Intention of CSR projects questioned

Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 11/11/2008 10:51 AM  

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is gaining momentum in Indonesia, with a constant stream of CSR events in Jakarta. But some questions remain over the intention of such gestures. 

One skeptic is Reinhard Hutabarat, the headmaster of the free Street Children School. 

"The help is good, but as long as it is not used for political gain or for a certain party to get some one-sided benefits. 

"From our experience, most of the time street children are used as the background for publicity," Reinhard told The Jakarta Post after a Ramadan event. 

For some companies, the CSR budget comes from marketing or communications departments. 

"The budget often comes from the marketing or public relations unit, as the CSR is thought to be part of promotions, said Alwis Rustam, who lectures on CSR at the Sahid University in Jakarta. 

"But a company's CSR should start with what the company is itself responsible for -- the effects of its production and products. The budget should be part of the original budget plan," Alwis added. 

Oil companies, for example, should take care of people around the drilling area and address climate change problems, while giving out scholarships is optional. 

Meanwhile, cigarette companies should support cigarette-related health issues rather than providing emergency rescue teams. 

"It is good that they are doing all these activities, but they should start with what they are responsible for. If they are doing it, naturally they will receive positive publicity," he said. 

However, Unilever Foundation general manager Sinta Kaniawati said it was more realistic to derive CSR projects from the company's core business area or product image. 

"It is inevitable for the sustainability of the CSR program itself," Sinta said. 

The Unilever Foundation is a separate CSR wing of Unilever. 

For example, for Unilever's soy sauce product, the company has created a farmer empowerment project, in which the farmers are taught planning systems and given zero-interest loans. The company then buys farmers' yield at a previously agreed price. 

"This is what I mean by sustainability. We help them upgrade and make a better living. On the other hand, they supply us with constant products so that we have fresh raw materials," she said. 

She said she would look at the current projects run by the business wing and approach them to work together rather than running unrelated projects. 

"For Unilever, the existence of the product is important because the funds are actually coming from them. The whole CSR budget is coming from the business, and the business is coming from the brand sales," Sinta added. 

"But we are not doing any selling (during CSR activities). If people say that the CSR activities look like we are promoting a brand or a company, (I say) there is no choice to it. But it is not our intention," she added. 

Cigarette producer HM Sampoerna ties its CSR activity into product image. The A Mild brand of cigarettes is aimed at young people, with the company supporting upcoming bands, while Sampoerna Ijo (green) is marketed as supporting the environmental issue. 

There is no universal definition of CSR and there are no measurement methods. The International Organization for Standardization is preparing a voluntary guideline, ISO 26000, which will be published in 2010. -- JP/Mariani Dewi