Corporate Giving: CSR as a Corporate Philanthropy and its

Application in the Strategic Context

“Sharing is giving and it is the secret of living.”- Mary Bautista, 2019

Business does not live by profit alone. Profit should not be the sole pursuit of
business. It should be able to repay its dynamic environment. This “repayment” is not
only through cash. Recently, it has become a trend in the business world to make
generous contributions through philanthropic deeds by providing “corporate giving”.
Such practice are embedded in the company’s “Corporate Social Responsibility”
People often correlate the meaning of Philanthropy or Corporate Philanthropy to
the Corporate Social Responsibility. They have thought that the cause and approach of
Corporate Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility are the same. However, the
two concepts are different in many ways. Philanthropy is integrated into a bigger
picture corporate social responsibility plan. It has a narrower, more limited scope and
refers primarily to donations made to charitable and non-profit groups, whether by the
corporation, its employees or both. When a business is engage in philanthropy, the
public do not expect the company to gain from it, as it is done in the company’s leisure
and is purely optional. On the other hand, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is
often denoted as the business responsibility and an organization’s action on
environmental, ethical, social and economic issues. However, when we dig deeper, it is
the business principle proposing that the long-term interest of business are best serve
when its profitability and growth are accomplished alongside the development of
communities. This happens when the company sees that there has been the
opportunity to engage to the dynamic environment beyond a monetary transaction.
“Doing well by doing good” is how some companies have defined this business
principle.
They may have both good intentions for everyone, but the concept, definition,
approach and methods used are no identical to each other. Philanthropy in simpler
words is a charity act of a company to inspire the welfare of the mankind. It is done by
charity aid, donations and other similar methods. With that definition, we can see that
the Corporate Philanthropy is an approach of the businesses to help mankind by
establishing an act of charity or donations.
The application of these two are the foundation of the companies’ strategic
contributions to programs that directly address social needs in the world beyond the
companies’ immediate environment. Such contributions take many forms and support a
wide variety of programs. These are often called “Corporate Giving”, which is widely
practiced as a corporate citizenship.
Reception of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Philippines
Corporate Social responsibility in the Philippines deals with its practice going
beyond philanthropy and public relation. League of Corporate Foundation
Commissioned Newsbreak, an independent media group, conducted a survey among
large companies operating in the Philippines where they determine how these
companies’ CSR efforts were integrated into the entire organization, especially in profit-
making aspects.
The research revealed that most of the CSR activities are still mainly
philanthropy and event-driven, but employee volunteerism has become more prominent
in the CSR designs. Also, "Goodwill" is a main motivation for companies to engage in,
report, and communicate about their CSR, but business economics motivate financial
support. On most companies, the expected social investment and reputation determine
the decision on how much funding to set aside or allocate for CSR. With this notion,
publicity has been the measurement of success for their CSR.
With the companies’ success in in embedding both the corporate philanthropy
and CSR on their corporate giving by applying it to their strategic plan, companies are
now able to determine what activities they have the resources to devote to being
socially responsible and can choose that which will strengthen their competitive
advantage. With this, various solutions have been generated in order to resolve
underlying issues in its dynamic environment that directly affects the business.

Below are several of keys brought by the said integration and examples in the
Philippine corporate world:

 Balancing the creating of economic value with that of societal value

 This concept holds that a company should make good marketing decisions by
considering consumer’s wants, the company’s requirements, and society’s long-
term interests. To help mitigate urban congestion and connectivity issues, real
estate company, Ayala Land, has designed their estates and malls to be
pedestrian-friendly and transit oriented. Ayala Land considers this as a way
create an efficient “live-work-play” community that promotes an active and
healthy lifestyle.

 Valuing employees in order for them be committed to the business

Employees are said to be the heart of the company. Businesses have taken
actions in order to strengthen the commitment of their employees. The logic is
clear: employees who are secure and fairly compensated are more productive
and supportive of the company’s goals. Coca-Cola Philippines proud to employ
over 8,000 Filipinos. Stated on the company website, Coca-Cola FEMSA aspires
to be the best employer in the Philippines, and has made significant investments
to its product portfolio as well as its commitment to employees. Those who work
here are granted with a comprehensive benefits package as well as very
competitive pay and opportunities for career advancement.
 Giving back to the community
The community is the businesses’ great security. To include them in the
company, Erramon Aboitiz, the CEO and president of Aboitiz Equity Ventures,
also heads the Aboitiz Foundation, invests in education, enterprise development,
environment, as well as health and wellbeing – which are vital in creating a stable
community.
 Developing sustainable business practices
Cleaning materials are usually made using harsh chemicals, aside from being
harmful to the environment, it can also be harmful to the consumers. Messy
Bessy is a line of cleaning materials that offers a good alternative for those who
want a natural, chemical-free option. They are safe and biodegradable, so it’s
good for the consumer and the planet.
 Most of the businesses in the Philippines assume a Philanthropic approach for
its Corporate Social Responsibility. Businesses in the Philippines have Corporate Social
Responsibility that highly regards the Filipino Values and Religiosity. However, this is
not enough as a way to improve the welfare of its people. If a business would want to
improve the life of its society, it must take methods that can improve everyone.
Philanthropy alone cannot lift or lessen poverty. Businesses in the Philippines should
integrate more a CSR approach rather than traditional philanthropy according to some
experts.
Fortunately, environment-friendly approach and methods have been practiced by
some businesses in Philippines. On the other hand, the underlying problem of some
businesses is how they would make an impact or help the society. To address this,
Outreach and Livelihood programs have been conducted by businesses which shows
that CSR’s by the businesses in the Philippines are improving. Today, more and more
employees of a large businesses have said that volunteering in CSR’s activities boosts
their productivity and increase their wages as they felt good of doing kindness to their
society. Should the businesses integrate this approaches, would mean a better future
for everyone.
References

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The CEO Magazine, 5 Apr. 2016,
https://www.theceomagazine.com/business/philanthropy/philanthropy-vs-
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CoconutsManila. “10 Pinoy Companies Who Put the Planet before Profits: Coconuts
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https://www.ayalaland.com.ph/sustainability/local-economic-development/.

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https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/3421-how-csr-is-evolving-in-the-philippines.

The Benefits of Corporate Giving - Office of the Ombudsman.

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