EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Corporate Social Responsibility is now become vital issue for BGMEA. The reason behind this is to promote local industry internationally, creating high value and meeting minimum safety requirement at workplace to get foreign orders. BGMEA as governing body they have already set many rules and regulations for the RMG sector but lack of monitoring makes it unclear the role of BGMEA in CSR, Even though the organization has conducted many activities its self but the enforceability of rule is poor. Many recent occurrences make this clear that this organization yet has many things to do for CSR.

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents..................................................................................................................................2 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3 CSR Impact...........................................................................................................................................5 Business and Society............................................................................................................................7 CSR (past vs. present)..........................................................................................................................8 Readymade Garments Industry (RMG) sector in Bangladesh...........................................................12 Importance of CSR in RMG sector....................................................................................................15 About BGMEA...................................................................................................................................17 Mission & Vision.........................................................................................................................................19 Members of BGMEA...................................................................................................................................20 How BGMEA runs.......................................................................................................................................20 Six Reasons BGMEA Should Embrace CSR.....................................................................................20 The CSR initiatives of BGMEA.........................................................................................................23 Current incidents and CSR initiatives by BGMEA............................................................................28 Conclusion:.........................................................................................................................................29 References:.........................................................................................................................................31

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INTRODUCTION

Corporate Social Responsibility is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR means, Social responsibility becomes an integral part of the wealth creation process - which if managed properly should enhance the competitiveness of business and maximize the value of wealth creation to society. When times get hard, there is the incentive to practice CSR more and better. The term "corporate social responsibility" came into common use in the late 1960s and early 1970s after many multinational corporations formed the term stakeholder, meaning those on whom an organization's activities have an impact. It was used to describe corporate owners beyond shareholders. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development in its publication Making Good Business Sense by Lord Holmes and Richard Watts used the following definition. Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large. CSR is the process of assessing an organizations impact on society and evaluating their responsibilities. CSR begins with an assessment of a business and there:

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CSR is titled to aid an organization's mission as well as a guide to what the company stands for and will uphold to its consumers. Development business ethics is one of the forms of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. ISO 26000 is the recognized international standard for CSR. Public sector organizations (the United Nations for example) adhere to the triple bottom line (TBL). It is widely accepted that CSR adheres to similar principles but with no formal act of legislation. The UN has developed the Principles for Responsible Investment as guidelines for investing entities.

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CSR Impact The definition of CSR used within an organization can vary from the strict "stakeholder impacts" definition used by many CSR advocates and will often include charitable efforts and volunteering. CSR may be based within the human resources, business development or public relations departments of an organization, or may be given a separate unit.

Charity Principle Definition

Business should give voluntary aid to societys needy persons and groups

Stewardship Principle

Type of activity Examples

Business, acting as a public trustee, should consider the interests of all who are affected by business decisions and policies Corporate philanthropy Acknowledging business and society interdependence Voluntary actions to promote the social good Balancing the interests and needs of many diverse groups in society Corporate philanthropic Enlightened self-interest foundations Meeting legal requirements Private initiatives to Stakeholder approach to solve social problems corporate strategic planning Social partnerships with needy groups

CSR describes the principle that companies can and should make a positive contribution to society. CSR is the practice of managing the social, environmental and economic impacts of the company (dubbed by Sustainability the 'triple bottom line'3), being responsive to 'stakeholders'
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(those who are affected by a business operation) and behaving according to a set of values which are not codified in law. In practice the term can refer to a wide range of actions that companies may take, from donating to charity to reducing carbon emissions. Some commentators have identified a difference between the Canadian (Montreal school of CSR), the Continental European and the Anglo-Saxon approaches to CSR. And even within Europe the discussion about CSR is very heterogeneous. A more common approach of CSR is philanthropy. This includes monetary donations and aid given to local organizations and impoverished communities in developing countries. Another approach to CSR is to incorporate the CSR strategy directly into the business strategy of an organization. For instance, procurement of Fair Trade tea and coffee has been adopted by various businesses. Another approach is garnering increasing corporate responsibility interest. This is called Creating Shared Value, or CSV. The shared value model is based on the idea that corporate success and social welfare are interdependent. Many companies use the strategy of benchmarking to compete within their respective industries in CSR policy, implementation, competitor and CSR effectiveness. Benchmarking involves reviewing

initiatives, as well as measuring and evaluating the impact that those policies have on society and the environment and how customers perceive competitor CSR strategy.

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Business and Society

A properly implemented CSR concept can bring along a variety of competitive advantages, such as enhanced access to capital and markets, increased sales and profits, operational cost savings, improved productivity and quality, efficient human resource base, improved brand image and reputation, enhanced customer loyalty, better decision making and risk management processes. Some broad areas to focus on could be : - environmental issues - use of RTI - impacting the physical environment in an around the work place or the city
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- education of the underprivileged - societal needs like old age homes, orphanages, palliative care - an outreach based CSR like adopting a village and ensuring its uplift - support / employment to the disadvantaged or challenged Once we have got the broad outline of the CSR to be perused, we would need to firm up a policy and action plan so that the direction is clear, the involvement is complete and the momentum is maintained. CSR (past vs. present)

There has never been a heyday when corporations acted for the benefit of society. But the unprecedented power of corporations in recent decades, together with an informed and educated general public, has created a real threat to the legitimacy of the corporation, which CSR seeks to counteract. The phrase Corporate Social Responsibility was coined in 1953 with the publication of Bowen's 'Social Responsibility of Businessmen', which posed the question 'what responsibilities to society can business people be reasonably expected to assume? Writing on the subject in the 1960s expanded the definition, suggesting that beyond legal obligations companies had certain responsibilities to society. In 1984, the celebrated management consultant Peter Drucker wrote about the imperative to turn social problems into economic opportunities. Throughout the 70s and 80s academic discussion of the concept of CSR grew, but the first company to actually publish a social report was Ben and Jerry's in 1989, and the first major company was Shell in 1998.
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The 1990s saw CSR become an established industry with major companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and BursonMarsteller entering the CSR service provision market. New consultancies, such as Sustainability (1989), Business for Social Responsibility (1992) and CSR Europe (1996), also sprang up over this period, all promising to protect industry from protest. Specialist university research centre and the CSR conferencing circuit also emerged in the late 90s. Similarly CSR evolved beyond simple codes of conduct and reporting to include more extensive dialogue with stakeholders, NGO engagement and 'multi stakeholder initiatives' such as the Ethical Trading Initiative (1993) and the Forest Stewardship Council (1998), bringing together companies, NGOs and in some cases governments. Similarly trade unions began negotiating and signing global framework agreements.
Corporate social responsibility Origin Basis 1920s Principles of charity and stewardship Moral obligations to society at large Philanthropy, trustee of the publics interests Corporate social responsiveness 1960s Demands made by numerous social stakeholder groups Corporate citizenship 1990s Building collaborative partnerships with stakeholder groups

Focus

Action

Practical responses by Discovering business businesses to opportunities through corporate partnerships stakeholders Managing corporate Social programs social and financial performance

The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) marked the crowning of CSR. Friends of the Earth led calls for a Convention on Corporate Accountability54, instead the summit delivered much the same outcome as Rio, with over 280 'new' partnerships between government
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and industry announced as 'outcomes' of the summit55, the first time such initiatives have been endorsed in this way. Amongst activists and NGOs, however, dissatisfaction with the CSR model was clear. While many NGOs continue to engage with business, the calls for corporate accountability are growing with campaigns such as International Right to Know Campaign in the USA, the CORE Coalition in the UK and other initiatives internationally pressing for more legally binding rather than voluntary regulation. In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), defined in terms of the responsiveness of businesses to stakeholders legal, ethical, social and environmental expectations. CSR has generally been a pragmatic response to consumer and civil society pressures. Accusations by governments and civil society have pressured companies to become more environmentally and socially responsible. However, the business community has also quickly recognized the strategic value of being more responsible and is beginning to align products and business relationships, in particular through their supply chains, accordingly. In recent decades the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) turned out to be a vital strategy for companies to survive in a ruthless market environment. In a condition where markets shift and customers preferences becomes more unpredictable and complex, adopting CSR strategy could be a powerful tool for survival. CSR-Asia defined Corporate Social Responsibility as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. Many companies all over the world are now starting to see the benefit of practicing CSR in their bottom lines. European countries are now seriously engaged in this concept on different levels and even in interpretation of how the concept works. The concept is quite ambiguous for some did not see its difference from corporate philanthropy. The latter is the most popular as it is easy to
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comprehend and implement. Other would try to adopt the concept but their involvement limited only to their core business. This is understandable, because it is easier for companies to formulate interventions on a concept they can easily understand and are costeffective to them. Example, a food manufacturing company would normally prefer to implement interventions that are related to nutrition, and call this as their CSR project, but in realities still very similar to corporate philanthropy.

In 2013 many companies are starting the New Year by examining exactly how effective their branding is and how they are perceived by their customers and the general public. With all else being equal, companies that take an active role in promoting their corporate social responsibility programs are generally viewed more favorably than those that do not have highly visible programs. Having goals and a vision for your company that go beyond products and profits definitely provides a warmer image of your business that consumers will be more eager to engage with. There are actually two different types of corporate social responsibility to consider. The first one consists of corporations providing funding and resources for worthwhile social causes, such as donating money or employee time to charities. For many people, this is the definition used
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when thinking about corporate responsibility. However, another type of CSR involves putting together a real plan to produce products or provide services that are in the best interests of society. These include things like using safe materials in design and manufacture, corporate environmental initiatives, and other factors such as job creation and economic development.

Readymade Garments Industry (RMG) sector in Bangladesh

The importance of RMG sector can hardly be over emphasized. There has been a steady growth in the field of RMG during last two decades. The RMG industry enjoyed a meteoric rise from 30 enterprises in 1980 increased to about 5150 in 2010-11 fiscal years.

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The country's RMG sector, to a creditable level has relieved Bangladesh from over populous unemployment burden through providing the largest employment next to agriculture, transport, trade and industry sector. This sector has uplifted the neglected section of the population, thus radically transforming the socio-economic condition of the country. Such empowerment and employment raised awareness regarding children education, health safety, population control disaster management only so for. It is an epoch making event in the history of Bangladesh.

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The readymade garment industry in Bangladesh, with 30 years of experience has turned into a sourcing hub in the global marketplace and demonstrated a spectacular growth in exports over the past two decades which was US $12 million in 1984/85 and US $12.35 billion at the end of 2008/09. According to the World Trade Organization WTO, Bangladesh has been ranked as the fourth largest exporter of clothing in the world with a 3% share of global market. According to latest statistics,
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Bangladesh is the largest exporter of cotton t-shirts and second largest exporter of cotton pullover and jeans for the European Union and the second largest exporter of cotton trousers to the U.S. by volume.

In Bangladesh the democracy and industrialization are priorities in the government agenda. The government offers all kinds of support for the promotion of trade and industrialization in the country. BGMEA has been working relentlessly to promote the sustained growth of the garment industry and leading the country to prosperity.

Importance of CSR in RMG sector Corporate social responsibility (CSR) plays a major role in developing the economy of a country. It can be defined as the way in which a company manages various business entities to produce an impact on the society. Companies with high CSR standards are able to demonstrate their responsibilities to the stock holders, employees, customers, and the general public.
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Business organizations that have high corporate social responsibility standards can attract staff thereby reducing employee turnover and cost of recruitment. Companies voluntarily contribute a large sum of money to make a better society and a clean environment. Corporate social responsibility is a process in which all companies come together as one and take part in the welfare of the society. Many organizations conduct campaigns to create awareness among corporate, civic bodies, and government bodies about the importance of corporate social responsibility. Many national and multinational firms are booming in various developing countries. But at the same time, these countries suffer social challenges such as poverty, corruption, population growth, etc. Therefore, it is important for all companies to strive together and adapt corporate social responsibility standards to make the society better than before. The importance of corporate social responsibility lies in two things: 1) Organizations understanding their role in developing a society and 2) Awareness among business houses, corporate bodies, and the people. Versatile, profitable, and dynamic businesses are the driving forces that build the economy of the country.

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Consumers increasingly don't accept unethical business practices or organizations who act irresponsibly. Advances in social media (giving everyone a voice) mean that negative or destructive practices quickly fuel conversations online. Organizations are accountable for their actions like never before. About BGMEA BMGEA is the only government recognized trade body that represents the export-oriented garment manufacturers and exporters of Bangladesh. It has a considerable degree of political and administrative control over the
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industry as only its members have the legal right to export clothing [2] (Nielsen, 2005). Since inception, the association has been working to promote and protect the interests of the clothing sector of Bangladesh and to establish and promote contacts with foreign buyers, business and trade associations, organizations and chambers, and to develop the export base of apparels[3]. BGMEA also acts as a lobby group to protect the interests of the sector and as a promoter of trade negotiations in international markets. It frequently negotiates with global trade bodies such as World Trade Organization, and United Nations agencies such as International Labor Organization (ILO) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The total membership of the association as of end of April 2006 was 4,220 clothing companies, many of which have widespread interaction with global buying companies such as Wal-Mart, H&M, Reebok, Nike and others (BGMEA Annual Report, 2005). The BGMEA is run by a 27-member elected Board. The number of workers employed in BGMEA member units has increased nearly ten-fold during the last 20 years. The clothing industry within Bangladesh is economically significant and contributes around 76 per cent of national export earnings. It also generates 2.2 million direct jobs (where around 85 per cent are women). Numerous allied industries are also linked with this sector.

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The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is one of the largest trade associations in the country representing the readymade garment industry, particularly the woven garments, knitwear and sweater sub-sectors with equal importance. Starting its journey in 1983 today BGMEA takes care of an industry that is at the backbone of Bangladeshs economy. Since the inception, BGMEA is dedicated to promote and facilitate the apparel industry through policy advocacy to the government, services to members, ensuring workers rights and social compliance at factories. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is the apex trade body that represents the export oriented woven, knit and sweater garment manufacturers and exporters of the country. Readymade Garment (RMG) is the leading sector of Bangladesh in terms of employment, production and foreign exchange earnings. Readymade garment (RMG) alone earned about 78% of the yearly foreign exchange earning of the country. About 3.6 million people are employed in the garment sector. The growth rate of RMG export was over 20% per over the last two decades. The fundamental objective of BGMEA is to establish a healthy business environment for a close and mutually beneficial relationship between the manufacturers, exporters and importers in the process ensuring a steady growth in the foreign exchange earnings of the country.
Mission & Vision

BGMEA works with the vision to develop the RMG industry of Bangladesh and the economy of the country. Having such vision BGMEA chalked out the following missions and its strategic direction is paved accordingly Firstly, to protect and promote the interests of the industry; thus ensuring a sustained growth in the foreign exchange earnings of the country.
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Secondly, BGMEA is committed to ensure all legitimate rights and privileges of the garment workers. The association also strives toward the betterment of the society and environment.

Members of BGMEA

BGMEA started with only 12 members in 1978 and presently has around 5150 member factories. Around 40% of BGMEA member factories are knitwear and sweater manufactures, and the rest 60% are woven garment manufactures. BGMEA member factories account for 100% woven garment exports of the country and more than 95% of sweater exports, while around half of the light knitwear exports are made by them.

How BGMEA runs

BGMEA is being run by a 27-member elected Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is elected for a two-year term. Four Vice Presidents having important portfolios, along with a secretariat of experienced officials, assists the President in formulating and executing vital policies and programs of the organization. The President is the highest executive authority of the association. The Board of Directors takes assistance from different Standing Committees headed by a Chairman and composed of members having vast experience in the related fields. Strict adherence to democratic norms and code of conduct are being maintained in the BGMEA elections, which has been regarded as a trend setter in trade body elections of Bangladesh for its pre-election projection caucus and election-day discipline. Six Reasons BGMEA Should Embrace CSR
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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not going to solve the worlds problems. That said, CSR is a way for companies to benefit themselves while also benefiting society. When CSR is defined to the uninitiated, typically three reactions: Some say, Isnt that a bunch of green washing? Others use a non-so-nice word to describe male bovine excrement instead of green washing. Still others say the definition sounds like an inspiring call to action to soothe the ills of capitalism. Then there are those who say CSR is like a begrudging call to Woodstock to sing Kumbaya something only hippies could dream up. So whats a CSR professional supposed to do when faced with such a varied response? Typically, declare the six business reasons why companies should embrace corporate social responsibility. Companies that get it are the ones that are using CSR as a way to push the following business processes into the organization:
1. Innovation its an over-used term. Just typing the word into Amazon

will bring up nearly 150,000 items. But in the context of CSR, innovation is a huge benefit to a company and society. Without sustainability, the companys research and development efforts possibly wouldnt have led to such a product.

2. Cost savings One of the easiest places for a company to start

engaging in sustainability is to use it as a way to cut costs. Whether its using less packaging or less energy, these savings add up quickly. For example, General mills is on a path to 20% energy saving. According to its 2011 CSR report, after installing energy monitoring meters on several pieces of equipment at its Covington, Ga. plant, the company saved $600,000.

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3. Brand differentiation In the past, brand differentiation was one of

the primary reasons companies embraced CSR. Companies such as Timberland were able to find their voice and incorporate the companys values into their business model. However, as CSR has become more commonplace, using it to differentiate your brand is getting harder to do. For example, the Cola Wars is one of the longest running rivalries in business. Coke and Pepsi are constantly looking to grab as much market share as they can from each other. Yet they are both adopting similar, although slightly different, approaches to CSR. Both Pepsi and Coke are pursuing strategies of zero net water usage. Both companies offer water bottles made from sustainable packaging as well. In the end, although neither company is necessarily going to see strong differentiation benefits, I see the diminishing returns on brand differentiation as a sign that CSR is taking hold and is not just a fad.

4. Long-term thinking The only reason were doing sustainability is

to drive the growth of Uniliver, McDonald said in the video mentioned above. Indeed, CSR is an effort to look at the companys long-term interest and ensuring that the companys future is well sustainable. It is a shift from worrying about the next fiscal quarters financial results to the impact business decisions today have on financial (and social) results ten years from now.

5. Customer engagement Whats the point of doing CSR if no one

knows about it? For the past few years, Wal-Mart has established itself as a leader on environmental efforts. Yes, you read that correctly, WalMart is a leader in environmentalism. In 2008, Wal-Mart ran an ad
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campaign designed to raise awareness about the environment and the product choices consumers could make. Using CSR can help engaging customers in new ways. Since the message is about something good, it can often be an easier way to talk to customers. This is an underused tool for business-to-business company communication.

Employee engagement Along similar lines, if companies own employees dont know whats going on within organization, company is missing an opportunity. Companies like Sara Lee created a crossfunctional, global Sustainability Working Team to help create a strategy for sustainability. At a more grass roots level, the Solo Cup Company created the Sustainability Action Network to activate employees in community service focused on the companys CSR priorities.

The CSR initiatives of BGMEA BGMEA undertakes a number of regular activities and projects to ensure workers rights, social and environmental compliance and welfare.

In 1995, the readymade garment industry (RMG) sector in Bangladesh received

jolt from consumer rejection and threat of product boycott in USA, its majo

export market, on the issue of product made by child labor. Apart from the from

growing consumer rejection of Bangladeshi garments, different organizations

Child Labor Coalition (CLC) in particular warned the industry of a formal produc

boycott as of May 2005 unless the child labor related issues are resolved. Th
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case study reveals the CSR related issues and the factors related for the issues i

particular. Finally the role of ILO, GOB and BGMEA led the ending of the issue b The Harkin Bill impact on these issues was highlighted .

signing a MoU. CLC called off the boycott next day following the signing of MoU

Recently BGMEA takes some steps to ensure workers rights, social an environmental compliance and welfare.

1. Tri-partite agreement: Implementation of the tri-partite agreement among the workers, factory owners and government authorities has achieved a highest success rate, among others, of paying minimum wages, appointment letters and maternity benefit.

Factory owners

Tri-partite agreement Workers Government authorities

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Paying minimum wages

Appointment letters

Maternity benefit

2. Insurance facility: Group Insurance scheme for the garment workers and staffs has been made mandatory.

3. Arbitration facilities: Recently BGMEA Provides arbitration facilities to the garment workers at free of cost.

4. Building Code: Building Code has been made mandatory for all member units.

5. Fire and safety training: Conduct regular fire drills and fire safety training program in member factories.

6. Food rationing program: program for workers.

BGMEA has started food rationing

7. Skill development programs :Runs skill development programs for the garment industry through 9 training centers in different regions of
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the country.

8. Rehabilitation of the returned camel Jokies from Dubai: BGMEA has taken particular projects for the rehabilitation of the returned camel Jokies from Dubai.

9. All garment workers to be paid for Eid by today:

Ninety percent of the factory owners have cleared their Eid payroll, with the rest expected to complete it by today, said the president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). Almost every year a section of garment workers is seen demonstrating before the festival due to some factory owners' failure to make timely payments, said BGMEA's president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin. Mohiuddin spoke at a press conference organized at the BGMEA office in the capital. There should not be any kind of untoward incident this year as the owners have paid the workers timely, he said, adding that he was pleased with the state of law and order in the garment sector so far. He said the trade body formed 9 regional and 15 central monitoring committees to oversee the salary payment situation. Furthermore, we have suggested the owners to leave plenty of time for their workers to reach their villages for the Eid festival, Mohiuddin said. He added that according to his reports members of the regional and monitoring committees have visited more than 800 garment factories. Mohiuddin said the BGMEA encourages foreign direct investments in specialized segments as the basic garment sector is self-sufficient. The country's garment sector is going through a difficult period because of the continued economic crisis in Europe and the sluggish recovery of the US
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economy. This is why we are exploring new markets in China, Japan, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and South Africa, and encouragingly, exports to new destinations have increased by 12 percent. But the problem is that our profit margins are narrowing down every year.

10. Green & Clean Production: BGMEAs activities recently has involved with green and clean production and conserving the nature and its resources.BGMEA has been making relentless efforts to motivate, guide and support its members to become more responsive toward the environment through energy efficient production, sustainable use of natural resources and green building. BGMEA has been running several programs with partners like IFC, SEDF to assist the member factories toward energy efficient and cleaner production.

11. Watchdogs Workplace Safety & Compliance: Regularly monitors member factories to check compliance. Runs a Social compliance improvement project to improve the compliance standard. BGMEA organizes training for the member factories on social and environmental standards.

12. Healthcare for the workers: BGMEA recognizes the fundamental rights of the workers, particularly access to healthcare facilities. On this spirit BGMEA runs 12 Health Centers for the garment workers and their families, provide pre medical services and medicines at free of cost. Besides, it run awareness program on HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis, reproductive health and the use of contraceptive devices.
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Current incidents and CSR initiatives by BGMEA According to Bloomberg article on Tazreen fire, in the four weeks since the Tazreen fire, 17 additional conflagrations have broken out in Bangladeshi textile and garment factories, based on reports in the local press that were compiled by the Dhaka office of Solidarity Center, an organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO. In one case, a worker died as panic-stricken employees jammed a stairwell to escape their workplace. A separate case involved no fire, but workers rushed out of a factory after an electric short circuit made a loud noise. Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh and a member of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association, says the fires were triggered by short circuits, faulty wiring, or sudden power surges. Some workers got injured when they started running out of their factories in a panic. We are trying to boost confidence among the workers so they dont panic in case of a fire. It provides an interesting insight to the conflagration incidents at garments factories. BGMEA should arrange workshops on how to react when there is a fire incident at a facility. If the implementation of improved fire safety measures becomes costly in the socio-economic context of Bangladesh, the authority should take steps to maintain proper standards for the infrastructure development of garments companies and make sure there are no technical shortcomings like faulty wirings to minimize fire related incidents at best.

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According to Cathy Feingold, director of the AFL-CIOs international department, and Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, big U.S. and European retailers and apparel companies must be persuaded to press Bangladesh to do more. The brands need to take responsibility for their supply chains, says Feingold. Nova says he figures it would cost the big brand companies less than 10 per garment to ensure safe factories in Bangladesh. Instead, as long as the companies press for low prices from their suppliers, the government of Bangladesh cannot be active in improving safety, he says. With subcontractors in Bangladesh operating on razor-thin margins, they face an incentive to cut corners.

Conclusion: To be clear, these are the reasons why most companies should enact CSR. In truth, companies often become involved in CSR for different reasons. This isnt to say that CSR is the panacea to the worlds problems. But it certainly does start to move the needle toward an economy that is much closer to one where I would like to conduct business.

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References:
Mallen Bakers Blog o http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr

www.bgmea.com.bd/home/pages/BGMEASACTIVITIES
o Why Every Company Needs a CSR Strategy and How to Build It o o KashRangan, Lisa A. Chase, SohelKarim Harvard Business School, Working Paper: 12-088, April 5, 2012

Corporate Social Responsibility: An Implementation Guide for Business o o o o Paul Hohnen, Author Jason Potts, Editor 2007, International Institute for Sustainable Development ISBN 978-1-895536-97-3

Triple bottom line o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Bottom_Line

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY o ASOCIO Policy Paper, June 2004

Corporate social responsibility o From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Corporate Social responsibility and Sustainable business o o o o o A Guide to leadership tasks and Functions Alessia DAmato, Sybil Henderson, Sue Florence CCL Stock No. 355 2009 Center for Creative Leadership Greensboro, North Carolina ISBN 978-1-60491-063-6

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Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) o http://www.bgmea.com.bd/

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) o http://www.unido.org/

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Implications for Small and Medium Enterprises in Developing Countries o o Peter Raynard and Maya Forstater, Vienna, 2002 UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION

Corporate Watch: an independent, not-for-profit journalism, research & publishing group

o http://www.corporatewatch.org/

Schema: Sustainability Partner o http://schemaadvisory.com/the-importance-of-csr/

One4All CSR: a training provider and consultancy o http://one4allcsr.com/consultancy/benefits-of-csr/

The Kanchan Foundation o Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility

http://www.tkf.org.in/blog/what-is-the-importance-of-corporate-social-responsibility/
WHAT IS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY? o o 8 Questions & Answers July 2002, CATALYST Consortium

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