Over the past five years, CSM has metamorphosed from an awareness
raising focused agenda to an initiative-based one. Having
learned keenly through our journey into the expansive CSR
terrain, our focus at present is to employ a combination of
partnership forging and research and bring our learnings to bear
on policy-making in CSM’s areas of work. With this in mind,
CSM currently has a variety of local
and national activities: |
A new policy-orientated international network of progressive
companies from developing countries. The Southern Business
Challenge was launched at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development in August 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Initiated by CSM, this was a contribution to make the voice of
progressive Southern entrepreneurs heard at the summit. For full
details
CLICK
here.
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This programme focuses on mobilizing ethnic minorities and
diaspora communities, largely based in industrialized countries,
in debate and practice on corporate responsibility and other
major social issues. The programme focuses in particular on the
Indian and Chinese diaspora communities. It employs a
'leadership model' targeting community leaders in five key
sectors - corporate, voluntary, professional, media and
government - to build networks, exert moral leadership and
positive peer pressure for best practice.
A key activity is the two-year British Asian Leadership for
Corporate Citizenship (BALCC) campaign - launched in July 2001
and culminated in July 2003. For further details
CLICK
here.
In 2003, the programme included activities in Europe and East
Africa. |
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An initiative emerging from CSM's 1st Annual Conference on
Corporate Citizenship in Calcutta, India in 2001. The Forum
comprises leading local business, NGOs and government agencies
in an effort to bring business leadership, and a partnership
approach, to trenchant local issues and challenges.
Launched in October 2002, the Forum has started two Initiatives
viz. SMEs and ICT
SME Initiative: meant to foster partnership between the SME
sector, government, the financiers and the business service
providers, this initiative originated from CSM’s 3rd
Annual International conference which focused on the theme of
Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises and examined the potential
for roping in this largely untapped segment to the CSR ambit.
CSM’s pioneering initiative in this sector has focused on the
acute lack of information about sustainable financial support
and technical assistance/ business support services. For
details,
CLICK here.
ICT Initiative: originally an attempt to link to past CSM
advocacy efforts to promote debate on bridging the digital
divide and linking ICT to sustainable development, this
initiative at present focuses on ICT education, academia and the
private sector. ICT is perceived as an engine of growth with
great potential for bringing development benefits to West
Bengal. With this in mind, and with crucial inputs from
industry, the initiative is working to promote dialogue between
academia and industry with a view to improve the employability
potential (includes communication skills and better awareness of
workplace ethics) of the prospective labour force employed by
this sector. For details,
CLICK here. |
