CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)

   Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the pledge of companies of trading morality and contributing to steady economy development, raising living quality of laborers and their families, community and society in general (World Board of Steady Development). Customers who are interested in CSR, responsible investors, and policy makers and non -  

government organizations all over the world have paid more and more attention to the effect of globalization on working people's lives, the environment and community development. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the pledge of companies of trading morality and contributing to steady economy development, raising living quality of laborers and their families, community and society in general (World Board of Steady Development). Customers who are interested in CSR, responsible investors, and policy makers and non - government organizations all over the world have paid more and more attention to the effect of globalization on working people's lives, the environment and community development. CRS regarded as a factor important as other traditional ones: expenditures, trading quality. CSR has been inserted into companies' policies and become an obligatory condition for the existence and development of companies. CSR has become main factor that investors have to take a look at while deciding investment. Besides good fame, companies gain various benefits such as: labor relations to be improved, on - the - job accidents and the leave off work rates to be reduced, working productivity to be increased and that laborers more and more closely connect with companies.

     In Vietnam, the government has improved the awareness of businessmen and concerned sides about CSR, and made CSR an important part in agendas of steady development. International organizations in Vietnam have exerted all their strength to push up and extend CSR. The programs and projects concerned in CSR concentrate on important contents of CSR depending on the projects' targets, resources and experiences.

     Those contents including: working conditions, safety, hygiene, environment, quality and productivity, labor relations and manpower resources management. Services to advise and issue certificates for administration systems has expanded for example: the administration system of quality (ISO 9000), the administration system of environment (ISO 14000), labor and social responsibility (SA 8000) …

     However, there are some hindrances in expanding CSR in Vietnam, such as: the concept of CSR is still new to most of the Vietnamese businessmen circles, while concerned sides have no long term plan and no strategy to realize the programs of CSR. Companies' management ability and professional knowledge in realizing CSR are restricted.

     Since 2007, we have coordinated with German Development Service (DED) in Vietnam and Capacity Building International, Germany (Inwent) to develop the project of trade with social duty and the social management system in companies to improve responsibility of companies for the sake of public wealth.