Businesses are increasingly finding themselves reflecting on the possibility of embracing corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an opportunity and a challenge around which the governance can be transformed through identification, evaluation and responding to social expectations. There is another concept which is synonymously used with CSR is Sustainability. There is a misconception that CSR, sustainability, sustainable business, corporate citizenship in general used to define the same thing. What it means for an organization to really be sustainable? In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development published “Our Common Future,” which defined sustainable development as development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainability has a more foresighted approach as compared to CSR as it focuses on what we need to achieve, rather than where we are today.
The corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept focuses on meeting the needs and balancing interests of present generation or society like building schools and hospitals to compensate communities for their resource exploitation. CSR do not always acknowledge the long-term impact on the communities and is more of policy compliance. As CSR is a part of corporate policy of an organization it sometimes imposes long-term liabilities on communities, making well-intentioned actions unsustainable for the society. The concept of CSR is often mixed with philanthropy. Sustainable development focuses more on long-term systemic issues, such as climate change and the inclusive economy and it more of time rather than specific issues. Sustainability is holistic approach comprising environmental, social, and economic aspects addressed by the organization/business, while CSR strategy or program, the “S” in CSR is toooften construed to mean a narrower approach on social issues. Thus, it arise a question i.e. how to identify a truly responsible organization or what is a responsible organization? To answer this, it can be deduced from the above description of CSR and Sustainability that Sustainable business or sustainability wins over CSR.
“Sustainability better captures the objectives of a responsible organization and it can be better integrated in the business policies and its mission and vision to create a just and sustainable world.”
In the present materialistic world, the business/organizations do need to recognize the interdependence between the economy and the natural resources. So the question which the organizations should think upon is that how well can sustainability considerations be integrated with the business policies to improve profits?
KEYWORDS: CSR, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Sustainable World.
Introduction The concern about meeting the needs of the present generation without affecting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs characterizes the concept of sustainable development. In 2015, countries adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development
