A Research Paper

On

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN

TELECOM INDUSTRY

(A STUDY OF THREE COMPANIES)

Submitted as a part of the CSR paper in the Fourth Semester of Masters

of Business Administration Year 2012

Submitted to:

Ms. Shilki Bhatia

Submitted by:

Saurav Ner (118)

Ankush Bhat (117)

Vinod Kumar (114)

Dhruv Wadhwa (111)

Vikrant

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Topics Page No.Chapter 1 Abstract 3

Chapter 2 Introduction 4 - 5

Chapter 3 Literature review

Chapter 4 Objectives of the studyChapter 5 Research methodology

Conclusion

Limitations

Bibliography

Annexure

Chapter 1: ABSTRACT

This paper examines the essence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which is defined as the ethical behavior of a company towards the society. It involves a study of the CSR initiatives taken up in the telecom sector in India. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is of high relevance for the telecom industry as this sector has a strong impact and a high dependence on the economy, the environment and on the society.

In this project a study is done on the CSR practices of the top three telecom companies in India - Airtel, Aircel and BSNL to find out what and measures these companies have taken in India as a part of CSR initiatives. In the study we would further be describing about the major steps taken by the above mentioned companies to adhere to the corporate social responsibility in the country.

Chapter 2: INTRODUCTION

What is CSR?

There are a variety of definitions of CSR and no overall agreement but our own definition is:

CSR is concerned with treating the stakeholders of the firm ethically or in a responsible manner. ‘Ethically or responsible’ means treating stakeholders in a manner deemed acceptable in civilized societies. Social includes economic responsibility. Stakeholders exist both within a firm and outside. The natural environment is a stakeholder. The wider aim of social responsibility is to create higher and higher standards of living, while preserving the profitability of the corporation, for peoples both within and outside the corporation.

CSR therefore means the ethical behaviour of business towards its constituencies or stakeholders. Nevertheless, there are a wide variety of concepts and definitions associated with the term “corporate social responsibility”, but no general agreement of terms. To provide some guidance to readers in this area I have included a glossary of terms in Annexure, which provides a number of definitions. Alert readers will notice, however, a fluidity of concepts that really requires more extensive research and consideration than has been undertaken so far. Without a common language, we do not really know whether our dialogue with companies is being heard and interpreted in a consistent way. To date I believe that such dialogue has been highly flawed, as some companies use the terms “corporate citizenship”, some “the ethical corporation”, while others use “good corporate governance” or “corporate responsibility”. These flaws lead some companies to consider CSR as pure corporate philanthropy, others (such as Shell) as a new corporate strategic framework, while others dismiss the notion entirely.

We include economic aspects in our definition of CSR simply because the study of economics is a “social” science which also encompasses financial aspects. We have always considered the environment to be one of the stakeholders of a company. Nevertheless, many prefer the term “corporate responsibility”. To date, the main responsibility of a corporation has been to make profits for its shareholders. “Corporate responsibility” describes this very well. However, including “social” emphasizes the inclusion of other aspects, such as the wider economy, stakeholders other than shareholders and the environment.

Why are companies engaged in CSR?

Companies that are socially responsible in making profits also contribute to some, although obviously not all, aspects of social development. Every company should not be expected to be involved in every aspect of social development. That would be ludicrous and unnecessarily restrictive. But for a firm to be involved in some aspects, both within the firm and on the outside, will make its products and services more attractive to consumers as a whole, therefore making the company more profitable. There will be increased costs to implement CSR, but the benefits are likely to far outweigh the costs.

Corporate social responsibility is not a new issue. The social responsibility of business was not widely considered to be a significant problem from Adam Smith’s time to the Great Depression. But since the 1930s, and increasingly since the 1960s, social responsibility has become an important issue not only for business but in the theory and practice of law, politics and economics. Further acceleration has occurred in the past few years. The need to address questions of low living standards, exploitation, poverty, unemployment and how to promote social development in general, has to date been almost entirely the preserve of governments. Clearly, they will continue to have a, if not the, major role to play in this area. But, increasingly in the future, the promotion of social development issues must also be one of partnership between government and private and non-governmental actors and, in particular, the corporate sector.

Today

We are now seeing consumers avoiding what they see (rightly or wrongly) as socially irresponsible products or the products of companies that have allegedly not acted in society’s best interest. Enterprises have noted that social responsibility is good for business for, and from, each of the seven main azimuths within which they trade and operate. These are: their shareholders and potential investors; managers; employees; customers; business partners and contractors or suppliers; the natural environment; and the communities within which they operate, including national governments. Such azimuths are now commonly known as an enterprise’s stakeholders.

Corporate social responsibility should nevertheless not be seen as a substitute to regulation or legislation concerning social rights or environmental standards, including the development of new appropriate legislation. In countries where such regulations do not exist, efforts should focus on putting the proper regulatory or legislative framework in place in order to define a level playing field on the basis of which socially responsible practices can be developed. CSR is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis.

Chapter 4: OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the study undertaken by us were as follows:

To study the CSR initiatives taken in the Telecom industry in India.

To examine the CSR activities carried out by the three Telecom companies operating in our country-

o Airtelo Aircelo BSNL

Thus, the objective of this research is to find out the CSR practices that are taken up by the telecom companies and also to analyze that whether all the companies practice the similar kind of CSR activities or what extra or different they are doing from the other telecom players.

Corporate Social Responsibility by Bharti AirtelBharti Airtel believes that business success is not an end in itself; rather it is a means to achieve higher socio-economic goals. The Company is committed to its stakeholders to conduct its business in a responsible manner.

To ensure inclusive growth and impact society in a positive way, the Company undertook several initiatives in 2010-11 in the social welfare space while strengthening existing projects.

Notably, in the last one year, Bharti Airtel has extended its initiative of providing quality education to underprivileged children, to the 16 African countries it operates in. The Company is adopting at least one primary school in each of these 16 countries in the first stage. It has already adopted 19 primary schools in the African continent.

In India, most of the welfare activities are routed through Bharti Foundation, the Group’s philanthropic arm. Established in 2000, the Foundation aims to provide quality education free of cost to underprivileged children in rural India, with special focus on the girl child. Bharti Foundation rolled out its flagship initiative, the Satya Bharti School Programme in 2006. The programme focuses on developing a replicable and scalable quality-education model in rural India and counts as one of the largest end-to-end education programmes undertaken by a corporate in India today. It has reached out to approximately 30,000 children through its primary schools alone.

THE SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL PROGRAMMEThe Satya Bharti School programme delivers free and quality education to underprivileged children across rural India. It has set the goal to establish 500 Primary and 50 Senior Secondary Schools reaching out to over 200,000 children.

Currently it runs 242 Satya Bharti Primary Schools reaching out to approximately 30,000 children across the states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Of these, 49 schools are adopted government schools in the Neemrana and Amer blocks of Rajasthan. Under the ambit of its Secondary School, 5 schools are currently operational in Punjab covering 1,184students.

Overall aim of the rural education programme is to develop students from rural areas into well rounded personalities and responsible citizens. While the primary school programme works towards inculcating sound fundamentals in the child, the senior secondary school programme provides training for a steady vocation. Education in these schools is completely free and is supported by additional welfare schemes such as free uniforms, books, stationery, mid-day meals, etc.

ACT-A Caring Touch

Employees can contribute to any cause they wish to support within the seven charity options listed under the ACT Programme. All monetary contributions are matched equally by the Company. This year the employee financial contribution towards this programme penetrated to over 30% of the employee base as against the employee penetration of 21% in the previous year. As an initiative under ACT, the Joy of Giving week was celebrated in the Company in which employees participated in fi ve campaigns namely Give Dignity (clothes), Give Sight (eye donation), Give Life(plantation), Give Joy (drawing books & crayons etc.) and Give Hope (donation through our ACT programme).

EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEERINGEmployees at Bharti Airtel are also encouraged to volunteer on-site, visit the schools and interact with the children. Some of the initiatives undertaken to propel this programme forward include:

• Mobile Mentoring ProgrammeA Mobile Mentoring Programme was launched for all employees, their friends and family members. It aims to help Satya Bharti School teachers improve their English speaking skills through telephonic sessions with employees over a concerted period of 12 Bharti Airtel Annual Report 2010-11 time. Detailed scripts and evaluation parameters were provided to the volunteers to assess the impact of their support.

• Young Leaders Programme36 Young Leaders from Bharti Airtel volunteered for 15 days at the Satya Bharti Schools in Punjab. Volunteers shared their knowledge and experience, and actively participated in the schools’ operations. They also mentored the teachers byhelping them teach English and Mathematics, focussing on academically weaker children, understanding and enhancing existing processes and also creating a deeper local connect with the students’ parents and the community at large.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AND SUPPORT

Several initiatives in the areas of health, environment and disaster management support are also adopted by our local offices in India to improve the living standards of their respective communities. Last year, Villupuram and Cudaloor districts in the central zone of Tamil Nadu were badly affected, having received rainfall 70% above the average level. Bharti Airtel employees together with thesupport of local village heads collected old and new blankets, made arrangements for food packets, torches and other basic essentials and got them distributed to 300 affected families. Helpline centres were installed with PCOs for connectivity.Similar to previous years, our circle offices organized child safety awareness campaigns, traffic awareness campaigns, eye donation and blood donation camps regularly for the employees and general public. We harnessed our products and services for various community based activities. Some of these include a virtual blood bank; blood donation alerts through SMS; PCOs for the

visually impaired and differently-abled; bus route information availability on mobile phones; the launch of a Cancer Helpline with some NGOs and the launch of an eye donation helpline in collaboration with the Ophthalmology Department of a Medical College.

FARMER WELFARE

Bharti Airtel takes advantage of its vast presence in India to reach out to farmers. It provides them with vital information on weather, mandi prices, agronomy, horticulture, forestry, government schemes, etc. through its joint venture with IFFCO - IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL).

HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT

Bharti Airtel follows a comprehensive Health, Safety and Environment Management policy to maintain safe and incidence-free work places. Periodic trainings in first aid, heart care (CPR), fire-fighting and emergency management are provided to employees. All our facilities install fire prevention and fighting equipment as per best practices and standards. Additionally all our facilities areProvided with comfort cooling and ergonomically designed furniture; work stations and meeting rooms which match international standards. The offices also include waste-water treatment and rain water harvesting.

GREEN INITIATIVES

We constantly explore ways and means to reduce our carbon footprint. We have been running power saving programmes in our offices and network operations for over six years now. These programmes have helped conserve energy, reduce green house gas emission, and reduce costs.

A. Green Shelter for BTSs

We have pioneered the Green Shelter concept for BTS. This unique shelter comes with optimal cooling, power and thermal management systems, thereby minimizing the running of backup systems like diesel generator sets. The solutionReduces the operational cost by as much as 40% as compared to conventional shelters and avoids contributing to global warming by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.

B. Programme GOOD (Get out of Diesel)

To reduce diesel consumption at our sites we pursued programme ‘GOOD’ during the year. Under this programme, 500 sites in Bihar have been taken up for Solar PV technology implementation despite a Non-Favourable Financial Model. Similarly, other technological interventions like DG Optimisation, IPMS (Integrated Power Management Solution), and DCDG were implemented to reduce the diesel footprint at our network sites. IPMS and variable speed DC Generators

(DCDG) has led to an annual reduction of 1.2 Mn litres in Diesel Consumption across 900 sites. Apart from this, we pursued a number of other opportunities such as using bio-diesel in 13 Andhra Pradesh, fuel cells is Haryana and UP, and Biomass-based electricity generation in Bihar, to reduce diesel dependency on along-term basis.

C. Green Tower P7 Programme

This programme is scoped for 22,000 towers sites, primarily rural areas having low or no Grid power availability. Of this nearly 5,500 sites have already been implemented in the first year as a part of this 3-year programme. Once completed,this initiative will reduce diesel consumption by 58 Mn litres per year, with a signifi cant carbon dioxide reduction of around 1.5 Lakh metric tonnes per year.

D. Managed Energy Services

We commenced ‘Managed Energy Services’ with Wipro Eco Energy covering all our facilities in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Under this initiative, Wipro will monitor the energy consumption pattern at the facilities,identify and implement energy-saving measures for targeted consumption reduction.

E. E-Waste Management

We have expanded the scope of e-waste management by including network/fi eld e-waste. During the year we disposed 407K tons of network e-waste through authorised re-cyclers. We comply with the disposal of e-waste as per applicableWEEE norms.

F. Other Energy Reducing Initiatives

A number of initiatives were launched in our offices and in other technical facilities last year to reduce energy consumption in lighting and air conditioning. A Solar Hot Water Generator was installed at the Airtel Campus to fulfil hot water requirement in the cafeteria. Lighting Energy Savers (LES) have also been installed across our facilities in the National Capital Region.

This has reduced our energy consumption by around 10-25%.

Variable Frequency Drives were installed in the Air Handling Unit (AHU) at Airtel Centre Campus to improve the efficiency of the cooling system by 10%. These measures have resulted in savings of 8.5 Lakh units of electricity per year, for the Company. We have started the virtualisation of servers. This has helped

us release over 500 CPUs. Additionally we are moving towards Cloud-based services. Technologies like Virtual Tape Library, and the replacement of teradata with DB2 have added to multiple hardware releases.

G. E-Bills

Sending e-bills to our post-paid customers has been a huge success. Today over 2 Million e-bills are being sent per month. This has significantly contributed towards our “go-green” drive and saved 24,000 trees annually. We have also implemented a ‘Secure Print’ solution - an automated queue-management based secure printing solution which has led to an annualised saving of ~ 8 tonnes of paper.

THE CHANGING NORMS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYCyber SecurityDuring the Commonwealth Games of October 2010, in line with the Government’s directives, we ensured that the communication infrastructure performed fl awlessly resisting attempts of anti-national cyber activists. In the Lawful Interception domain, we received 422 appreciation letters from various Law Enforcement agencies in the last one year alone.

CertificationsISO 27001: We have one of the largest ISO 27001 certification scopes in the world. We underwent 142 man-days of surveillance audit, covering all 13 mobile services circles, 3 Telemedia hubs, 3 ES hubs, 4 NSG zones, all data centres and the Airtel Centre. All 25 certificates were successfully retained without a single instance of non-conformance. The ISO 27001 certification has contributed hugely towards improving our security stance, while enhancing customer trust, brand image and competitive advantage. Airtel Sri Lanka also achieved ISO 27001 and BS 25999 certifications last year.

Aircel had long been one of the biggest players down South. But since 2005 it started looking for a pan–India expansion strategy. It has increased its presence across various telecom circles at breakneck speed. For this they have used a large number of initiatives which have captured the public imagination like never before. Some of its initiatives it used in Maharashtra when they launched last year -

During the IPL matches, it had a live scoreboard at the Mahim causeway in Mumbai It had projected its logo on the Gateway of India Aircel branded  airport cards had names of celebrities Various directional signages were put up at different places and also a tree – like structure

with Aircel branded boxes One of their biggest and most successful initiatives was putting up a rubber dinghy on

billboards in various places across Mumbai where there were chances of flooding. When the flooding did happen, people in Aircel branded shirts were present to help everyone be safe

This year the boat campaign “Sail through our network this monsoon” has been expanded to include newer locations such as Andheri, Bhandup, Wadala Bridge among 10 locations. It includes newer subways and also bus shelters.Some of their pan – India corporate social responsibility campaigns include –

The “Save our Tigers” campaign to save the 1411 remaining tigers in partnership with the WWF

The “Aircel Donate Phone Program” which requires one to donate their working / non working old phones to Aircel who would give it to people in old age homes with free talk time for a year.

All these various initiatives make at least one thing clear. Aircel’s network may not be that good but its various initiatives are making heads turn. But is all this enough to succeed in the market? Aren’t a good network, better customer services, high revenues, cheap call rates and things like that important?

Aircel though is different. It seems to have defied industry predictions and is proving to be a sure – fire dark horse.

It recorded highest growth of 37.2% (2009-10) among all the mobile operators. It has moved to the fifth position in terms of number of subscribers (27.7 million)

It has been conferred with various marketing and branding awards over the last one year People have been so impressed with its boat campaign in Mumbai that it has decided to

launch it in Delhi and Kolkata as well this yearIn an industry which is reaching saturation level with everyone going for low prices, Aircel is leading a revolution in the world of innovation. It has also set up an innovations bank for the generation of new ideas.

Someone has rightly pointed out that Aircel is literally the 12th man in the market. If the 12th man has to get into the team, he has to do things differently which would get others talking.

Aircel’s CSR:

Aircel has had the most popular CSR campaign in 2010 and can be easily recalled by anyone

who watches tv, listens to radio or surfs the internet.

The Save Our Tigers Campaign

AIRCEL, India’s 5th largest GSM mobile service provider initiated the campaign towards a

social cause in association with WWF-India to help save our tigers.  Aircel “Save Our Tiger” is

the latest campaign where it intends to draw attention towards dwindling numbers of tigers

across the planet and bring forward the seriousness of losing tigers from our planet.

Tiger, the national animal of India, has been on key target of poachers and in 2009 alone India

lost 86 tigers. From around 40,000 at the turn of the last century, there are just 1411 tigers left in

India. The national animal is on the verge of extinction and if serious efforts are not undertaken

Tigers will only reside in our history books.

Cricket Player and Aircel’s brand Ambassador Mahendra Singh Dhoni, footballer Bhaichung

Bhutia and south Indian actor Surya are part of this campaign. Apart from TV and print

advertising it has launched a website www.saveourtigers.com which will be instrumental in

propagating and disseminating information about saving tiger. It urges people to be informed and

create buzz across all forums like blogging, writing on facebook, twitter and writing letters to the

editors of newspapers. It has also created a platform where people can donate money to NGOs

working relentlessly for the cause.

As per Aircel’s Website:

At Aircel, we continually pursue healthy corporate citizenship. Our aim is not to merely

discharge social responsibility, but conduct business in a manner which reinstates respect for

people, communities and the environment.

We emphasize on an inclusive work culture to appreciate differences and believe engagement

with our employees is quintessential for an effective CSR plan. We share adequate information

on the organization’s vision and CSR initiatives, because it promises healthy operations and

subsequently adds to the overall quality of life. This motivates the employees and their family

members to contribute to society.

Aircel maintains integrity and respect in its interactions with its stakeholders, customers,

retailers, investors, NGO partners and the government. We are careful in not partnering with any

PR / communication that induces distrust in the sincerity of our efforts. Our stringent belief in

delighting customers with good products and services helps build a strong relationship.

Aircel is always proactive in supporting NGOs and NPOs. We extend all possible assistance to

their projects for a minimum of 3 to 5 years and thereafter support new projects. Besides, we aim

at continual involvement with our business partners and the government for economic and social

development of the underprivileged.

Aircel engages external audit agencies to guarantee authenticity, and maintains and monitors an

external profile of the CSR activities which are shared with the stakeholders in the annual reports

and websites.

We incorporate the CSR policies in our core business to ensure ethical business practices in all the functions to harness a healthy society.

CSR Activities of BSNL

BSNL launches ‘BSNL 3G Rajdhani Express’

BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) is rolling out 3G network and related services across India. To publicize and create awareness at mass level and to strengthen its brand presence ‘BSNL 3G branded Rajdhani Trains’ are being launched in association with Indian Railways and Peacock Media. BSNL will take care for up-gradation, cleaning and maintenance of Rajdhani trains, which will also add on to CSR activity and to establish its BSNL3G brand in the mindset of people. BSNL has done a full train external vinyl wrap for the first time in India including internal media for captive visibility. This is a massive campaign in terms of visual area as well, since as much as 25,000 square feet of BSNL advertisement creative would be wrapped onto Rajdhani Express with a special quality vinyl approved by RDSO. The medium deliveries are 85,000 per day eyeballs assured through the external vinyl wrap, while internal medias are consumed by approx 1,500 passengers per day. There are approx 350 Panels, 200 Table Tops and 400 Brochure Holders inside one train, along with audio jingles, announcements, contest and activation by in-train promoters which would create a great impact and engaging communication for the brand BSNL and its services.

The CSR imagery of BSNL would also gain strength because of the upgraded services experienced by the travelers, including cleaning and maintenance which are viewed to be bought by the BSNL 3G brand. What makes the medium unique is its high and impactful reach with long duration consumption in a receptive environment, with complete exclusivity for the Brand BSNL. This 3 month campaign is expected to attract one and half crore eyeballs negotiating 34 locations across eleven States. Routes being covered by this Rajdhani train are Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Bangalore & Delhi Trivandrum. Another Rajdhani Train covering Delhi- Sealdah is also scheduled for launch shortly. BSNL’s communication on this Rajdhani train is focused on 3G services and entices the consumer to ‘get ready for a faster life’ by eye catchy visuals on fast gaming, music download, online movie streaming, video calling, live TV and high speed internet services on the move.

BSNL donates computer to a Government schoolThe Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) donated a computer with free unlimited broadband usage for the students of the Government Special School for Physically Challenged at Villapuram in the city. The computer was presented to the school under the corporate social responsibility activities of the BSNL for which Madurai had been allotted Rs. 1 lakh for this year, its General Manager V. K. Sanjeevi said. Apart from a personal computer, the BSNL has provided table, chair, modem and a telephone with incoming facility. One more educational institution would get a similar facility, he said. District Rehabilitation Officer Kanagaraj was present. (Source : The Hindu, October 28 , 2009, Madurai)

Quality Service at affordable prices

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is committed to provide quality Telecom Services ataffordable price to the citizens of the remotest part of India, since it is of utmost importance for achievement of the country’s social and economic goals. BSNL is the only telecommunication

service provider offering rural telephony as part of its social responsibility. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited does not have any direct subsidy schemes/programmes for public. However, BSNL is the only service provider offering rural telephonys part of its social responsibility. BSNL plans to provide broadband to 20,000 villages that are already connected through optical fibre. BSNL, with support from government, plans to provide broadband to all gram panchayats, secondary and higher secondary schools and public health care centres by end of 2010. BSNL is offering special tariffs for rural subscribers by providing lower rental and higher free calls ascompared to urban area subscribers.

Employees’ Welfare activity

BSNL focuses its CSR activities primarily in the field of employees’ welfare activities, assistance during natural calamities and offering rural broadband plans. BSNL implements welfare programs and awards such as Bharat Sanchar Sarathy and Sanchar Seva Padak. It also offers its employees corporate group Life Insurance Policy. BSNL, with government support, plans to provide broadband to all gram panchayats, secondary and higher secondary schools and public health care centers by the end of 2007. BSNL is the only service provider offering rural telephony as part of its social responsibility. It received the ‘Golden Peacock National Award 2005’ for its contribution to the field of CSR, in connecting India’s remote areas and adhering to best labor practices. The company has an ISO 9000 certified Telecom Training Institute.

Annexure

Glossary of Terms

Corporate social responsibility is concerned with treating the stakeholders of the firm ethically or in a responsible manner. “Ethically or responsible” means treating stakeholders in a manner deemed acceptable in civilized societies. Social includes economic responsibility. Stakeholders exist both within a firm and outside – the natural environment is a stakeholder for example. The wider aim of social responsibility is to create higher and higher standards of living, while preserving the profitability of the corporation, for peoples both within and outside the corporation (Michael Hopkins).

Corporate citizenship implies a strategy that moves from a focus on short-term transaction to longer term, values-based relationships with these stakeholders. Loyalty will be based on a company’s ability to build a sense of shared values and mission with key stakeholders (S. Zadek et al., The civil corporation: The new economy of corporate citizenship, London, Earthscan, 2001).

A socially responsible company will seek and identify the concerns of its stakeholders and endeavour to treat those stakeholders fairly. (Stephanie Draper, Corporate Nirvana: Is the future socially responsible?, London, Industrial Society, 2000).

Corporate social responsiveness is the management task of doing what one has decided to do so as to become socially responsible (Ackerman and Bauer, 1976, op. cit.).

Corporate governance is concerned with holding the balance between economic and social goals and between individual and communal goals. The governance framework is there to encourage the efficient use of resources and equally to require accountability for the stewardship of those resources. The aim is to align as nearly as possible the interests of individuals, corporations and society” (Sir Adrian Cadbury, in Global Corporate Governance Forum, World Bank, 2000).

Corporate sustainability aligns an organization’s products and services with stakeholder expectations, thereby adding economic, environmental and social value (Price Waterhouse Coopers).

Ethics: The science of morals in human conduct. (Oxford Dictionary ).

Sustainable Development: Environmental impact measurement, improvements, monitoring and reporting. (John Rosthorn, ibid.)