Be the Opportunity: The Heart and Soul of Corporate Social Responsibility
An article by Motthida Chin
Motthida Chin
Global companies need to address social, labour and environmental issues in the supply chain to strengthen their business objectives and demonstrate their commitment to ethical labour practices, safe working conditions and equitable trade.
Using a CSR lens, this article by Motthida Chin, Consulting & Education, provides a 360-degree view of what works in developing meaningful connections and building relationships with workers, managers, and other stakeholders to advance labor rights through collaboration.
“Motthida brings a deep understanding of the risks companies face, how they can improve their systems towards responsible sourcing. Her passion for ethical business and supporting business people to understand what steps they can take to protect their brand.”Kate Larsen, Director SupplyESChange
Abstract
Companies engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a way to strengthen their business objectives and demonstrate their commitment towards ethical labour practices, safe working conditions and equitable trade. There are many methods to achieve these objectives, and success is often expressed quantitatively. Throughout my twenty years of CSR practice and counsel, however, I have found that while the quantitative success is important for all parties involved to co-operate willingly, to meet objectives, the heart and soul of effective CSR is essentially about relationship building that fuels opportunities for workers, in particular for women and girls in the workplace and in their communities.
Author Bio
Motthida Chin is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) expert with twenty years’ experience setting up remediation programmes for major international sportswear and luxury brands in ten countries. She has also worked with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) including the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO) on the ground in Cambodia to help improve working conditions for factory workers.
(Motthida Chin's article 'Be the Opportunity: The Heart and Soul of Corporate Social Responsibility' was first published in volume 1, issue 1 of the Journal of Fair Trade)