Government's Role In CSR?

Speakers at a recent event in Lahore debated the virtues and need for State support for CSR initiatives. Speakers from FritoLay, P&G, EBM and the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy spoke about the different ways in which government support could help promote CSR in Pakistan.

This continues the debate on exactly what role the government has in promoting CSR. As I had mentioned in an earlier post, there is clearly an oversight function that governments can play, but it can also help incentivise CSR through fiscal instruments. In countries like Indonesia, CSR is legislated but that may be going too far and prove counterproductive in the end. What is important however, is for government to work with the corporate sector to facilitate CSR activities.