Businesses now contribute to development through avenues other than the generation of employment and economic growth, such as corporate social responsibility initiatives, corporate accountability movements and alternative business models, using several partnership formats to deliver. A panel with representatives from leading corporations, NGOs, and a public sector bank discussed the changing nature of corporate power, responsibility and ownership, the greater congruence between the goals of business and society, and how their organisations responded to the changes and opportunities.
This round table provided a forum in which the practices of several businesses were examined concerning their impact on development. More specifically, the panel discussed whether different companies are likely to understand and contribute to growth in different ways, including alternatives to traditional business firms such as co-operatives and state-run enterprises. In this forum, the focus will not be primarily on the CSR practices of such firms but rather will extend to their core business activities (including their profit and investment strategies, their human resource policies and procedures and the sustainability of their production techniques) and, to a lesser extent, their governance practices.
Anchors: Ananya Mukherjee Reed and Darryl Reed
Panellists: Anant Nadkarni, Vice President, Group Corporate Sustainability, Tata Council for Community Initiatives. Gijs Spoor, Founding Director, Zameen Organic. N Narasa Reddy, General Manager, Priority Credit Wing, Canara Bank. Narayan P S, General Manager, Eco Eye, WiproTechnologies. Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Arghyam; Co-founder, Pratham Books.
