesh. Precautionary activities to safeguard health of the workers and alsocustomers are sometimes CSR activities in Bangladesh (BEI report).

In terms of environmental issues, enforcement of the environmental regulationis very weak and so the compliance is nearly non-existence. Companies followingthe 3Rs (reduce, recycle and reuse) during waste disposals are engaged in CSRactivities and it is still voluntary for a majority of companies in Bangladesh. Finally,high level of corruption and bribing is also a major cause for non-compliance torules for many Bangladeshi enterprises.

CSR activities of the companies adhered to a discretionary conception of CSRand all of them are practicing CSR through philanthropic contributions. Thecorporations of our country still think their charitable or philanthropic contributionsto be CSR. The inner philosophy of CSR is still far reaching here and companieshave no specific CSR policy guidelines to make their contributions sustainable(Rashid, 2012).

CHALLENGES TO CSR PRACTICES IN BANGLADESHIn practicing CSR Bangladeshi companies face different challenges. Lack ofenforcement of industrial laws and regulations, weak unions, absence of consumerrights groups and high level of corruption within the regulatory bodies makeCSR violation rampant in Bangladesh. RMG sector and the overseas manpowerexport are the most significant foreign exchange sources of Bangladesh. Butunbelievably low compensation, long working hours, bad health/hygiene/sanitationconditions, fire safety and various types of abuse are so common and to the extentof inhumanity that will shock any conscientious individual to the core (CSR Review,2013).

Many industrial units run with half-century old machinery producing fatal air,soil and water pollutions. More modern factories also don’t care to install EffluentTreatment Plants. Starting from FMCGs, vegetables, fruits and all other consumablegoods, adulteration, abnormal ripening at times with poisonous elements, keepingfish fresh with applying deadly formalin and all other malpractice is rampant andcarefree (Quazi et.al., 2007).


Absence of good governance has resulted significantly in lack of business ethicsand poor CSR culture in Bangladesh. The private sector seems to focus on earningprofits in the short term, ignoring the issue of responsible behavior and thedesirability of earning the trust of consumers which are important for the long-runsuccess of their operations. The incidence of selling adulterated underweight lowquality products at high prices and above all, hoarding to reap dishonest profit, allconfirm this (CSR Review, 2013).

Absence of socially responsible behavior is another problem in the private sector.CSR does not develop and is not sustained independently of the context in whichbusiness operates. Importantly, the context includes the legal infrastructure createdby the state and the enforcement effort imposed by the state. In the absence of aneffective state intervention in the public interest, private entrepreneurs are lessconstrained to behave in the public interest and in conformity with CSR. Thus lackof capacity or lack of will, or both, by the state weakens the incentives for privatesector entrepreneurs to practice CSR (Porag, 2014).

In addition, private sector entrepreneurs lack expertise and are not efficientand competent enough to take advantage of the open economy. The governmenthas recognized the need for educating the private sector and is undertaking someprogrammes. However, this is not done on a large scale and nor is the potentialexploited sufficiently for NGOs to be involved to educate the private sector onbusiness ethics and issues of CSR (Quazi et.al., 2007).

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?Globally, as CSR practices are gradually being integrated into international businesspractices and hence is becoming one of the determining factors for market accesses,it is becoming equally instrumental for local acceptability. A focus on CSR inBangladesh would be useful, not only for improving corporate governance, laborrights, work place safety, fair treatment of workers, community development andenvironment management, but also for industrialization and ensuring global marketaccess. In general, it is true that in Bangladesh, the status of labor rights practices,environmental management and transparency in corporate governance are notsatisfactory, largely due to poor enforcement of existing laws and inadequatepressure from civil society and interest groups like Consumer Forums (Porag, 2014).

Businessmen need to recognize the implications of CSR for business activities.Companies are facing the challenges of adapting effectively to the changingenvironment in the context of globalization and in particular in the export sector.Although Consumer Rights Movement, enforcement of government regulationsand a structured view regarding the economic importance of CRS are not yet sowidespread in the corporate world in Bangladesh, companies have gradually beenattaching more importance to CSR in the local market as well. They are increasinglyaware that CSR can be of direct economic value. Companies can contribute tosocial and environmental objectives, through integrating CSR as a strategic


investment into their core business strategy, management instruments andoperations. This is an investment, not a cost, much like quality management. So,business organizations can thereby have an inclusive financial, commercial andsocial approach, leading to a long term strategy minimizing risks linked touncertainty.

Many researchers such as Porag (2014), Quazi et.al. (2007), and Amin (2014)have suggested many recommendations for the betterment of CSR practices and toface the challenges of CSR in Bangladesh. However, this paper suggested thefollowing for the better practice and facing the challenges of CSR in Bangladesh:

Create a Comprehensive CSR PolicyIt would be helpful if the government creates a comprehensive CSR policy settingout expectations that the government has of companies to work on CSR issues, andproviding guidance on the kinds of activities possible.

Initiate Awareness Building ProgrammeIt would be useful if there was a greater awareness amongst businesses aboutcorporate social responsibility and the kinds of CSR activities they could undertake.

Ensuring Worker’s RightsThose undertaking CSR must ensure that they are complying with the law in relationto labour rights and any legal obligations they may have in protecting the localcommunity and environment.

Capacity BuildingCompanies should consider seeking assistance from outside bodies in consideringwhat CSR activities they should or could undertake. There is need to enhancecapacity-building on the part of the state to intervene and implement sanctionseffectively to enforce compliance.

Research and Information Sharing on CSRResearch into CSR achievements amongst Bangladesh companies is necessary.

Corporate CSR StrategyCompanies should be encouraged to integrate CSR into their core values andarticulate a specific CSR strategy. They should not wait for government pressure;they should boldly practice CSR activity for their sustainable business.

Stakeholder EngagementIn originating the CSR strategy companies should identify those with a stake inthe activities undertaken and develop a policy for communicating with them.


Performance Management and GovernanceEvaluation measures are an integral part of the CSR strategy. When companiesformulate their CSR strategies it should clearly state the indicators of performance,and in the course of strategy implementation performance shall be monitored toensure that the CSR goals are being achieved. There should be a separate unit ordepartment and at least a designated senior person within the company, who ensuresgovernance in CSR implementation.

Public Disclosure of Company InformationBusiness should aim to disclose their CSR engagement to the public. Transparentreporting will improve the companies’ credibility; it will open up opportunities forcoordination of CSR initiatives across businesses, and facilitate better researchand inter-stakeholder dialogue resulting in general improvement of CSR. CSRpracticing Companies should disclose information about the exact percentage oftheir profits goes into CSR activities, in their annual report. This voluntarydisclosure has a positive impact on how an organization performs and may legitimizethe organization’s behavior by influencing other stakeholders. It also signifies therecognition of that organization’s accountability to society.

Introducing Courses in the UniversitiesHigher education institutions should introduce more modules in their coursescurriculum dealing with CSR activities.

Moreover, international companies working in Bangladesh and/or who aresourcing from Bangladeshi factories have also been influential in the developmentof CSR. International garment brands for example have included social compliancerequirements in their codes of conduct for source factories and these garment brandshave raised awareness about CSR inside the garment factories.

CONCLUDING REMARKSWith industrialization, the impacts of business on society and the environmentassumed an entirely new dimension. For this, corporate social responsibility hasbecome a criterion of socially lawful business endeavor and the acceptance of it isgrowing day by day. Developed countries have taken the idea of “SocialResponsibility” with that of “Achieving Highest Profit.” Through CSR activitiescorporate organizations can carry out social and philanthropic activities forfurthering equitable and sustainable social development, such as hospitals,community health care, child day care facilities, worker group insurance schemesand factory worker safety programmes etc. (Hamid, 2016).

CSR in Bangladesh can contribute a lot to community development. Thecorporate house can develop the community by creating employment, providingprimary education, contribution to infrastructure development like road and high-ways and addressing environmental concerns. This is more relevant for a country


like Bangladesh where the government interventions in these fields augmented bycorporate alliance can go a long way in developing the economy, society andenvironment (Reed, 2014).

In Bangladesh CSR is moving from the periphery to the mainstream and fromprojects external to the company to initiatives in the offices and factories engagingstaff in the company’s CSR. There is however no sign the term Social Responsibility(SR) taking holds in Bangladesh or replacing CSR which is contrary to the trend inEurope and North America. In recent years there has been a strong emphasis inBangladesh on CSR as philanthropic donations for example from the Banking Sector.Another significant component of Bangladeshi CSR has been in social complianceand mainly reported from the Garment sector. The word ‘Social’ in CSR stems from‘society’. For this reason the term CSR includes Environment, Governance, Ethicsand much else besides. It is not just social welfare or social work. This being thecase in order to practice CSR at ‘international standards’ it is necessary to go beyondlegal minimums and externally set standards, which is why factory social complianceis not CSR and also, abiding by Department of Environment Regulations or theBangladesh Labour Act is also not CSR (Reed, 2014).

CSR should not used as a mere tool for advertisement of the business entity oras a matter of cost benefit analysis. It ought to be the respect of the business for theinherent worth and needs of the people concerned. Corporate owners should originatetheir social responsibility from the sense of duty which is intended to ensure socialjustice and to take social responsibility as an end to address social needs, not as amean for profit maximization or mere reputation. To make CSR practices effectivein Bangladesh, business owners should prioritize core social issues of the countryaccording to the needs and expectations of the people first and subsequently proceedto facilitate those as per their ability in terms of potential impacts (Amin, 2014).However, for better practice of CSR in Bangladesh the above suggestions can behelpful. Policy makers and the concerned organizations may consider those fortheir future development in CSR activities and practices.

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