Creating a harmonious society

The development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in China in recent years has been remarkable.

Dr Guo Peiyuan is founder and general manager of CSR consultancy SynTao, based in Beijing.

It has moved from being just a labor issue to being a much more comprehensive concept.

The Chinese government sees CSR as a central force to creating a more harmonious society.

President Hu Jintao himself has said businesses should incorporate social responsibility into their strategy.

As a result of concerted efforts by government agencies, the number of sustainability reports produced by Chinese enterprises has hit record levels.

An increasing number of privately owned enterprises have also started reporting their CSR practices.

Concepts of CSR are not new to China. From the outset of New China in 1949, companies in a centrally planned economy were supplying goods to benefit society at large.

State-owned enterprises also used to provide wider employee benefits, such as schools.

The modern Western concept of CSR was largely imported to China by multinationals such as Nike wanting to take greater control of their supply chain in the late 1990s.

Joining the World Trade Organization in 2001 proved a big catalyst of change with companies being required to meet the international kite mark standard.

The government has been instrumental in changing attitudes about CSR here.

As a result, there is now a greater number of Chinese companies producing CSR reports than foreign multinationals. Sustainability reporting is developing in a promising direction. More enterprises have begun to release their reports and stakeholders are attaching more importance to them.

These demonstrate that enterprises in China are creating history through their actions.