The role of business in social development: Understanding the concept of corporate social responsibility

• Main Author: Kasim, Azilah
• Other Authors: Salleh, Dani
• Format: Book Section
• Language: English
• Published: Penerbit Universiti Utara Malaysia 2004
• Subjects: H Social Sciences (General)
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/3068/1/Azilah_Kasim01.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/3068/; http://lintas.uum.edu.my:8080/elmu/index.jsp?module=webopac-l&action=fullDisplayRetriever.jsp&szMaterialNo=0000243989

Community development is one of the myriads of issues that lie under the umbrella of Sustainable Development, defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) as 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future generation'. The pressing need to address sustainable development issues has been addressed in the Brundtland Report Our Common Future, which among others explores the role of business (manufacturing or service-based) in promoting sustainable development. This suggestion underscores the original perception of business as being solely a profitminded entity, thus providing a challenge of how a business can incorporate environmental and social concerns without jeopardizing its own survival.The challenge fundamentally lies in the way business has reacted to environment and social issues in the past. At the time, business was seen as having no negative impacts to the people or the environment and any environmental protectionism was considered a nuisance, unbeneficial and would reduce business's competitiveness.