Interview on Business FM (www.bfm.my) with Andrew Sebastian from the Malaysian Nature Society (Part 1)

DJ: Today we’re going to talk about corporate social responsibility and the environment. I think that’s a great topic but a lot of people don’t know what corporate social responsibility is. Since you’re here, why don’t you enlighten us on corporate social responsibility?

AS: CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility. I actually googled to tried to figure out what it meant to a lot of people over the net and I think the closest definition that I came up with is this. It’s how a company manages their business processes to produce an overall positive impact on the society. There are quite a few definitions out there but this one actually tells you what CSR should mean if you are part of a corporate organization.

DJ: So it’s not extra-curricular activities for companies?

AS: No, it’s not.

DJ: How is CSR defined in terms of the environment?

AS: Basically, you can do whatever your interest is in. You can do social work, companies can take on social work, doesn’t really need to be only environment work. It could be doing work with orphanages, work with women’s aid groups and organizations. But for the environment, CSR talks about companies giving back in terms of the environment, be it through their internal processes or going out there and supporting people who do work in the environmental field.

DJ: What is the Malaysian Nature Society’s definition of CSR?

AS: The MNS certainly don’t speak for other organizations but we feel that CSR is a way which companies reach out to us. Our definition of CSR certainly means that the company is doing this bona fide, in good faith, and they do not expect the frills or the lure of having an extravagant mock check presentation, for example. So our definition would be to do this in good faith. It certainly shouldn’t be an activity that comes out of your A&P budget, your advertising or promotions budget. If your company is launching a car, it shouldn’t be already part of your A&P budget. It should be something extra that the company, as a big entity, as a brand name goes out and says we must do this because it is the right thing to do, not because we budgeted for it.