Corporate Social Responsibility Statements of Two Companies from Telecommunication Industry - Case Study Example

? CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY here] of [Due paper Industry Chosen Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to a company’s obligations towards society. Any company or organization from any industry needs to show social responsiveness by setting some goals beneficial for both the society and the company. Activities, such as, giving money to charities, doing business ethically, helping society solve social problems, and creating a green environment all fall under the umbrella of CSR (Mohr 2001). In this paper, we will review the CSR statements of two companies from telecommunication industry in order to make out which company is demonstrating more corporate social responsibility than the other. 2. Company 1: The first company selected for review is Apple Inc., which has been the leading cellular firm since its beginning. 2.1 Apple’s Corporate Social Responsibility The main features of Apple’s corporate social responsibility as stated in the website of the company include a safer supply chain, respect and dignity for employees, and eco-friendly manufacturing processes. All of these features suggest that Apple Inc. takes good care of its adherence to the principles of corporate social responsibility. It is also stated on the website that the company considered and followed the guidelines of Global Reporting Initiative to prepare the information about CSR. Let us now discuss the main aspects of Apple’s Corporate Social Responsibility. 2.1.1 Environment Protection Apple Inc. makes special efforts for greenhouse gas emissions. In 2012, it is estimated that the company’s input in the greenhouse gas emissions was nearly 30.9 million metric tons (Apple Inc. 2013). Apple Inc. has adopted a well-planned approach to ensure environmental friendliness. The company finds ways to reduce the carbon footprint though everything ranging from all types of products to all facilities. Apple Inc. large input in the greenhouse gas emissions represent the way the company manufactures its products and carry out all business processes. The main source of Apple’s greenhouse gas emissions is its products, which include every activity involved in product development from manufacturing to recycling. The other but comparatively very minor source of emissions is its facilities and data centers. The company pays special attention towards bringing reduction in the use of energy to manufacture the products because to be energy efficient is essential for large-scale greenhouse gas emissions. 2.1.1.1 Renewable Energy If we talk about the efforts of Apple inc. towards environmental sustainability, we come to that the company makes use of renewable energy sources to reduce the burden on current sources of energy. The use of renewable energies also reduces the carbon footprint by reducing the impact of data centers and corporate facilities (Apple Inc. 2013). 2.1.1.2 Recycling The company also stresses on the importance of recycling and takes considerable steps to recycle the used products to make them usable once again. The company collects all e-waste through voluntary and regulatory programs and processes it for reuse. 2.1.1.3 Energy Efficiency The company measures the amount of greenhouse has emission released by the products, as well as during production of products through the life cycle approach. The company believes that this is the step that no other company takes to measure the level of energy efficiency (Apple Inc. 2013). 2.1.2 Supplier Responsibility Apple Inc. also takes care of employee rights and provides them with safe workplace so that they can fulfill their responsibilities properly. Not only this, the company also provides educational opportunities to employees in order to for them to improve their knowledge and work potential. Through inspections and improvement plans, the company makes sure that the suppliers adhere to the company’s code of conduct. 2.1.3 Labor and Human Rights Apple Inc. also holds suppliers responsible for upholding the employees’ rights and makes them deal with the employees with respect and dignity (Apple Inc. 2009). The company takes steps to prevent juvenile labor, underage labor, and involuntary labor and ensures implementation of antidiscrimination laws and other policies, such as, 60 hours work per week for each employee and provision of other job benefits to employees. 2.1.4 Health and Safety Apple also ensures provision of safe and secure workplace for employees so that the employees’ level of productivity increases and their morale does not come down. Prevention of chemical exposure, safe electricity works, and prevention of occupational Injuries are three main steps that the company takes in this regard. 2.1.5 Ethics The company makes suppliers adhere to the code of ethics which is also a key point related to the company’s corporate social responsibility. 3. Company 2: The second company selected for review is Sony, which is another leading firm that deals with a wide range of consumer electronics including cellular technology. 3.1 Sony’s Corporate Social Responsibility 3.1.1 Community Sony develops such products that are aimed towards improving the lives of people. Some of the main activities that enrich the lives of people include educational support to local communities, promoting improved educational systems, providing financial assistance to disadvantaged youth, support for the arts and culture, and protection of the environment through employee volunteerism. 3.1.2 Corporate Citizenship The concept of corporate citizenship is rooted deeply in Sony’s organizational culture.  The company has implemented such programs that are aimed towards bringing improvement to the thousands of lives all though the United States.  3.1.3 Diversity Sony hires employees regardless of racial, cultural, or religious differences in all of its facilities. This shows that the company adheres to the principles of workplace diversity which is another aspect of corporate social responsibility. 3.1.4 Employee Health and Safety Sony has stated in its website that employee health and safety is one of the main concerns for the company. Sony ensures creation of safe workplace environment in which employees can raise their level of productivity and efficiency without any safety concerns (Sony Corporation of America 2013). 3.1.5 Sustainable Development Sony also focuses on sustainable development of employees, as well as of the environment (Sony Corporation 2013). The company ensures that product development processes should be eco-friendly and should not harm the environment. 4. Which One is Better After exploring and analyzing the corporate social responsibility features of both companies, I must say that Apple Inc. is doing a lot more than Sony in this field. The report shows that Apple Inc. is taking care of all key aspects of corporate social responsibility. The comprehensive and in-depth CSR report of the company includes details about all key features of the company’s CSR activities. On the other hand, the website of Sony does not provide in-depth details of the company’s CSR concerns. Therefore, I would say that Apple’s CSR report shows that Apple Inc. really understands the importance of adhering to the requirements of corporate social responsibility. References Apple Inc. 2013, Apple and the Environment, viewed 25 November 2013, Apple Inc. 2009, Apple Supplier Code of Conduct, viewed 25 November 2013, Mohr, L 2001, ‘Do customers expect companies to be socially responsible: the impact of corporate social responsibility on buying behavior’, Journal of Consumer Affair, vol. 2, no. 3, pp.1-45. Sony Corporation 2013, CSR / Environment, viewed 25 November 2013, Sony Corporation of America 2013, Corporate Social Responsibility, viewed 25 November 2013, Read More