Corporate Social Responsibility: what is it? what can we do?
In this week’s special episode we sit down with Sadhvi Dar, a Reader in Interdisciplinary Management and Organisation Studies in the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, to unpack what Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actually is and why it has become a central issue for organisations, as for society too. We end the episode with an impactful discussion about how students and graduates can get involved with CSR in both their personal and professional live.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/corporate-social-responsibility-what-is-it-and-what/id1520665111?i=1000542190663
Listen to the episode on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/350iTsvk7q45CPdIqNTwVu
SHOW NOTES:
This week ReImagineLaw’s Nigel Spencer and Kaylee Campbell are joined by special guest Sadhvi Dar who shines a light on the complex area of CSR. Sadhvi defines the tensions present between the state, business and society, and provides a brief overview of the development of this area of activity. We discuss also how CSR has come to be not only a board-level agenda issue, but one which businesses (especially law firms) use to seek competitive advantage. In their application processes, law firms now ask applicants questions about their thoughts on the CSR strategies that the firm adopts! Sadhvi also explains the importance of having an identity outside of our workplace ‘persona’ in order to fully engage with all aspects of our true selves.
Often larger CSR issues like the climate crisis and migration displacement can feel incredibly daunting in terms of how we, as individuals, can make a difference. Added to that, the ‘green-washing’ phenomenon, misinformation and clever marketing tactics make it really easy for us, not only as students but as consumers as well, to feel powerless or unclear in how we can best contribute to important global challenges.
This episode provides us with actionable steps that we as students and graduates can take to support the communities around us and to reach outside of our ‘corporate’ or ‘online’ identity.
USEFUL RESOURCES:
WaterBear (free streaming platform for CSR related documentaries coupled with direct ‘action items’)
https://www.waterbear.com/watchBehind the Scenes of a Law Degree episode
https://www.re-imaginelaw.org.uk/pathways/jwf8u1qq01yhtq9oh18qajc2eo3yudSadhvi Dar
https://www.qmul.ac.uk/busman/staff/academic/profiles/dars.html and on Twitter @drsadhvidarExample of a Law Firm’s CSR Report
https://www.reedsmith.com/en/news/2021/04/reed-smith-launches-its-seventh-annual-emea-responsible-business-report