CSR matters in the development of Mauritius

Roshni Deepa Gokulsing

Roshni Deepa Gokulsing is Lecturer in Sociology in the Department of Social Studies, Faculty of Social Studies and Humanities, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius.

Abstract Purpose Rethinking development along the lines of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a new and exciting area of research and development practice. Newly emerging forms of global governance are now relying on private actors (business, non governmental organizations (NGOs)) rather than states. Therefore, CSR policy and programmes are necessary steps in securing responsible corporate behaviour in support of development. The objectives of this paper are to identify the areas of interventions for CSR activities and examine the rationale behind the CSR activities in Mauritius. It aims to analyse the relation between business and poverty reduction and also the successes and failures of CSR initiatives and how the programmes are delivering to the companys business objectives. In short, how is CSR redening development? Design/methodology/approach Both primary and secondary data have been collected for this study. Qualitative methods of data collection were privileged to address complex issues such as the relationship between CSR and development. In-depth interviews were carried out and seen as an appropriate research technique in order to explore and capture the perspectives of the stakeholders, namely private sector and the NGOs on CSR. Secondary sources in the form of company publications, annual reports, press cuttings, web sites of companies and survey reports were consulted. Findings Although CSR initiatives go quite a long way back in Mauritius, it is still believed that CSR is not embedded in its corporate culture. However, in some cases, CSR is merely being used as window-dressing, for the gallery as a sideshow since it is a trendy issue and that everyone is doing it alongside with the wide media coverage. For CSR to become the national development tool, it is important that coordinated and concerted efforts be undertaken at the private sector level, in the civil society and at government level in achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. Originality/value This work contributes to the scarce literature on CSR in Mauritius as well as in the African continent, investigating the relationship between CSR and development in the Mauritian context. It also provides an extensive and critical literature review on CSR and CSR activities in Mauritius. Keywords Corporate social responsibility, Research and development, Private sector organizations, Non-governmental organizations, Poverty, Mauritius Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not a new phenomenon. It is one of the important and pressing issues confronting the global business landscape. Rethinking development along the lines of corporate social responsibility is a new and exciting area of research and development practice. The relationship between CSR and development has recently become the focus of scholars concerned with the relationship between business and society. Efforts, in this regard, have been instrumental both in contributing to the maturation of the contemporary CSR agenda and in the emergence of a critical CSR-development research agenda aimed at highlighting the potential and limitation of CSR efforts geared towards development. CSR is a means by which businesses are managed. The drivers of the CSR engagement are therefore many and varied in terms of internal and external initiatives. CSR has been dened by various institutions such as the International Labour

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Ofce (ILO), the European Commission, the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development among others. CSR can be dened as a concept which suggests organizations, especially (but not only) corporations, have an obligation to consider the interests of customers, employees, shareholders, communities, and ecological considerations in all aspects of their operations. CSR is closely linked with the principles of sustainable development, which argues that enterprises should make decisions not only based on nancial factors such as prots or dividends, but also based on the immediate and long-term social and environmental consequences of their activities. This paper may be a starting point for a debate on CSR and development in Mauritius. Since Mauritius is a small island developing state, it is exposed to vulnerabilities under the reins of powerful global forces and government is adopting new discourses: calling for public/private partnership to address key developmental issues. Fighting poverty has been on the agenda of successive governments in Mauritius. The Budget Speech 2009, enacted in Parliament through the Finance Act 2009 announced that all companies are now required to spend 2 per cent of their prots on CSR or transfer these funds to be used for social and environmental projects. Government is exercising more and more pressure on the private sector to combat poverty in all its forms aiming in becoming a sustainable island.

Literature review
Concept and theories of CSR CSR is associated with the conduct of corporations and in particular whether corporations owe a duty to stakeholders other than shareholders. While the phrase corporate social responsibility may be gaining momentum, the concept itself is not new (Kercher, 2007). Some researchers have dened the concept of CSR in terms of a philosophical orientation or as an ideology, or even leaving the concept fuzzy and open to conicting interpretations. Others have equated it to morality, environmental responsibility, stakeholders engagement, corporate citizenship, social responsible investment and sustainability amongst others. All these render CSR as multipurpose concept (Ojo, n.d.). The European Commission has adopted a strategy on CSR as a follow-up to the Green Paper on CSR published in 2001 (European Commission, 2010). The European Union (EU) dened CSR as a concept whereby a company integrates social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis as they are increasingly aware that responsible behaviour leads to sustainable business success. It can be argued that company management in the past focused solely on maximising short-term prots. In this modern globalised economy, the triple bottom line is increasingly seen as vital to business long-term success. Historical evolution of CSR The idea of social responsibility appeared in the USA around the start of the twentieth century. According to Carroll (1999), there have been three critical turning points in the evolution of social responsibility. The Entrepreneurial era has been the rst one in which American businessmen were building industrial empires and abused their power and were found guilty of anti-social and anti-competitive practices. Since there were public outcries against them, government had to enforce laws whereby business had a role to play in society beyond prot maximisation. The Depression era of 1929-1930s was the second turning point, during that period, the economy of USA was dominated by large organizations and government passed laws to protect investors and smaller businesses. In addition, social responsibility of organization was more clearly dened. The third landmark in social responsibility came during the Social era of 1960s and this period was characterised by social unrest in the United States.

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Government then looked closely at organizational practices, whereby it was clearly dened whom the business is responsible to. It should be pointed out that according to Bowen (1953), emphasis was placed on peoples conscience rather on the company itself. The shift in focus led by a number of factors such as managerial revolution, a growing hostility of people who experience social problems demanding changes in the business landscape. Content of CSR Bowen (1953) known as the pioneering advocate of CSR (Carroll, 1999) has attempted to dene CSR in terms of [. . .] the obligations of businessmen to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of objectives and values of our society. Further attempts have been elaborated on the obligations of the rm that go beyond the economic and legal domains, thus including the employee, the community welfare, the political and educational needs of society (McGuire, 1963). This gave rise to the modern concept of corporate citizenship (Maignan et al., 1999). Furthermore, the Committee for Economic Development (1971) viewed CSR as the service of a wide range of human values to improve the quality of life. The managerial role in changing societal expectations has also been articulated by the Committee. However, Manne and Wallich (1972) pointed out that the businesses should not spoil society and provide solutions through voluntary assumption of obligations. Caroll in 1979 summarised the discussion by providing the following denition:
[. . .] social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time (Carroll, 1979).

Wartick and Cochran (1985) attempted to broaden the CSR concept to corporate social performance, which included three components namely principles, processes and policies. Wood (1991) has been able to connect the three interrelated themes. She explained rst, why industries, rms and managers should endeavour to engage in socially responsible behaviour. Second, how socially responsible objectives might be formulated and achieved and third, described what outcomes or results should be expected with respect to the CSR domains was provided. Management researchers such as Freeman (1984), Donaldson and Preston (1995) have developed the stakeholder theory, which put forward that businesses are responsible to those who can affect or are affected by its purposes. Constructs of corporate citizenship (Maignan et al., 1999), environpreneurial marketing (Menon and Menon, 1997) and corporate environmentalism (Bannerjee et al., 2003) have delimited the scope of CSR since it provides basis for rm strategy and aids accountability. Recently, it has been argued that the stakeholders approach be translated into a model of corporate sustainability (Marrewijk, 2003). The corporate sustainability calls for more attention to economic, environmental and social issues. Motivations for CSR The early discussions on CSR attempted to justify that the socially responsible decisions can have long-term benets. Later Johnson (1971) asserted that social responsibility was essential since rms needed to balance the multiple interests in ensuring achievements of multiple goals and the long-run prot maximisation. Another perspective was offered by Davis (1973), termed as the iron law of responsibility, suggested that unless businesses behaved responsibly, they would lose the power and legitimacy granted by society. As this concept gained support, other researchers put forward the normative stakeholder theory and the instrumental stakeholder theory. On one hand, the former theory argued that rms were moral agents because of contractual obligations to satisfy societal expectations. On the other hand, the instrumental stakeholder theory articulated that rms must satisfy stakeholders because they are instrumental in achieving the rms objectives (Freeman,

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1984). Over the last decade, debates raged hard as to whether social responsibility arises due to normative or instrumental reasons. However, the current word is sustainability. The new theory of the rm (Stead and Stead, 2000) asserted on one end, that satisfying stakeholders is the sole purpose and raison detre for a rms existence. On the other, it provides a logical argument for simultaneously pursuing sustainable development and shareholder value for the creation of sustainable value. Effects of CSR on rms performance It can be pointed out that, early themes in CSR conceptualisation focused a lot on corporate voluntarism, which was critical to the discharge of social responsibilities. It was proposed that managers should accept that it would not be possible to gauge economic impacts of socially responsible actions in most cases (Walton, 1967). However, this was replaced by a lexicographic view of social responsibility (Johnson, 1971), suggesting that rms paid attention to social issues only after meeting protability goals. The theory of slack resources was then adopted by Waddock and Graves (1997), stating that rms that have resources to spare outperformed those that do not in terms of social performance. Thus, for a long time, CSR has been viewed as a cost rather than a source of revenues. However, emerging paradigms that viewed CSR and shareholder wealth as complementary goals originated by Drucker (1984). He suggested that social responsibility and protability were not only compatible but social opportunities should be converted into business opportunities. This view was also supported by the literature on how environmentalism improved business performance (Porter and van der Linde, 1995). In recent years, incorporating environmental issues into the strategic planning process provided superior nancial performance. This has evolved into the sustainable growth business model, which extends beyond environmental responsibility and encompassing community and employees welfare, corporate philanthropy and supplier/distributor partnerships. A new corporate sustainability index has been designed by Dow Jones (2000) to meet the needs of social investors, managing risks deriving from economic, environmental and social developments, in short understanding how rms satisfy stakeholders and simultaneously meeting social and economic objectives. Theoretical perspectives on CSR Since CSR is a multidimensional concept, there have been a lot of disagreements over what social responsibility entails. It can also be noted that many theories mentioned above have emerged, however, social responsibility can be interpreted using either the two major schools of thought termed as: the restrictive and the expansionist views. The former consists of proponents of prot maximisation and the latter believes that business has to be socially responsible. The shareholder theory According to Friedman (1970), the only responsibility of business organization is to use its resources and engage in activities designed to maximise prots through open and free competition and without deception and fraud. This position is based on the argument that business organization is an economic institution whose legitimate function is economic performance and not social activity. The stakeholder theory This theory holds that business organization must play an active social role in the society in which it operates. One of the advocates of stakeholder theory, namely, Freeman (1984) has presented a more positive view of managers support of CSR. He asserts that managers must satisfy a variety of constituents in terms of employees, customers, suppliers, government and the local community organizations, who can inuence the rms outcomes. The stakeholder theory implies that engaging in certain CSR activities are benecial for the rm.

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Arguments for and against CSR There are various reasons for rms to undertake CSR and these would include the building of a robust reputation, attracting and retaining employees, protection of the environmental and natural resources, following the trend and risk management. However, the sceptical school of thought views CSR as an additional cost and would jeopardise the overall performance and sustainability of an organization. Robert Reich (2007), in his book, Supercapitalism guards against CSR based on three fronts namely: 1. CSR encroaches upon functions of Government. Government wash off from the responsibility of advancing the cause of common good as they are under the purview of the private companies, thus making a plausible excuse for Government to have a way out. He claims that CSR is a dangerous diversion to the core issue of democracy and rms are using CSR to fool public opinion through creating the perception in addressing the problems. Adopting a Marxist view, politicians are taking advantage of CSR. 2. CSR as a sideshow. Companies are already contributing to employment, welfare creation and product innovation and the provision of services. CSR is merely being used as window-dressing, for the gallery as a sideshow. Since it is a trendy issue and that everyone else is doing it alongside with the wide media coverage and ensuring favourable public opinion to the company. Corporations eagerly display their social engagement in public spotlight. Other researchers like Porter and van de Linde (1995) have highlighted that the drive towards CSR remains unfocused, too shotgun and supporting someones pet project without real connection to the business. Therefore, CSR remains nearly a utopia and very few companies manage to achieve corporate citizenship. 3. CSR involves playing with shareholders money. According to the sceptics such as Friedman (1970), the sole responsibility of business is prot making and accountability to its shareholders. The private rms have the responsibility of increasing shareholders money through business. Other forms of goodness are regarded as irresponsible and CSR is seen as an unfair and costly burden to shareholders. Perspectives on CSR and development Debates concerning the potential of CSR to contribute positively to development have been raging since the inception of the term. Commentators on this issue are divided into the optimists and the pessimists. The optimists believe that businesses have great potential to address social and economic development of the regions they operate in. The pessimists on the other hand doubt this belief and assert that businesses cannot contribute to social development because they neither have the requisite authority which lies with the state nor the correct incentives. Furthermore, according to the optimists, since businesses are so deeply embedded within the communities they operate, they have great potential to address the social and environmental problems of these communities. There are some NGOs that play a vital role in sustainable development. By launching innovative initiatives, such as setting up schools ad vocational training centres in underdeveloped areas, rms can contribute signicantly to improving the lives of people living in these areas. On the other hand, pessimists believe that CSR does not have the potential to solve social problems. This is mainly due to two reasons. First, they believe that rms cannot escape their primary goal of making prots. CSR activities will only be followed until they can provide tangible gains to the rm. Although the social environment may improve in the process, the improvement is likely to be short lived. Second, they believe that social provision should be solely the job of the state. The state is the elected representative of the people entrusted with the task of improving social conditions. It has the required expertise and resources to be able to understand and address the needs of the people. Firms lack this expertise and knowledge and should therefore not aim to full the states obligations.

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CSR in Mauritius Overview of the Mauritian economy. The Republic of Mauritius is located in the Indian Ocean and is made up of some 1.2 million people. The peopling of Mauritius is a deterritorialisation of people across the globe. The heterogeneity of the island is reected by its ethnic groups, languages and religious differences (Bunwaree and Kasenally, 2007). Mauritius moved across different stages in its development following economic crusade experienced during in the 1980s and mid-1990s: from a monocrop economy relying mainly on sugar exports to a broader based multi-pronged oriented economy with an emerging textile industry and thereafter the tourism sector which gained signicant economic impetus. Following the expansion in the nancial sector, the information, communication and technology (ICT) sector is the most recent development strategy since Mauritius is aiming to position itself as the cyber island or knowledge hub in the African region. However, contemporary Mauritius is at the crossroads of its development, with unprecedented exposure vagaries of the new world economic order, inherent feature of the global era (Azmatally, 2008). During the post-independent period, Mauritius had to seek international assistance since it faced various economic and social difculties such as massive unemployment, heavy budget decits and an exploding population. Yet, in less than a decade, Mauritius has moved out of the morass to becoming a success story. Furthermore, the island adopted the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) in an atmosphere of negotiations and consensus (Bheenick, 1991), which allowed the introduction of SAPs to be smoother and human faced:
The devaluations that accompanied the SAP led to an erosion of purchasing power of all Mauritians but the impact was most signicant amongst the poorest stratum of the Mauritian society (Bunwaree and Kasenally, 2007, pp. 11-12).

Mauritius had experienced a rapid economic progress over the last two decades, with an average annual growth of 5.7 per cent. Openness to foreign direct investment (FDI) and ethnicity related capital inows could form part of the explanations behind Mauritiuss achievements. The setting up of the export processing zone (EPZ) attracted capital from different parts of the world and the pluri-ethnic dimension played an important role in fostering the business relations around the globe. Social dialogue and institutional development are other factors contributing to the success story of Mauritius. Tripartite negotiations, that is, business sector, the state and the trade unions are also engaged in wage compensations. The economy experienced full employment in the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, unemployment has now cropped up again and even more pronounced among the females, thus leading to a feminisation of poverty (United Nations Development Programme, 2000; De Chazal du Mee, 2001). Call for public/private partnerships to ght poverty. Poverty, as Sen (1982) puts it, is essentially the deprivation of capabilities the deprivation of a capability to access such things as education, health, justice, land, community support, nancial resources, a voice in institutions and access to opportunities. It is thus a complex, multi-dimensional problem. It is indeed a tough challenge to liberate people from the poverty trap. Poverty has always been on the agenda of all successive governments in Mauritius. Massive amount of public funds through free education, free health care and universal old age pension are channelled precisely to make sure that the poor are not deprived of a host of capabilities which impact on their life chances. As a small island developing state, Mauritius is characterised by its smallness and insularity render the economy even more vulnerable. Mauritius had to confront the difculties associated with the dismantling of the Multi Fibre Agreement as well as with the price cuts of sugar imports. The Budget Speech 2007/2008 described the situation as an economy facing the triple shocks from loss of textile preferences, high oil prices and the impeding cut in sugar prices (Government of Mauritius, n.d.). As a result of globalisation,

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Mauritius is in a situation of powerlessness and the state calls for public/private partnership to address key developmental issues. It has been seen that since the beginning of the twenty-rst century, the island had to face a number of challenges, with the rapidly rising unemployment problem accompanied by growing poverty. Some poverty alleviation programmes have been instituted but there seems to be no systematic monitoring and evaluation to assess to what extent these programmes are helping the poor to integrate mainstream society (Bunwaree and Kasenally, 2007, p. 15). The present political discourses on poverty include concepts like democratisation of the economy, inclusive growth, equitable and sustainable development and redistributive justice are lavishly used as political rhetorics. Some of the present social initiatives consist of the empowerment program, eradicating absolute poverty (EAP) initiative and the human resource development, knowledge and arts fund. The EAP focuses on education, training, empowerment and reintegration by building an inclusive Mauritius and implemented in partnership with the private sector, which has agreed to cover 30 per cent of the cost as part of their CSR program for tangible partnership, particularly in creating inclusive growth and enhancing the alternative development agenda. During the SADC Consultative Conference on Poverty and Development held in Mauritius, April 2008, the Minister of Finance made an appeal to the contribution of the private sector:
[. . .] Public Private Partnerships will have to become a prominent feature of our policies and actions on projects [. . .]; in a similar vein, greater partnership at the social level, bringing together the corporate sector, civil society and government and non-governmental organizations to combat the multi-faceted aspects of poverty as its roots [. . .].

Governments strive to achieve the new ideology of redistributive justice and inclusive growth has also been demonstrated in potential sectors contributing to national revenues such as Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS). The setting up of the various social programs and empowerment of the poor is noticeable. Recently, in the Budget Speech 2009, the Minister of Finance requested all protable rms to either spend 2 per cent of their prots on CSR activities approved by Government or to transfer these funds to Government to be used for social and environmental projects. The CSR programme or the direct payment to Government could provide some of the resources to underpin the efforts of the Ministry of Social Security to build up a strong NGO community through development. These levies should not be perceived as a tax on efciency. They are instead a gesture of compassion and solidarity with those who cannot help themselves and with those who will have no means of livelihood if they lose their jobs. Overview of CSR in Mauritius. CSR initiatives go quite a long way in corporate Mauritius up to 20 years back. Since the 1980s, the Mauritius Employment Federation (MEF) imbued the concept of social obligation of enterprises to pursue social goals in its Code of Practice for Enterprises. According to a report by Deloitte et al. (2008), it was found that the involvement in CSR has started at varying points in time for the companies surveyed. Many enterprises are engaged in CSR initiatives for the benets of their employees and the wider community. The 2006 MEF survey on CSR shows the commitment to social responsibility is primarily motivated by ethical considerations, the need to have and maintain a good reputation and to create an engaged and inspired workforce (MEF, 2008). With the support of ILO and UNDP, the MEF is currently working on a program to sensitise rms on social responsibility as well as extending advisory services to those wishing to embark on social projects. To date, demands for corporate social managers are increasing, with varying nomenclatures, from community support manager, social projects implementation manager, community action, welfare and communications coordinator, to communication and sustainable social and public relations coordinator. In his Budget Speech 2008, the Minister of Finance pointed out that 7,157 families are living in extreme poverty in the 229 deprived regions that have been identied by the government (Government of Mauritius, n.d.). This seems to be an alarming situation and a pressing need

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for government to call upon the private sector to play an important role in promoting social, economic and sustainable development of Mauritius. Given the limited means of Government to tackle social and environmental issues alone, an appeal was made to the private sector enterprises in the Budget Speech 2009 to devote 2 per cent of their prots to CSR activities. As part of governments policy to broaden the circle of opportunities and to ensure that the fruits of development are shared by all, a CSR scheme has been imposed on the IRS promoters with well dened guidelines for their actions. To ensure that there is no duplication and that there is an integrated approach the IRS will work with the National Empowerment Foundation (NEF) and EAP. As the economic situation has now changed, they will be required to align their CSR projects with Governments emphasis on saving jobs and protecting people. To implement these projects a special vehicle will be created for the Rs 50 million ($1,650 million) to be deposited with the NEF and these funds will be supplemented with a matching grant from Government. According to the Minister of Finance, social consciousness must be reected in a national effort. Furthermore, the Budget Speech 2009 suggested some of the projects that the CSR programmes could undertake by supporting NGOs, would include: literacy, social housing, life skills training, micro enterprises, support to improve academic performance and reduce dropouts, aids prevention and support, assistance to women and children in need or abused, assisting the handicapped, alcohol and substance abuse prevention and rehabilitation and promoting arts and crafts. Local rms which implement CSR projects cover a wide range of sectors such as the banking and nance, investment and insurance, aviation, tourism amongst others. These organizations have started CSR long time back and just to name a few: the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB), Barclays Bank, HSBC, CIEL Ltd, British Airways, Airports of Mauritius Ltd, British American Investment Group, Medine Sugar Estate and Beachcomber Group.

Methodology
This paper sheds some light on CSR in Mauritius, since research in this area is inexistent. It also contributes to the scarce literature on CSR in the African continent. Therefore, this work investigates the relationship between CSR and development: Is CSR redening or rewriting development? The main purpose of the work, therefore, is to analyse the CSR initiatives undertaken by the private sector and views of the NGO sector on CSR in Mauritius. The paper will specically look at the rationale behind the CSR activities and provide an insight of the areas of intervention of the private sector in Mauritius. Furthermore, it analyses the relation between the business sector and poverty reduction. For the purpose of this study, both primary and secondary data were collected. Qualitative methods of data collection were privileged to address complex issues such as the relationship between CSR and development. In-depth interviews were carried out and seen as an appropriate research technique in order to explore and capture the perspectives of the stakeholders, namely private sector and the NGOs on CSR. Boyce and Palena (2006) stressed the importance of in-depth interviewing, as a qualitative research technique since it involves conducting intensive individual interviews with a small number of respondents and their perspectives are used to explore a particular idea, program, or situation. The rst phase of the study consisted in identifying the stakeholders to be included in the study. A representative sample of 15 organizations was selected and responded positively to participate in the study. In the private sector, nine leading companies, covering a range of services and industries were selected since they were reported to be engaged extensively in and committed to CSR activities (MACOSS, 2009). The MEF, known as the largest organization representing the interests of private sector organizations was also selected to participate in the interviews. The MEF is the vital voice of the Mauritian enterprise and coordinates the CSR activities in Mauritius.

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The core activities of the organizations and the number of companies interviewed are described in Table I. Interviews in the different companies were carried out with the CSR managers and human resource and communication managers. Regarding the NGO sector, four NGOs were selected to participate in the study and categorised into different elds as described in Table II. The Mauritius Council of Social services (MACOSS), an umbrella organization of the NGO sector, was also included to participate in the interviews since it acts as a facilitator and a voice for the NGOs. These four NGOs were afliated with MACOSS and interviews were mainly carried out with their executives. The second phase of the study consisted of carrying out in-depth interviews. An interview schedule was designed to carry out the in-depth interviews with the stakeholders. Questions asked were different for the private sector as to the NGO sector and they were mainly open-ended. Discussions were based on the four broad themes particularly the concept, activities and policies, poverty and the future of CSR. Probing was also used and interviewees were expected to illustrate examples, elaborate, explain and describe certain issues pertaining CSR activities in their organization. Apart from the primary data collection through the in-depth interviews, secondary data were also collected in the form of company publications, annual reports, press cuttings and web sites of the companies and survey reports were also consulted. Background information was collected for analysis purposes, whereby the objectives, mission, vision and core values of the company were provided by the interviewees.

Findings and analysis

After the collection of primary and secondary data, interview data were transcribed and analysed. Key ndings were grouped under the four themes namely: 1. The concept of CSR (includes denition, views/perspectives). 2. CSR activities and policies. 3. CSR as a tool to ght poverty in Mauritius. 4. Future of CSR in Mauritius. Table I Activities and number of companies interviewed
Core activities of companies Sugar Textile Tourism Investment Banking Insurance Total Number of companies interviewed 1 1 1 2 2 2 9

Table II Number of NGOs interviewed and their categorisation in addressing communitys needs
Addressing communitys needs in the elds Health Education Substance abuse Total Number of NGOs interviewed 2 1 1 4

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The concept of CSR An analysis of the information collected shows clearly that the private sector dened CSR in a more elaborate manner as compared to the NGO sector. Most companies dened CSR as the voluntary initiatives by business that, look to go beyond legal compliance in the various areas such as social, economic and environment. It can be observed that their denitions of CSR were in line with the international institutions like the ILO, European Commission, World Business Council for Sustainable Development and UNDP (MACOSS, 2009). But it should be pointed out that some companies interviewed focused their denition as enterprises which voluntarily adopt ethical and socially responsible conduct by giving consideration to the impact of their operations on their employees and other stakeholders, the environment, the communities in which they operate and society in general. The two companies in the banking sector stressed the importance of integrating social and environmental concerns in their business strategy and operations. For most stakeholders interviewed in the private sector, the main elements characterising CSR are as follows:
B B B B B B B

It is voluntary and goes beyond philanthropy. It is an integral part of corporate culture, strategy and management. It is both internal and external to the enterprise. It exceeds compliance with legal obligations. It promotes a business model based on values and principles. CSR actions are systematic, not occasional. It contributes to sustainable development.

However, some companies argued that the private sector cannot substitute the role of government and that employers have their responsibilities to determine their CSR priorities according to their means, their elds of activities and the needs of the communities in which they operate. A few companies have also pointed out that it is a real challenge for them to work with the NGOs and the community at large in the long run. Based on the interviews of the private sector, it can be analysed that the companies interviewed have taken the challenge to engage actively in a CSR programme that goes in line with its business strategy, objectives and corporate image. Respondents in the NGO sector, on the other hand, have provided simple denitions of CSR. These include mainly a jargon used to redene the roles and responsibilities of the private sector in the community and making them active players in alleviating social problems and promoting development in Mauritius. According to some stakeholders in the NGO sector, the concept of CSR is still misunderstood by many NGOs. However, most NGOs have underlined that only a few NGOs have been successful in implementing the CSR projects of the business sector mainly in the eld of education, health and substance abuse. In order to have a better understanding of the CSR concept, more communication, information and awareness campaigns must be carried out in the NGO sector. CSR activities and policies Most of the private organizations pointed out that CSR activities have started since the setting up of their organizations more in terms of donations and sponsorship. However, the term CSR is quite new to them and they have taken the challenge to incorporate the component of CSR to their lists of activities. The majority of the respondents in the business sector highlighted that CSR initiatives include both internal and external activities and in line with the MEF survey report (MEF, 2008). On the one hand internal initiatives manage the responsibility inside the company. They are undertaken for the benets of the employees and most of the respondents in the private

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sector include the following elements for the internal activities: training, medical schemes, health and safety standards, sponsorships, leisure and recreational activities. On the other hand, the business sector underlined that the external initiatives support the community in which the organization operates and addressing the needs of the community. These include: donations, fund-raising, improvement of environment, arts and culture, scholarships at tertiary level, sponsorships, care for the elderly, education and training for unemployed the disabled and unemployed people, health, sports, women empowerment, children, poverty alleviation programmes, housing and natural calamities. Furthermore, in the survey report on CSR by MEF (2008), ndings indicated that 79.3 per cent of respondents were engaged in internal social initiatives for the benets of their employees. 69.3 per cent were involved in external social initiatives by developing or supporting social and community related activities for the benets of the wider community. It has been found in the survey report that, donations, sponsorships and improvement of the environment were the most important types of external social activities that employers usually engaged in. Furthermore, it can also be analysed that from some interviews carried out with the private companies, CSR projects are focusing more on environmental issues such as energy saving programme and paper recycling programme and are in line with governments aim in making Mauritius a sustainable island. With respect to the environment, there is also an increasing awareness for the employees especially in the banking sector to behave in an eco-friendly way. A few companies are also supporting nancially the Mauritian wildlife. However, respondents in other companies have pointed out that they are focusing on four key areas namely: health, education, environment and womens empowerment. It should be pointed out that according to the study carried out by Ragodoo (2009), environment, education and health are classied as the top three areas of intervention. He further articulated that business organizations operating in the sugar sector and hotel industry give a lot of consideration to local community projects. In most of the companies interviewed, a full-edged department overseeing CSR or the human resource and communication department take the responsibility of CSR projects. A policy paper on CSR and principles of CSR and CSR committees have been established in some companies to select projects in a transparent way. Furthermore, most companies pointed out that the rationale behind the CSR projects are mainly geared towards addressing the social problems, improving the life of the Mauritian citizens and be active partners in the development of the country. Moreover, some companies mentioned that CSR is also based upon strategic tenet and as per the stakeholders theory, the satisfaction of employees in relation to the rms contribution creates a sense of motivation and satisfaction. Based on the ndings, it can be analysed that there are three main forms of non-monetary intervention that most organizations are involved in: the participation of employees in voluntary activities, training and providing job opportunities and supporting micro-projects. Four out ten business organizations interviewed, have signed the UN Global Compact and thus advocate and implement good practices in respect to labour and human rights. However, other companies were aware of the Global Compact and are eventually willing to sign up, which in line with the survey report on CSR by the MEF (2008). According to the survey report conducted by MEF (2008), 30 per cent of the respondents were actually aware of the Global Compact and 81.9 per cent of enterprises have expressed interest in learning more about the initiative and 73.3 per cent are eventually willing to sign up. When asked about the UN Global Compact in the NGO sector, only two NGOs were aware of it. In terms of monitoring CSR projects, most of the companies interviewed monitored the CSR operations in order to ensure that money injected is not being wasted. Some companies evaluate the CSR projects through a small survey and produce performance reports on national and local CSR programme on a regular basis. Interviews with the private sector indicate that there is a link between the project delivery and the companys objectives

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through the different initiatives taken by the companies to change the mentality of the citizens, for example, promoting energy saving campaigns. Respondents in the banking sector provided some detailed information regarding the monitoring of projects. This is done through periodic reports on the status of the project, site visits in ensuring that the project is progressing, and the involvement of the employees in the projects. A positive signal in Deloitte (Deloitte et al. (2008)) report showed that 70 per cent of the companies surveyed set budgets for conducting CSR activities, which is in line with the interviews carried out with the private sector. This shows that there is a nancial commitment on part of these companies to conduct CSR activities. However, ndings in the survey report by MEF (2008) indicated that very few enterprises regularly evaluate and report on the impact of their social involvement. Based on the ndings, it has been found that since CSR is quite a new concept in the business culture of Mauritius, companies work in a spirit of solidarity and there is coordination between the different private institutions to work on a common project. However, some stakeholders in the private sector pointed out that the government communicates the concept of CSR to the NGOs in a confusing manner. Not all the NGOs were afliated with a company but two out of four NGOs were recognised by a few leading CSR groups. The list of interventions by these NGOs covered diverse range of areas such as promoting health and education services and needs in the community and awareness programmes and prevention campaigns on health-related issues like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, drugs and HIV/AIDS. However, most NGOs have not established an appropriate CSR policy. Furthermore, the stakeholders of the NGO sector highlighted that strengths/successes of the CSR projects in Mauritius, which consisted of the willingness of the private sector to address social problems and the structured means to implement these projects. However, three NGOs stated that there are lots of improvements to be made since some private organizations do not have a well-dened CSR project and funds are being channelled to the most locally reputed ones. Interviewees in the NGO sector pointed out that there is a need for a mechanism to be put in place to monitor and evaluate the CSR projects in all the companies involved. CSR as a tool to ght poverty Most stakeholders in the private and NGO sector believed that CSR is an important tool to ght poverty in the country by providing nancial support to the underprivileged ones in the community. However, respondents in the banking sector highlighted that, since poverty is related to other problems like prostitution, drugs, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, criminality, and so on, investing in the education of children and integration of the underprivileged people are vital to the development of the country. Two NGOs argued that so much is being spent by the private companies as part of their CSR, and yet poverty is growing in Mauritius. It is also interesting to note in Ragodoos study that organizations rate their contribution to the ght against absolute poverty as being average and, therefore, the allocation of funds in other areas is given priority. According to his study, direct involvement in the ght against absolute poverty is more pronounced in the hotel sector (19 per cent), the sugar sector (17 per cent), the investment (14 per cent) and the banking sector (13 per cent) and it is of least concern in the insurance (7 per cent) and transport sector (5 per cent). It was also found in his study that CSR managers are very much satised regarding their involvement in the poverty battle even if their contribution to poverty alleviation does not involve a high percentage of their CSR funds. A few private companies stated that long ago some companies were not playing their role fully in alleviating poverty but now since all companies are now required to spend 2 per cent of their prots on CSR, this will be a turning point for them. Interviewees in the private sector believed that with this new regulation of 2 per cent, their actions will be more transparent and accountable and important in maintaining a good reputation of the company.

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However, most stakeholders in the NGO sector believed that very few companies are genuine in their actions and many are simply eyewash and used as window-dressing. In some cases, there might be no agreement between the company and the NGO regarding the objectives and methodology to deal with the problems. Most stakeholders in the private and NGO sectors pointed out that there should be concerted efforts for the government, the private sector and the civil society to work together to bring development in the country. A study carried out by Azmatally (2008) pointed out that CSR is a way to promote the private sector as a development partner. From the data collected in the private and NGO sector, it can be analysed it is very important for the private sector to interact with NGOs so that the needs of the community can be met. Therefore, the NGO sector recommended an appropriate mechanism to be set up to strengthen effective dialogue between the government, the private sector and the civil society in addressing the societal problems. Future of CSR Most stakeholders in the private sector felt that the future of CSR is of strategic importance and should be ongoing. The banking sector believed that more statistical data should be made available on certain issues so that companies can identify and embark on future projects. However, some NGOs felt the need to review the existing CSR policy in their organizations and others to establish an appropriate CSR policy. Most stakeholders in the private and NGO sector pointed out that the awareness campaigns of CSR are not enough, these need to be strengthened in the future and media is seen as an important tool of communication. Moreover, some stakeholders in the private sector argued that government should reinforce the legal framework regulating CSR in Mauritius so that CSR projects are taken seriously. On another note, the NGO sector believed that the private sector, need to demonstrate genuine visibility and collaborative partnership is essential in addressing societal problems. Furthermore, ndings in the private sector show that CSR projects will encourage team building among employees and will have positive impacts on the performance of the company. The private sector also believed that investing in childrens education, particularly in deprived areas should be at the core of most of the CSR programmes. On the other hand, stakeholders in the NGO sector claimed that a CSR project contributes towards the capacity building of the organization and to the national socio-economic development of Mauritius. Findings clearly demonstrate that CSR projects are important both for the benet of the employees in private companies and society at large.

Conclusions and recommendations

This study has provided some reections on the role of the business sector in promoting development in Mauritius. It has also been seen that from the interviews carried out with the different stakeholders namely in the business and NGO sector, CSR is rewriting or redening the development landscape of Mauritius to a certain extent. Since developing countries and small island economies are highly vulnerable in this era of globalisation and in times of nancial turmoil, government is therefore calling for the private sector as a development partner in shaping the social development landscape of these countries. Evidence from this study showed that CSR should be increasingly embedded in the corporate culture of Mauritius. The vision of CSR in Mauritius feeds into the notions of sustainable development and the longing of a fair, stable, just and inclusive society. Though there has been a fair bit of media coverage of the concept of CSR in Mauritius, there are still some confusions revolving around the concept. Therefore, there must be more information campaigns about the concept itself for companies, NGOs and the society at large. CSR should be sensitised in the right perspective in order to facilitate and create an enabling environment for equitable partnership between business organization and civil society.

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From the ndings and analysis of the study, it can be seen that the business sector in Mauritius plays an important role in the creation of a better society. The data collected also captured the types of internal and external initiatives of CSR in private companies. However, since some stakeholders in the NGO sector believe that the Mauritian enterprises are not doing enough in terms of CSR, there is a call for transparency and not use CSR as window-dressing. Most stakeholders in the private and NGO sector view CSR as a vital tool to ght poverty, therefore investing massively in education is important in the poverty battle. The Maurice, le Durable vision of the Mauritian Government is a core pillar of its strategy I for sustainable development and for protecting the quality of life of its citizens. Therefore, the collaborative partnerships among the different stakeholders namely government, private sector and NGOs should be strengthened. Although CSR is a management concept, it is fully applicable and relevant in addressing social development in any country with respect of pushing the alternative/equitable/ethical development agenda forward.

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Further reading
Bunwaree, S. and Kasenally, R. (2008), Poverty in Mauritius An Agenda for Reection and Action: Articulating the Local and the Regional, ISDP, Port Louis. Business Magazine (2009), 24 June.

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Corresponding author
Roshni Deepa Gokulsing can be contacted at: d.gokulsing@uom.ac.mu

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