The 2015 BJAN Conference/AGM was held in Ibadan, South-west,
Nigeria, attracted industry practitioners, government representatives,
non-governmental agencies as well as other participants with interest in
Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR issues.
The theme of the conference was: Challenges and Prospects of
Implementing Effective CSR in Nigeria: Roles of Organisations, Government and
the Media.
Conference discussants and presenters took a cursory look at
the seven (6) papers, including,
1. Challenges of
implementing effective CSR in contemporary society
2. Effects of
non-regulation/legislation in CSR industry
3. Pushing the moral
boundaries between the CSR spend and CSR Marketing outlay
4. Creating balance
between CSR and Philanthropy
5. Impact of CSR on
business and society
6. Sustainable CSR:
Research as a veritable tool.
At the end of conference deliberations, the following
resolutions were arrived at:
1. That CSR must not
be seen as mere philanthropy or assistance to the needy in the society. Rather,
CSR has evolved to include individual and collective responsibility of
government, business concerns and the media; stakeholders that ignore this
onerous responsibility will find it difficult to do business successfully in
their defined communities in 5 - 10 years hence.
2. In spite of
reasons advanced by discussants that non-regulation/legislation in CSR
environment could lead to a state of confusion, conference participants
unanimously resolved that the CSR industry should not be regulated or
legislated because there is need to allow sponsors of CSR projects/programmes
freely decide on how best to conceptualise and execute their 'hearts' projects
and interventions for the good of the society.
3. On the tricky issue of spend and marketing,
the position of the conference was that CSR sponsors should evolve mechanisms
of striking a balance between CSR spend and CSR marketing outlay ultimately to
the benefit of the society.
4. The conference resolved that philanthropy
is not sustainable and so canvassed the creation of a balance between it and
CSR in contemporary society.
5. Conference was affirmative that CSR has
impacted meaningfully on business and society by creating economic values that
are sustainable now and in the nearest future. It was agreed that media
exposure should be above patronage, but elevation into definitive human good (development
communication).
6. Research, rather than executive emotion,
is very important in the sustainability of CSR in contemporary society;
poverty, environment, terrorism and other avoidable human tragedies are waiting
for our collective intervention.
7. It was also
resolved that journalists should hold companies accountable for their CSR
projects via their investigative and up to date reports.
The time to act is now, and conference so resolved that
research be used by sponsors in defining areas of intervention in CSR
activities to make them sustainable.
The communiqué was prepared and put together by:
1. Mr. Oluwole David
2. Mr. Peter Jones
Ailuorio
3. Mr. Olajide
Fabamise
0 Comments:
Post a Comment