Spring 2018 / Issue 57
Cover Story
Spring 2018 / Issue 57
Long term CSR Practices - an
Imperative in Today’s Business
Surroundings
I
t is becoming universally
accepted that socially respon-
sible businesses bring benefits
to the companies themselves,
the community, and the wider
environment.
It is a fact that the purpose of the
existence and operation of every
company is to make a profit. In
addition to offering a major com-
petitive advantage though, the
social responsibility of companies
is, in the long run, assumed to be
a condition for market survival as
research shows that companies
with a commitment to Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) have
a higher average performance of
around 13%.
In today’s the modern business
world CSR is treated as an invest-
ment rather than as an expense.
No business, regardless of its
scale, is separated from the soci-
ety in which it exists and aoper-
ates. The success or failure of one
entity is conditioned by the suc-
cess or failure of others.
Investing in the quality of life
in a society in which the com-
pany operates on the one hand,
and the concern for the satisfac-
tion of people working within the
company on the other are the
two aspects of social responsi-
bility - external and internal. In
our country, it is still a voluntary
commitment, although in the last
few years social responsibility has
been recognized and debated
as an integral part of a new, sus-
tainable economic model which
understands the new position and
importance of the business sector
in modern society and the respon-
sibility that arises whence.
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AmCham Macedonia Magazine
Author:
Bekim Ilazi,
Marketing Manager,
VezeSharri
Business concepts based on socially responsible operations are
a step ahead in this game. Guided by the German practice and
experience, we at VezeSharri implement this exact concept.
The ecological dimension of our company’s responsibility, for
example, reflects the impact of our daughter company’s Elektro
Sharri on the environment and ecosystems on which it depends.
It measures the utilization of waste materials and energy in the
production processes, biodiversity, recycling or reuse rates, and
degree of compliance with the existing regulations and norms.
This new way of doing business is not tied to profit alone, but
above all to performing a socially useful practice with the ratio-
nal utilization of natural waste and garbage which protects the
environment.
The concept of socially responsible work should not be just a
one-off or a temporary activity, but a long-term imperative in the
business world, which sooner or later will have to be adopted by
all companies if they want to survive and keep their place on the
business scene. This is why there are countries in the world in
which corporate social responsibility is a legal obligation, not just
an ethical standard or image-building exercise.
Although we are lagging behind on this trend, practice and exper-
tise show that even the smallest type of regulation improves the
chances of companies applying the principles of socially respon-
sible action. While this does not necessarily mean that there is a
strong regulatory framework, the role of the state in improving CSR
practices should be and will be recognized.
AmCham Macedonia Magazine
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