Of Profitability and Corporate Social Responsibility
Eromosele Abiodun writes that businesses should emulate Guinness Nigeria Plc and reconnect their success with social progress
Corporate social responsibility (CSR ) is a principle that promotes lengthened social stewardship by businesses and organisations. CSR suggests that corporations embrace responsibilities toward a broader group of stakeholders (customers, employees and the community at large) in addition to their accustomed financial obligations to stockholders. A few examples of CSR include charitable giving to community programs, commitment to environmental sustainability projects, and efforts to nurture a diverse and safe workplace.
As more attention is being paid by outsiders to the social impact of businesses, corporations have acknowledged the need for transparency regarding their social efforts. While most companies in Nigeria do not publish their CSR reports, 74 per cent of U.S. companies did so in 2004. Globally, 80 per cent of the world’s 250 largest companies issued CSR reports last year.
Despite the apparent acceptance of CSR by businesses, many economists have taken skeptical views on CSR and its viability in a competitive environment. They believe CSR is not socially desirable at all. However, some are of the opinion that shared value is not social responsibility, philanthropy, or even sustainability, but a new way to achieve economic success. It is not on the margin of what companies do but at the centre. Conversely, renowned economist and statistician, Milton Friedman, believe that the only social responsibility of a business is to maximise profits (conducting business in open and free competition without fraud or deception).
He argued that the corporate executive is the agent of the owners of the firm and said that any action by the executive toward a general social purpose amounts to spending someone else’s money, be it reducing returns to the stockholders, increasing the price to consumers or lowering the wages of some employees. Friedman pointed out that the stockholders, the customers or the employees could separately spend their own money on social activities if they wished to do so. Whatever the case, many companies are doing what they can whatever the experts view of their action is. In Nigeria, there are companies who for one reason or the other turn their eyes away from the sufferings of the people in the communities they operate in. several example abound where corporates cites tax obligations as reasons the road they ply daily to work are not tarred. There are occasions where communities where billions of Dollars are made yearly lack portable water. The story of Margaret in a community in Cross River State is one of such example.
Eminekpon community
Ten year-old Margaret lives in Eminekpon community in Cross River State in the southern part of Nigeria. Every morning, she has to wake up very early to trek for one hour to the only source of water in her community- a shallow and muddy pool. This routine often leaves her exhausted and results in her skipping an occasional class at school. For many rural communities around the country, safe sources of water are limited or at best non-existent even as many others rely on water from streams, rivers or lakes. As for defecation and other sanitary practices, these are typically done in the open and often within the vicinity of nearby water sources. Environmentalists have harped on the fact that clean water and sanitation are two of the most basic and essential building blocks of a safe and healthy life. Incidentally, statistics on safe water sources and sanitation practices paint a very grim picture for many rural and urban settlements across the globe. According to the final report on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), more than a third of the world’s population (2.4 billion) is still without improved sanitation. The target to halve the global population without adequate toilets by 2015 has not been reached. Consequently, sanitation has been pushed on to the post-2015 sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Water Borne Diseases
Research shows that poor sanitation contributes to diarrheal diseases and malnutrition through faecal contamination of food and water. Water borne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea account for the death of about 121,800 Nigerians, including 87,100 children under the age of five yearly. Eighty-eight per cent of those deaths would have been prevented if affected communities had cleaner and safe facilities as these deaths are attributed to poor sanitation. Poor sanitary conditions do not only fuel the spread of diseases. There are broader consequences. For instance, a survey conducted by Water Aid in an area of Lagos revealed that 69 per cent women and girls without access to toilets are at higher risk of verbal and physical harassment when they relieve themselves. The economic cost of poor sanitation is also inimical to development in any nation. The Nigerian Water and Sanitation Program estimates that poor sanitation costs the country at least 3 billion US dollars each year in lost productivity and health care expenditures. When one considers other infrastructural challenges that would have been met with the said amount, the case for improved sanitation becomes even more compelling.
Guinness Leads by Example
To play a part in promoting health and hygiene in Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria Plc has partnered with Concern Universal, to pioneer a sustainable method of integrating rural sanitation and hygiene promotion with access to safe water - a key sustainable development goal. The partnership is geared towards strengthening Guinness Nigeria’s Water of Life scheme which commenced over 10 years ago.
Guinness Nigeria’s partnership with Concern Universal provides access to safe water in 10 rural communities in Abi, Bekwarra, and Obanliku Local Government Areas of Cross River State. A key innovative element of this initiative is the emphasis on local governance of boreholes. In order to sustain the impact of new water points, communities create ‘Water Sanitation and Hygiene Committees’ (WASHCOMMS).
This committee oversees the day to day operation of boreholes and facilitates repair and maintenance when necessary. Promoting ownership and local governance goes a long way in ensuring the sustainability of water facilities.
Country Director of Concern Universal