China Philanthropy blog had a guest post from Plan China's Zheng Wei on the topic of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in China in early December. In the blog post, Zheng writes about CSR in China: Past, Present and Future:
When we look at the present state of China we can see two-distinct faces. The first is one of rapid economic development and continuous prosperity over the last two decades. The other is that of the rural areas, which lag far behind the developed cities especially in environmental and social challenges. Over one hundred million people in China still live on less than a dollar a day....With this unique background, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is developing rapidly in China: resources are collected speedily, problems are identified quickly, and with government support, plans are carried out swiftly.
Where does Zheng think CSR in China is headed?
Personally I believe the concept of CSR will eventually disappear, and social enterprises will take its place, replacing both companies and NGOs. Any corporation that exists sustainably, operates responsibly, and delivers responsible products, could be described as a social enterprise. As for any nonprofit that hopes to exist in the long run, it will have to learn how to run more efficiently like a business and to generate income more sustainably, thereby gradually taking on the form of a social enterprise.
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