How can Corporate Social Responsibility Deliver in Africa? Insights from Kenya and Zambia

I
t is now recognised that poverty
reduction and sustainable development
will not be achieved through government
action alone. Policy makers are paying
increasing attention to the potential
contribution of the private sector to
such policy objectives.
1
The concept
of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
is sometimes used as shorthand for
businesses’ contribution to sustainable
development. A number of core
development issues are already central
to the international CSR agenda.
They include labour standards, human
rights, education, health, child labour,
poverty reduction, conflict and
environmental impacts.
But what does this mean at the
national level, particularly in those
countries in which sustainable
development challenges appear most
intractable? Does CSR have resonance
among local stakeholders? This paper
describes key aspects of the emerging
CSR agenda in two countries in sub-
Saharan Africa – Kenya and Zambia –
in order to explore what it would take
to help unlock the potential private
sector contribution to sustainable
development in each country.

Reference: http://www.iied.org/SM/CR/documents/CSRinAfrica.pdf