Social Responsibility: Transition from the Traditional Model to the Modern System
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in the sense that it has today become central to corporate policymaking and economic institutions worldwide, represents a modern strategy grounded in scientific requirements, specialized methodologies, and professional tools. It is a strategy aimed at mobilizing research teams and field studies to direct part of the accumulated wealth and achievements of companies and economic enterprises toward addressing economic and social bottlenecks and instabilities.
Although CSR has, for some time, secured a place in the perspectives of managers and in the programming of various economic institutions, unfortunately, in practice it still suffers from traditional and subjective approaches. In many cases, projects carried out under the banner of CSR have deviated from their true essence and lost their intended meaning.
In a traditional, preference-driven approach to CSR, this strategic concept is reduced to a set of routine, charitable activities. A portion of the company’s budget and resources is allocated solely based on the discretion of managers or the influence of particular lobbying groups.
Clearly, in this behavioral model, the three fundamental pillars of CSR—transparency, scientific rigor, and measurable impact—fade away. Since none of the scientific prerequisites or methodological steps are properly followed, the ultimate outcome is that the results of CSR expenditures remain ambiguous and unclear.
With modern definitions and standards, the CSR domain has the capacity to create shared value between organizations and stakeholders, and to forge alliances with potential partners, thereby building a lasting brand for both the organization and its management. However, when CSR is trapped in the labyrinth of organizational bureaucracy and the whims of managers, it inevitably leads to the waste and misallocation of resources—without meaningfully reducing the company’s social obligations or the scale of societal expectations.
Today, in the age of technology and communications, alongside the advancement of management sciences, the importance and function of CSR have risen to the level of a decisive factor in the fate of organizations and economic enterprises. Accordingly, CSR has emerged as one of the most attractive and impactful fields of academic study and research activity worldwide. The result of this intellectual movement is that CSR, grounded in theoretical frameworks and precise, applicable indicators, has become a roadmap guiding corporate and organizational management.
The shared concern of all those currently developing thought around CSR is that, within the framework of corporate governance, managers—backed by the efforts of research teams—should identify and address the needs and challenges of society, and devise effective, solution-oriented strategies.
Thus, the modern CSR model in corporations rests on the shoulders of two groups: the in-house expert team and the external research and academic team. In practice, the roadmap for organizational entry into the CSR arena emerges as the product of intellectual exchange and collaboration between these two specialized entities. This structure and design, above all, serve to address one of the long-standing demands of public opinion: the demand for transparency on three fronts— the extent of corporate social responsibility, the scope and allocation of CSR resources, and the tangible results of CSR projects.
At the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC), we have sought to lay the foundation for a movement in CSR based on these modern management principles. Our approach has ensured that the processes of needs assessment, resource allocation, and utilization mechanisms have advanced under a structured, scientific, and verifiable charter.
In fulfilling this mission, a team of experienced researchers was engaged alongside the core expert team at PGPIC. Through a field-based research process, this collaboration accomplished the crucial task of formulating the company’s CSR Strategy. This charter is built upon four fundamental pillars: corporate governance, economic sustainability, social sustainability, and environmental sustainability. In its outlook, beyond contributing to meeting the welfare needs of local communities and advancing social justice, the strategy aspires to achieve the ultimate goal of CSR: creating shared value with stakeholders.
Hamed Shams, Head of Brand, CSR, and Public Relations, PGPIC