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The sender Email : Theme : Content : <script language="javascript"> var aid = "20090506246436"; var sid = "csr2"; var atitle = "The Options for China's CSR Policy"; var akeyworks = "China's CSR Policy,,"; var colname = "Theory and Tools"; var colename = "laws"; var coldesc = "04"; var articletype = "转载"; var author = "　"; var atype = "0"; var subtitle = "新闻"; </script> <table class=aarticle cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0> <tr> <td class="title">The Options for China's CSR Policy</td></tr> <tr><td class=lline></td></tr> <tr><td class=time>2009-05-14 09:43  <font class =time_source>　</font></td></tr> <tr><td class=content id=zoom><br>Does China need a specialized CSR policy? <br/> <br/>Some people think that China's current legal system is very sound and that there is no need to develop a set of specialized Corpporate Social Responsibility policies; some people believe that as long as Chinese enterprises fully comply with China's laws and regulations, even when facing pressures to ensure certification in the international supply chain, enterprises can meet the relevant requirements. However, when we look back at the development of CSR in western counties, we see that CSR developed in spite of their existing and sound system of laws and regulations. This shows that laws and regulations as a rigid principle cannot regulate all actions of enterprises. The moral level of self-restraint seems too loose, so government policy can play a transitional role. On the one hand, policy has a certain flexibility compared with law, but more external constraints compared with ethical principles; on the other hand, policy is also an effective link between morality and the law. When a certain level of self-discipline amongst enterprises becomes more commonplace, it is relatively easy to improve policy clarification and guidance to increase the legal norms of enterprises which then become a minimum standard for corporate codes of conduct. <br/> <br/>The Government's policy tool not only plays an important role in the development of CSR, but is also beneficial to the build-up of a country's future core competitiveness. In the National Responsible Competitiveness (2007)2, the concept of national responsibility competitiveness provides us with the new perspective of realizing the importance of CSR policy. First of all, the realisation of an enterprises’ responsible behaviour in a country or a region is not determined solely by the enterprise itself. It is the result of co-operation between enterprises with flexible public policies and a vibrant civil society. Therefore, it can be said that guidance on CSR policy is an important condition for establishing a common set of corporate behaviour responsibilities. Secondly, a national CSR policy is one of three major factors in stimulating competition in this area. Stimulating a competitive approach towards CSR standards is an important means to enhance the competitive advantage of a country, reflecting status and the role of a country in the global market, and determining the ability of a country to use and operate global resources in the future. From the perspective of industry, CSR policy can encourage companies in developing countries to improve their industrial production processes which in turn help them to develop their brand globally. <br/> <br/>As a result, CSR policy is not only beneficial to the development of enterprises and improving industrial production process, but also plays a part in the development of countries. <br/> <br/>The development basis and issues relating to China’s CSR policy <br/> <br/>The promulgation of the <Company Law> in 1994 established the legal status of enterprises and set forth the subject of CSR. This complemented the basic legal responsibilities of companies set out in the <Environmental Protection Law>, <Trade Union Law>, <Labor Law>, <Consumer Protection Law> and <Donation Law>. <br/> <br/>Since the 16th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress in 2002, a series of scientific theses promoting sustainable scientific development, economic development and building a socialist harmonious society have been proposed. In essence, enterprises’ fulfilling their social responsibility are both realising the scientific concept of development and the importance of promoting a harmonious society. The further clarification of the legal relationship between the government and enterprise creates a more liberal legal environment for enterprises to consciously fulfill their social responsibilities. <br/> <br/>The Amendment to the Company Law of the People's Republic of China in force since January 1, 2006 very distinctly states that enterprises should fulfill their social responsibility, and provides clear requirements on complying with laws, regulations and the social morality of enterprises. In October 2006, the ‘Decision on A Number of Major Issues on Building A Harmonious Socialism Society from CPC Central Committee’ was considered and adopted, which clearly states the need for "extensively carrying out activities to create harmony, promoting a situation in which all people and organizations involved in constructing harmonious society focus on enhancing the social responsibilities of citizens, enterprises, and all kinds of organizations". <br/> <br/>Since then, China has basically formed a legal system appropriate for CSR, and, during this period, developed a number of policies encouraging enterprises to fulfill their social responsibility, such as building business integrity. But a clear CSR policy system has not yet been established. <br/> <br/>The European Union (EU) issued the first Green Paper on CSR in 2001, based on which the first official policy report on CSR was published in 2002. In March 2006, the EU issued a new policy on CSR. This policy plays an important role in the following aspects: <br/> <br/>It further defined the meaning of CSR stating that CSR is about social and environmental issues which are beyond the basic requirements of the law. It also clarified its strategic position towards CSR and the strategic goals which were stimulating economic growth, sustainable development and increasing employment. <br/> <br/>It stressed that CSR is a strategic core position in the European strategy of strengthening economic growth and increasing employment. Through CSR, enterprises can promote economic growth better, increase employment and promote the achievement of public policy goals related to sustainable development. <br/> <br/>It identified key CSR areas where the EU needs to develop, including strengthening cooperation with other countries’ governments, developing CSR at the international level, raising CSR awareness and strengthening relevant international instruments for implementing CSR. <br/> <br/>It shows that EU will continue to implement CSR among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), and provide strong political support for existing and new CSR initiatives developed by large companies, SMEs and their stakeholders. <br/> <br/>As a result, the establishment of China’s CSR policy should follow the overall goal of facilitating the implementation of the scientific concept of development and building a socialism harmonious society. This can be achieved through clearly defining CSR, strategic options, incentives and restraint mechanisms to inform policy decisions and encourage responsibility in this area. <br/> <br/>CSR policy goals <br/> <br/>CSR policy goals aim to encourage outstanding enterprises to embrace CSR and make enterprises feel that their actions are recognised by government, thus inspiring the enterprises to develop a workable CSR strategy. At the samke time, the CSR policy aims to help the enterprises who are enthusiastic in implementing CSR through a variety of channels to enhance their cometitiveness and contribute to a harmonious society. The government plays a lead role in promoting and encouraging the formation of long-term market and social mechanisms for responsible enterprises. <br/> <br/>Principles for formulating CSR policies <br/> <br/>Principles to be followed when formulating CSR policies and strategies should include: <br/> <br/>Consideration of China's national conditions <br/> <br/>When formulating CSR policies and strategies, the specific meaning of CSR in Chinese society needs to be considered. According to Carroll’s definition of CSR, enterprises should operate responsibly – observing legal, economic, moral and philanthropic responsibilities of which legal responsibilities are the most fundamental. Some countries and regions, such as the EU, believe that CSR means that enterprises’ concern for social and environmental issues go beyond their minimum legal obligations. But in China, Chinese enterprises must first fulfill their legal responsibilities for which the government will hold them to account. So, CSR policies and strategies should first include amendments to outdated laws, recommendations for new laws and the improvement of existing CSR laws and regulations. <br/> <br/>At the same time, the formulation of CSR policies and strategies should also be based on the actual situation in China. The majority of Chinese enterprises are still fairly ‘young’, and basic management issues such as enhancing and improving product quality are the most pressing issues. In view of this emphasis on management issues, the introduction of CSR should begin with compliance with laws and regulations. By improving basic management, enterprises can also increase their ability to fulfill social responsibilities. <br/> <br/>International norms and practices <br/> <br/>The formulation of CSR policies and strategies should be consistent with internationally accepted norms and practices related to CSR. For example, the relevant provisions of the ILO and the content of the United Nations Global Compact should be referred to regarding labour rights and human rights. This would enable Chinese companies to fulfill both national and international requirements concerning social responsibilities and promote a competitive approach. <br/> <br/>Stimulating market mechanisms <br/> <br/>CSR policies and strategies can be structured in such a way as to promote responsible investment, responsible consumption and thus encourage enterprises to fulfill their social responsibilities. This not only enhances an enterprises’ ability to fulfill their social responsibilities, it also raises awareness of CSR especially amongst stakeholders. The following two principles should be considered when formulating the content of CSR policies and strategies: <br/> <br/>Differentiated guidance <br/> <br/>Theoretically speaking, the basic principle governing all enterprises’ social responsibility should be consist. But in reality, industry sectors, the size and operating conditions of enterprises varies considerably. Thus their ability to fulfill their social responsibilities, to meet CSR priorities and the expectations of society on enterprises will also vary. So the government should formulate different policies and strategies to guide different-sized industries accordingly. <br/> <br/>Mandatory combined with voluntary <br/> <br/>The process of promoting CSR policies and strategies in China, should ensure that the government distinguishes between mandatory and voluntary. Mandatory CSR policies are the requirements that affect and govern every type and size of enterprise at the most basic level. Voluntary policies are higher standards for enterprises with the ability to complete (e.g. state-owned, foreign, large and medium-sized enterprises), to guide them to become leaders in the field of CSR, thus acting as models to encourage more enterprises to continuously improve their level of social responsibility. <br/> <br/>Content of CSR policy <br/> <br/>CSR policies and strategies should be devised to support CSR development. The following issues should be taken into account: <br/> <br/>* Build CSR policies and strategies into the national overall development strategy, integrating the requirements of harmonious society into CSR policies and strategies to create a national CSR development strategy. <br/> <br/>* Constantly review and revise laws and regulations, concerning the interests of stakeholders, thus benefiting the development of enterprises to encourage them to operate sustainably. <br/> <br/>* Promulgate a relevant incentives policy to provide incentives for outstanding enterprises with good CSR practices. <br/> <br/>* Support in organizations which have the ability to promote CSR implementation in the enterprises (e.g. consultancies and training organizations). <br/> <br/>* Develop CSR policies which promote responsible consumption. <br/> <br/>* Develop CSR policies that promote responsible investment and give preferential policies to responsible enterprises managing financial investment and bank loans. <br/> <br/>* Support CSR-related research and education, integrate CSR knowledge into degree-level education, to improve knowledge of CSR and raise awareness amongst future business leaders and employees. <br/> <br/> <br/>Endnotes: <br/>1 China WTO Tribune, Volume 6, 2008, P20-P21 <br/>2 Reference AccountAbility China WTO Tribune, National Responsible Competitiveness (2007) , Enterprise Management Publishing House, 2008 <br/> <br/>About the Authors: <br/>Yin Gefei, Vice President of China WTO Tribune, Director of Development Center for Chinese CSR. <br/>Dai Yibo, Manager of Consulting Department, Development Center for Chinese CSR, China WTO Tribune. <br/></td></tr> </table> The addressee Email :