Corporate Social Responsibility and Development: In quest of an agenda

Document begins: Development, 2004, 47(3), (29­36) r 2004 Society for International Development 1011-6370/04 www.sidint.org/development Thematic Section Corporate Social Responsibility and Development: In quest of an agenda TOM FOX ABSTRACT The contemporary CSR agenda is skewed by the dogma that often limits it to voluntary business activities, by its domination by actors in the North, and its focus on large enterprises. Tom Fox argues there is an urgent need for a more development-oriented approach that focuses on the enabling environment for responsible business in the South and that brings the economic and equity aspects of sustainable development to the forefront of the agenda. KEYWORDS enabling environment; responsible business; sustainable development The need for a renewed agenda on corporate social responsibility and development The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agenda has an ambiguous relationship with international development. It is regarded by some as a vehicle through which the private sector can contribute to poverty reduction and other social objectives, which will not be achieved by governments acting alone.1 But the agenda has also attracted criticism for being insensitive to local priorities and potentially harming prospects for sustain- able livelihoods in the South. Furthermore, some influential civil society players are in- creasingly frustrated with the ...