What is the business of business to its stakeholders?This magazine publication was conceived to address this question.
We sought to move the CSR concept from its traditional boundaries of charity to one that seeks to integrate a business with its society for mutual gain. Dave Packard, the revered co-founder of HP stated in 1960 that “..many people assume wrongly, that a company exists simply to make money. Whilst this is an important result of a company's existence, we have to go deeper and find the real reason for our being. People get together and exist as a company so that they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not achieve separately...they make a contribution to the society.”
His statement, other than declaring that corporations are a product of the society, puts to rest the assertion by Milton Friedman in 1970 that “..the only moral responsibility of business is to maximize value for its stakeholders.” Through our various themes for this issue, we have answered the question of how a corporate entity can create value for the people, environment and society that relate to it.
A frequently asked question is one of how corporate Africa should redeem the continent from being the poster child of problems to one of opportunities. The answer lies in prioritizing and linking social issues of concern and value to its business with its operation strategy. These are the type of institutions that make a sustainable difference through CSR; where the undertaking is part and parcel of their business. This publication tells of corporate and not-for-profit institutions that have achieved this and made a contribution to our society.
While our organization defines CSR as the integration of business operations and values with the interests of various stakeholders, the magazine will act as an avenue to raise interest, knowledge and participation by corporate institutions on the same. This we can achieve only through active partnership with our stakeholders and most important of them all; you the reader. Our business to our various stakeholders is to meet their expectations by offering quality news, information and education on CSR through our print and web publications. Through this, we will achieve our vision of being the ultimate and authoritative publication of reference on CSR in the African continent.
Leadership
CSR
Towards sustainable urbanization in Africa; lessons to learn from the Bogota scenario
Sustainable development has been defined as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Sustainable urbanization on the other hand follows the 'Six C's' principles:Compactness, completeness, conservation, comfort, coordination and finally collaboration. Rupi Mangat explores this subject further following Enrique Penalosa's, former Mayor of Bogota-Colombia, talk at the University of Nairobi on the matter late in 2009.Read full story
Word from a CEO: Improving Sustainable Business Practices in Kenya
As the country continues to witness a slower than anticipated business recovery process from the post-election mayhem and with the global economic crisis posing many challenges, I believe that strategic, innovative and collaborative initiatives would improve sustainable business practices in Kenya.Read full story
Market place
CSR
Towards a Sustainable Cement Industry; an Insight into Bamburi’s Cemented Cause
Is is possible to have a sustainable cement industry? That is the question that Rupi Mangat sought to answer and there was no better places to ask for answers better than Lafarge owned Bamburi Cement Ltd. And it is in the adoption of best mining practices across the cement production cycle and rehabilitation of dug-out quarries that the company creates a sustainable cement industry.Read full story
Serving and growing with Africa; How Huawei enriches life through Communication
Huawei Technologies has been recognized worldwide as one of the most 'globally competitive Chinese companies'. This article focuses on Huawei's commitment to go beyond succeeding as a business enterprise and to enrich the lives of Africans through provision of excellent communications network solutions and services and by doing so creating maximum value for its stakeholders.Read full story
The practice of CSR is subject to much debate and criticism. Proponents argue that there is a strong business case for CSR, in that corporations benefit in multiple ways by operating with a perspective broader and longer than their own immediate, short-term profits. Critics argue that CSR distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; others argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful multinational corporations. Aly Khan Satchu takes it from here and points the direction from which CSR should start.Read full story
The key to ensuring a great experience for your clients is having customer service as part of your business processes, and that employees play their part in delighting the customer.Read full story
The ultimate task of a marketer is to understand the needs of a target market and to provide a product or service that best serves these needs. The aim is to generate customer loyalty, by ingraining into the customer the positive attributes of your brand.Read full story
CSR as a corporate strategy should explore ways in which it could add corporate value while at the same time contributing to career and personal development for the employees.Read full story
Stress is a normal occurrence. However, with increasing demands of work and home life, stress on the job is a problem, causing physical, mental, and financial consequences for employers as well as employees. Studies show that stressful working conditions are associated with increased absenteeism, tardiness, and intentions by workers to quit their jobs, all of which have a negative effect on a company’s success. Read full story
Unknown 27 years ago, HIV/AIDS has already caused an estimated 25 million deaths worldwide. In a detailed report by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2006, an estimated 36.3 million persons of working age were living with HIV/AIDS - the vast majority in sub-Saharan Africa. As the world advances in yet another year and strategies are made to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the burden of disease within the workplace continues to escalate. The relentless spread of HIV/AIDS is markedly reducing human resource and economic growth in countries hardest hit by the epidemic, jeopardizing their efforts to reduce poverty and create new jobs, especially for the youth. Read full story
Environment
CSR
Greening your Business for Sustainable Development
What is the business of going green? Rupi Mangat answers this question as she goes through the experiences of Raychelle Injete, CEO of Kisere Eco Safaris and Richard Seireeni, president of The Brand Architect and a life long environmentalist with 40 years experience in marketing and now the author of the book ‘Gort Cloud’.Read full story
It’s no secret that since the onset of Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, we’ve loaded the earth’s atmosphere with the infamous GHGs.Read full story
Going green: Serena charts the way forward in responsible tourism practices
There’s a growing number of savvy tourists concerned about the globe that they are trotting on, and it’s a concern that is founded on good reasoning; there’s no point traveling to the four corners of the earth, if they turn out to be full of garbage heaps, choking traffic and mundane malls for shopping and to top it off, the places you visit show little commitment towards saving the environments that their businesses bank on. We look at how Serena Hotels and Lodges, one of East Africa’s top tourist companies tackles our concern for the globe. Read full story
The art of giving: the work of Rhino Ark Charitable Trust in Kenya
Rhino Ark's mission is to raise such funds and material support as are required for the building of an electrified fence to encircle both the Aberdares National Park in Kenya and the demarcated forestry areas which make up the Aberdares Conservation Area.Read full story
Society
CSR
The Effects of Tourism on Local Communities: A Tour Operator’s Conundrum
Kate narrates,from her personal experience, the 'riddle' that is her work;ecotourism. While her aim is to provide high quality safaris with minimal environmental and social impact to the local communities, she also has to extend sustainable economic benefits to the same community. The core principles of her work are based in supporting sustainable projects, instead of handouts and involving locals in giving tourists a deeper appreciation and understanding of some of the greater issues facing Malawi and Africa today.Read full story
Equity Bank's 11 Years of Pre-university Education Scholarship
Equity Bank’s brand is well known not only in the financial circles of East Africa, but across our continent and the world over as an indigenous grown institution that is continually growing in leaps and bounds in terms of customer numbers, capitalization and regional expansion. Indeed, awards continue to flow to this institution taking into consideration the recent Euro-money 2008 Awards for Excellence, where the institution was feted as the Best Bank in Kenya for the second year running.Read full story
25 Years of Music: The Story of the African Children's Choir
The African Children’s Choir™ is the ambassador for Africa’s neediest, most vulnerable children. The Choir shows the world that its members, like the millions of abandoned and traumatised children in Africa, have beauty, dignity and unlimited potential.Read full story
One Business Foundation’s Commitment to the Ugandan society: The story of MTN Uganda
MTN entered Uganda in 1998, and 11 years down the line, the company has not only risen to the summit of the telecom industry but has also set the benchmark for corporate social responsibility by continuously reaching out and giving a helping hand to the people who have been instrumental in the company’s metroic rise. Read full story
