Introduction
What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
There exists no universal definition of CSR. But every definition that exists now corroborates the impact that businesses have on society at large as well as on the individuals. The idea of CSR was originally based on philanthropic views like charity, donations etc. but with the changing times, the concept of CSR has undergone various changes and has evolved and broadened to include various aspects of business thus interlinking with the society. Beyond making profits, companies are responsible for the totality of their impact on people and the planet.[1] “People” constitute the company’s stakeholders: its employees, customers, business partners, investors, suppliers and vendors, the government, and the community. This is evident in some of the definitions presented below:
The European Commission[2] defines CSR as “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society”. To completely meet their social responsibility, enterprises should have in place a process to integrate social, environmental, ethical human rights and consumer concerns into their business operations and core strategy in close collaboration with their stakeholders.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development defines CSR as[3] “the continuing commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the community and society at large.”
According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation[4], “Corporate social responsibility is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR is generally understood as being the way through which a company achieves a balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives (Triple-Bottom-Line Approach), while at the same time addressing the expectations of shareholders and stakeholders. In this sense it is important to draw a distinction between CSR, which can be a strategic business management concept, and charity, sponsorships or philanthropy. Even though the latter can also make a valuable contribution to poverty reduction, will directly enhance the reputation of a company and strengthen its brand, the concept of CSR clearly goes beyond that.”
From the above definitions, it is clear that[5]:
- The CSR approach is holistic and integrated with the core business strategy for addressing social and environmental impacts of businesses.
- CSR needs to address the well-being of all stakeholders and not just the company’s shareholders.
- Philanthropic activities are only a part of CSR, which otherwise constitutes a much larger set of activities entailing strategic business benefits.
CSR in India
Previously, in India there was no mandatory concept of CSR. Although Corporate Social Responsibility Voluntary Guidelines 2009 was available to assist the businesses to adopt responsible governance practices and also focuses on some of the core elements that businesses need to focus on while conducting their affairs. These guidelines have been prepared after taking into account the governance challenges faced in our country as well as the expectations of the society.[6]
Now, the concept of CSR is governed by the provision of Sec 135[7] of the Companies Act 2013. When the President of India gave assent to the Companies Bill, 2013, India became the first country to mandate spend on CSR activities through a statutory provision. In India, while many corporate houses have been traditionally engaged in doing CSR activities voluntarily, the new CSR provisions put formal and greater responsibility on companies to set out clear framework and process to ensure strict compliance.[8]
Analysis of SECTION 135
An analysis of this section gives a view that this provision is applicable to any company, during any fiscal year, with:
- a net worth of rupees 500 crore (about U.S. $90 million) or more;
- a turnover of rupees 1,000 crore (about U.S. $180 million) or more; or
- a net profit of rupees 5 crore (about U.S. $900,000) or more.
Any company not falling under any of the above three categories is not mandatorily required to follow the provisions of Section 135.
The CSR Clause will only apply to some of the over 800,000 companies in India, including over 8,000 publicly listed companies and multinational companies. The accounting firm Ernst & Young estimates that the law would cover over 2,500 companies in India and generate over U.S. $2 billion of CSR spending in local communities.[9] Under the CSR rules, net profit is defined to mean ‘net profit before tax’ as per books of accounts and shall not include profits arising from branches outside India.[10]
The CSR Clause requires a targeted company to make changes within its board of directors and to form a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (“CSR committee”) within the board of directors that will devise, recommend, and monitor CSR activities, and the amounts spent on such activities, to the rest of the Board.[11]The Act lists out a set of activities eligible under CSR. Companies may implement these activities taking into account the local conditions after seeking board approval. The indicative activities which can be undertaken by a company under CSR have been specified under Schedule VII of the Act.[12]
Every qualifying company needs to constitute a CSR committee of the Board consisting of 3 or more directors, one of whom must be an independent director as defined under section 149(6) of the Companies Act 213. However in respect of number of directors in a CSR committee, the question that crops is with relation to the qualifying private companies (which requires minimum two directors only) would be required to appoint one more director only to constitute CSR committee and comply with the CSR provisions.[13]
The functions of the Board will be threefold:[14]
- To formulate and recommend a CSR policy to the Board;
- To recommend amount of expenditure to be incurred on CSR activities;
- To monitor the CSR policy of the company from time to time.
The Board of every qualifying company is required to hold following responsibilities:[15]
- To approve the CSR policy recommended by the CSR committee and disclose the contents of such policy in its report and place it on company’s website;
- To ensure the CSR activities are undertaken by the company;
- To ensure 2 percent spending on CSR activities;
- To report CSR activities in Board’s report and disclose non-compliance (if any) with the CSR provisions.
- The draft CSR rules provide the format in which all qualifying companies shall report the details of their CSR initiatives in the Director’s report and in the company’s website.
This Act also stipulates where the approved money will be spent. This is clearly provided under Schedule VII of the Act. It is clear that the companies need to focus on the local areas as well as the areas where they operate their business. As per the official notification, the provision with respect to corporate social responsibility has come into force with effect from 01st April, 2014.
Environment and CSR
One of the areas on which the companies should necessarily spend on is environmental sustainability. Even though the provisions of Schedule VII does not make it mandatory to spend on the enlisted areas but when we think of giving back to the society, the first thing that is impressed upon is the environment which gives the foundation stone to the company. As a result there are major steps and initiatives being taken by the companies to go green. Going green is indeed the new trend and hence every company is now thriving to make environment more sustainable and habitable.
Despite creeping concerns that some of these actions may be mere “green wash,” for the most part they are welcomed by employees, consumers, investors, regulators, and the public. After all, it seems intuitive that voluntary actions that internalize environmental externalities are socially responsible.
One of the perplexing things about the notion of CSR is that it means different things to different people. Environmental CSR can be defined as environmentally friendly actions not required by law, also referred to as going beyond compliance, the private provision of public goods, or voluntarily internalizing externalities[16]
Numerous explanations have been advanced for the recent surge of environmental CSR. Perhaps pollution is symptomatic of broader production inefficiencies, and pollution reduction and cost reduction goes hand in hand to create “win/win” opportunities in today’s economy. Perhaps a new generation of “green” consumers is willing to pay higher prices for clean products, and firms are simply responding to this shift. Or perhaps business has become savvier about the workings of the political system, taking proactive steps to avert political conflict (e.g., regulatory threats, enforcement pressures, boycott threats from non-governmental organizations [NGOs]) rather than reacting to public pressure after the fact.
One of the major reasons for the sudden growing surge with respect to environmental CSR is the major influencing factor of market forces. In this paper we would be looking at both the demand side as well as supply side forces which upsurge the companies to comply with environmental CSR.
Demand-Side Forces
Production and sale of environmentally friendly products is a growth business, from organic food to organic cotton shirts to hybrid cars and ethanol fuel. Arora and Gangopadhyay were the first to provide a rigorous economic explanation of this growth in green consumption, applying a standard model of vertical product differentiation to capture consumer heterogeneity in willingness to pay for environmental attributes. In this setting, one firm has incentives to increase its quality in order to reduce price competition with a rival.The notion that green products command a price premium has since been incorporated into numerous other models that study additional aspects of environmental CSR.[17]
As one might expect, the level of competition in a market affects the amount of environmental CSR firms undertake. As shown by Bagnoli and Watts (2003), if the market for“brown” (less environmentally friendly) products is highly competitive, then its prices will be low and fewer consumers will wish to buy “green” products. However, if the brown market exhibits market power, then prices will be high and consumers will switch to the green goods.[18]
Uncertainty about standards weakens green consumer-motivated CSR activities. Consumer soften rely on product labels to determine the environmental quality of the products they purchase, but they do not necessarily know exactly what a label means. When there is uncertainty about the standard that lies behind a label, then consumers tend to give firms less credit for having a label, and may also give the benefit of the doubt to firms that do not have the label.[19]
Supply-Side Forces
In addition to the demand-side market forces discussed above, there are also supply-side forces encouraging firms to adopt greener production. There have been numerous examples of firms that have increased their resource use efficiency, reducing pollution and costs at the same time. The presence of waste does not mean that pollution abatement has been transformed into a strictly negative-cost enterprise, however.[20] There is likely nothing unique about environmental efficiency improvements as a way to cut costs. Indeed, it is tempting to postulate an “Equal Slop Hypothesis” businesses can reduce costs just as effectively by rooting out waste in human resources, outbound logistics, or any other business function as by improving environmental efficiency. Nevertheless, the presence of X-inefficiency means that environmental regulations may often cost firms less than they initially expect.[21]
NGOs and CSR
NGOs are playing an increasingly influential role in CSR. This is due in large part to the Internet, which has significantly lowered the internal and external communication costs of NGOs. In distinction from others, this translates into lower costs for bringing together eco-friendly individuals and groups to plot complex strategies that can bring attention to the group’s concerns. It also means lower costs for informing the public about objectionable corporate activities, and mobilizing the public for action.
Thus, in the realm of private politics, the NGO targets a firm to stimulate it to set about an environmental or social change. The NGO’s goal can be best described as the optimization of environmental services subject to restraints, the most important of which is the backing up of the public, as this is the source of the NGO’s power.
NGO and its Strategy
Any NGO can either choose the adversial path or to be an ally so as to reach its environment friendly goals.
If the NGO chooses the adversarial path and the firm rejects the NGO’s demand, the NGO will attempt to deliver its threatened harm (e.g., disseminating negative propaganda about the firm, launching a consumer boycott of the firm’s products). These activities are designed to negatively impact sales, employee morale, corporate recruitment efforts, etc. These same tactics may also be used against the firm’s suppliers to induce them to cease dealing with the firm, thus bringing about indirect pressure on the firm to step up its CSR activities.[22]
Resolution of the NGO’s campaign can occur in three ways:
- The firm remains intransigent and the NGO decides to cease its campaign.
- The firm acquiesces to the NGO’s demands; or
- The firm and the NGO negotiate a mutually acceptable level of CSR activity and the NGO stops its campaign.[23]
The NGO prefers to target firms sequentially rather than targeting multiple firms simultaneously. Sequential targeting lowers the costs that consumers face for participating in the NGO’s campaign, such as a boycott of the firm’s products, allowing them to switch to a supplier of a similar product rather than giving up the product category altogether. Sequential targeting also reduces the NGO’s campaign costs and allows it to use interim successes to raise additional funds.[24]
While firms face growing pressure from NGOs to undertake CSR activities, they also face growing demands for transparency, that is, for full disclosure of their environmental profiles. This pressure is stronger when stakeholders are worried about environmental impacts and when a NGO boycott threatens to be very costly.[25]
India is nowhere lacking in the drive to green. The effort by the Central Government in respect Corporate Social Responsibility is quite noteworthy. It is now no doubt that every corporation is now aware of need to protect and preserve the environments. Many steps have been taken and are being taken in that respect. Here are few steps taken by the Government as well as corporations to meet their duties towards the society and the environment.
Recently, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Dr Mukul Sangma said that companies operating in the state will be mandatorily guided by the new law that stipulates the portion of profits that companies must spend on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) every year. The Chief Minister also said that the Meghalaya Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2012 will be suitably amended to include the CSR. He also stated that the Meghalaya Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2012, stipulates that industrial units in the Large Category/Mega Large/Ultra Large category will be required to carry out corporate social responsibilities.[26]
YES BANK which is India’s fourth largest private sector bank has been awarded the Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility 2013 in the Banking (Private) category. YES BANK received this recognition for leadership in the Indian financial sector in Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development basis a rigorous three tier assessment process done by an eminent jury comprising of CSR, sustainability and human resources professionals headed by former Chief Justice of India, Justice P.N. Bhagwati. This award comes on the back of YES BANK recently being conferred the Outstanding Business Sustainability Achievement award at Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Award, Germany and the Bank receiving commendation certificate for significant achievement at CII ITC Sustainability Award 2013. YES BANK was earlier also awarded the Golden Peacock Global Award for Sustainability 2012 at the London Global Convention.[27]The officers-in-charge of spending money on CSR activities must be made accountable for this failure to spend the CSR budget,” said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal and Steel, headed by Kalyan Banerjee in this report.[28]
Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power utility, said its wholly-owned subsidiary Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (CGPL), in association with the Aga Khan Rural Support Program, has installed roof-rain water harvesting structures at Modhva village under the ‘Sagarbandhu’ project. The objective was to generate awareness on proper usage of natural resources by providing an independent water supply. This initiative will help women of the village get water at their doorsteps. Moreover, it will not only ensure continual supply of water in times of drought, but also prevent flooding in low-lying areas, the company said in a statement here on Tuesday. It will also help in replenishing the ground water table thus enabling dug wells and bore wells to sustain adequate water, said K.K Sharma, Executive Director and CEO, CGPL.[29]
The Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for projects relating to infrastructure development and Coastal Regulation Zone has recommended the accordance of environmental clearance for the Rs.5, 000-crore deep water container transshipment port proposed to be set up at Vizhinjam. Vizhinjam International Seaports Ltd. (VISL), the government entity overseeing the efforts to set up the project. The expert committee has stipulated 17 conditions on the project proponent while recommending environmental clearance.[30]
A new narikorava colony has come up in Madurapuri panchayat in Thuraiyur block. The buildings are “green” solar-powered houses and the colony boasts a 24-hour Cauvery water supply, a mini power pump (instead of a hand pump), well laid roads, a school under CHEERS (Child Labour Effective Elimination and Rehabilitation Society) scheme, and integrated sanitary complex with toilets.[31]
A high-level panel has recommended environment clearance to Chhatrasal coal mine in Madhya Pradesh allotted to Sasan Power, but with some conditions. The block having coal reserves of about 150 million tonne was allocated to Sasan Power, a special purpose vehicle of Reliance Power which is executing the Sasan ultra mega power project. The mine has a peak-rated capacity of five million tonne per annum.[32]
The first phase of ‘My City’, an integrated solid waste management project conceived and executed by HLL Lifecare at Kowdiar, has been launched. The corporate social responsibility project is being implemented in partnership with the City Corporation and the Foundation for Restoration of National Values headed by E. Sreedharan.[33]
The aluminum major, Bharat Aluminum Company (Balco) Limited took the initiative under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme as the village came under its project area. The project was named “Jalgram” (water village). The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) designed the plan to bring revolution in the village.
“Balco built three check dams with an investment of Rs 8 lakh to store some 1925 cubic meter of water,” Ashish Ranjan, company’s associate general manager (CSR), said. Once the water storage was made, the company along with NABARD and horticulture department of Chhattisgarh government convinced the farmers to take the second crop.[34]
The corporate social responsibility department of Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) has initiated a plantation drive to promote green cover in its surroundings. The firm has decided to plant at least 30,000 saplings this season. To conduct the plantation drive, BSL has joined hands with VanvasiKalyan Kendra, an NGO which has taken the responsibility of planting the saplings in 30 villages.[35]
Indian Oil: As part of its environment-protection initiatives, Indian Oil has invested close to Rs. 7,000 crore in state-of-the-art technologies at its refineries for production of green fuels meeting global standards. To further reduce dependence on precious petroleum products and secure the nation’s energy security, the Corporation is now in the process of commercializing various options in alternative fuels such as ethanol-blended petrol, biodiesel, and Hydrogen and Hydrogen-CNG.[36]
Intel[37]: Intel India has been committed to minimizing its environmental footprint and working with local communities to raise environmental consciousness. In 2004, Intel India employees contributed 2,000 volunteer hours through an 18 month program called “Intel for a Better Bannerghatta,” that made a tangible and long lasting difference to India’s leading eco park.
In 2007, Intel India employees undertook a massive and sustained tree plantation program. Over 6,000 trees were planted and nurtured across Bangalore city around the Agaram Lake, Bannerghatta Road and Army Services Corps on Airport Road. Intel India also implemented a Sewage Treatment Plant and Rain Water Harvesting units which treat about 57,000 liters of water every day so that water can be recycled or reused to irrigate gardens and where solid waste is converted into bio fertilizer (manure) which is used in the gardens.
Last year, Intel India launched the Climate Savers Computing Initiative with a number of other organizations, including NASSCOM and the CII ITC Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development. By 2010, Climate Savers Computing Initiative in India seeks to reduce global CO2 emissions from computers by 54 million tons per year, equivalent to the annual input of 11 million cars or 10-20 coal-fired power plants.
Conclusion: Amid various practical difficulties which may have to be encountered at least in the initial phases of implementation of the new CSR provisions, the initiative of the government is no doubt appreciable. The new provisions may be viewed as the result of the changing corporate philosophy in India and worldwide which entrusts the responsibilities on giant corporates towards social welfare of the population which comprise of their present or prospective employees, customers or other stakeholders in varied roles.
In order to ensure meeting the true spirits of the new CSR law, a well organized, professionally capable and independent team needs to be formed. It is possible only when companies come forward and join together for this common good goal. Building an expert and trained team of professionals is needed for managing funds earmarked for CSR purposes is required. One step forward has been put forward by Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) in this regard. The Institute is planning to initiate a certificate programme on Corporate Social Responsibilities activities for working executives. As the thousands of giant corporates may be involved with funds amounting to thousands of crores of rupees, it will a better idea for the government that rather than fixing responsibility of spending by individual companies, the government should encourage making a common corpus to be managed collectively by experienced professionals to be nominated by the participating corporates.
Much has been accomplished in recent years, yet much remains to be done. Market drivers of CSR will likely continue to grow in importance. For environmental issues that are complex, that require expensive remedies, or that require change across multiple firms—such as global warming—political pressure is likely to remain a critical influence on CSR activities. However, as NGOs have become more important, especially in developing countries, they have also started to have major economic impacts on firms, and will often shape the nature of environmental CSR.
The new CSR law, being a ‘Rule Ruled by Rules’ (called so because Section 135 on CSR spending requires detailed and comprehensive guidelines towards implementation of new CSR law), since the rules are under finalization, once the rules are in place, we hope to have a better picture of the various aspects of new CSR provisions.
By : Ms. V. Saraswathy and Ms. Ayushi Agrawal , 4th year student (5 year course) at Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur
[1] Sir Geoffrey Chandler, ‘Defining Corporate Social Responsibility’ http://www.rhcatalyst.org/site/DocServer/CSRQ_A.pdf?docID=103 ( last accessed on 16th February, 2015)
[2]‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (Europen Union Commission)<http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sustainablebusiness/corporate-social-responsibility/index_en.htm> (last accessed on 16th February, 2015)
[3]‘Corporate Social Responsibility (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) http://www.wbcsd.org/work-program/businessrole/previous-work/corporate-social-responsibility.aspx (last accessed on 16th February, 2015)
[4] ‘What is Corporate Social Responsibility’ (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) http://www.unido.org/what-we-do/trade/csr/what-is-csr.html#pp1[g1]/0/ (last accessed on 18th February, 2015)
[5]‘Handbook on Corporate Social Responsibility in India’ (Confederation of Indian Industry) <http://www.pwc.in/en_IN/in/assets/pdfs/publications/2013/handbook-on-corporate-social-responsibility-in-india.pdf> (last accessed on 18 February, 2015)
[6] ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ Lok Sabha Secretariat Parliament Library And Reference, Research, Documentation And Information Service (Larrdis) Members’ Reference Service, Reference Note No. 11 /Rn/Ref./2013<http://www.academia.edu/4552203/LOK_SABHA_SECRETARIAT_PARLIAMENT_LIBRARY_AND_REFERENCE_RESEARCH_DOCUMENTATION_AND_INFORMATION_SERVICE_LARRDIS_For_the_use_of_Members_of_Parliament_Not_for_Publication_Financial_Sector_in_India_Regulations_and_Reforms> (last accessed on 18 February, 2015)
[7] Sec 135 of the Companies Act 2013 provided that
(1) Every company having net worth of rupees five hundred crore or more, or turnover of rupees one thousand crore or more or a net profit of rupees five crore or more during any financial year shall constitute a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Board consisting of three or more directors, out of which at least one director shall be an independent director.
(2) The Board’s report under sub-section (3) of section 134 shall disclose the composition of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee.
(3) The Corporate Social Responsibility Committee shall,—
(a) formulate and recommend to the Board, a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy which shall indicate the activities to be undertaken by the company as specified in Schedule VII;
(b) recommend the amount of expenditure to be incurred on the activities referred to in clause (a); and
(c) monitor the Corporate Social Responsibility Policy of the company from time to time.
(4) The Board of every company referred to in sub-section (1) shall,—
(a) after taking into account the recommendations made by the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, approve the Corporate Social Responsibility Policy for the company and disclose contents of such Policy in its report and also place it on the company’s website, if any, in such manner as may be prescribed; and
(b) ensure that the activities as are included in Corporate Social Responsibility Policy of the company are undertaken by the company.
(5) The Board of every company referred to in sub-section (1), shall ensure that the company spends, in every financial year, at least two per cent. of the average net profits of the company made during the three immediately preceding financial years, in pursuance of its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy:
Provided that the company shall give preference to the local area and areas around it where it operates, for spending the amount earmarked for Corporate Social Responsibility activities:
Provided further that if the company fails to spend such amount, the Board shall, in its report made under clause (o) of sub-section (3) of section 134, specify the reasons for not spending the amount.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section “average net profit” shall be calculated in accordance with the provisions of section 198.
[8]Supra at note 5
[9] ‘The 2% CSR Clause: New Requirements for Companies in India’ Kordant Philanthropy Advisor, http://www.kordant.com/assets/2-Percent-India-CSR-Report.pdf (last accessed on 18th February, 2015)
[10]‘ Corporate Social Responsibility’ New Companies Act, 2013 – Insight Series – Volume IV, 13 September 2013, KPMG Flash News, KPMG In India, https://www.kpmg.com/Global/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/taxnewsflash/Documents/india-sept20-2013no4companies.pdf (last accessed on 22nd February, 2015)
[11]Id.
[12]Supra at note 5
[13]‘The 2% CSR Clause: New Requirements for Companies in India’ Kordant Philanthropy Advisor, http://www.kordant.com/assets/2-Percent-India-CSR-Report.pdf (last accessed on 18th February, 2015)
[14]Id.
[15]The 2% CSR Clause: New Requirements for Companies in India’ Kordant Philanthropy Advisor, http://www.kordant.com/assets/2-Percent-India-CSR-Report.pdf (last accessed on 18th February, 2015)
[16] Bruce Hay, Robert N. Stavins, And Richard H.K. Vietor, Environmental Protection And The Social Responsibility Of Firms (2005).
[17]Seema Arora and Subhasis Gangopadhyay, Toward A Theoretical Model Of Voluntary Overcompliance, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 289-309 (1995)
[18] M. Bagnoli and S. G Watts, Selling to Socially Responsible .Consumers: Competition and The Private Provision of Public Goods, Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 419-445 (2003)
[19]Gregory S. Amacher, Erkki Koskela and Markku Ollikainen, Environmental quality competition and eco-labeling, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 284-306 (2004)
[20] Michael E. Porter and Claas van der Linde, Green and Competitive: Ending the Stalemate, Harvard Business Review, 121-135 (1995)
[21]Id.
[22]Rasha Ahmad and Kathleen Segerson, Collective Voluntary Agreements To Eliminate Polluting Products , Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier , 572-588 (2011)
[23]Morton Winston, NGO Strategies for Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethics and International Affairs 71-87 (2002).
[24]Francisco J. André, Abderrahmane Sokri & Georges Zaccou, Public Disclosure Programs vs. Traditional Approaches for Environmental Regulation: Green Goodwill and the Policies of the Firm, 2009 <http://www.upo.es/serv/bib/wps/econ0902.pdf> (last accessed on 28th February, 2015)
[25]Nicola Doni & Giorgio Ricchiuti, Market equilibrium in the presence of green consumers and responsible firms: A comparative statics analysis, Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, 380-395 (2013)
[26]Meghalaya to amend industrial policy to include CSR, http://www.sentinelassam.com/meghalaya/story.php?sec=2&subsec=8&id=185635&dtP=2014-11-08&ppr=1 (last accessed on 28th February, 2015)
[27] YES BANK wins the Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility 2013 <http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/387269/yes-bank-wins-the-golden-peacock-award-for-corporate-social-responsibility-2013/>, (last accessed on 28th February, 2015)
[28]‘ CSR activities in Coal India Limited and its subsidiaries: action taken by the Government on the observations/recommendations contained in the thirty-second report of the Standing Committee on Coal and Steel (Fifteenth Lok Sabha) <http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/385806/csr-activities-in-coal-india-limited-and-its-subsidiaries-action-taken-by-the-government-on-the-observationsrecommendations-contained-in-the-thirty-second-report-of-the-standing-committee-on-coal-and-steel-fifteenth-lok-sabha/> (last accessed on o2nd March, 2015)
[29] ‘Tata’s Mundra plant installs water harvesters in village’ The Hindu Business Line, 10 December 2013
[30] ‘Vizhinjam: panel for eco-clearance’ The Hindu Business Line, 4 December 2013
[31] ‘53 solar-powered homes built for narikoravas in Thuraiyur’ The Hindu Business Line, 20 November 2013
[32] ‘Sasan Power gets green panel nod for coal block’ Financial Express 8 November 2013
[33] ‘My City’ project launched in Thiruvananthapuram’ The Hindu Business Line, 23October 2013
[34] R Krishna Das ‘Balco helps water flow into barren lands in Chhattisgarh’, Business Standard, 10 March 2014
[35] ‘Bokaro Steel Plant initiates drive to promote green cover’ Times of India July 23, 2013
[36] ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ <https://www.iocl.com/Aboutus/corporatesocialresponsibility.aspx>, (last accessed on 02nd March 2015)
[37]Intel in the Environment – India, <http://www.intel.com/cd/corporate/csr/apac/eng/environment/countries/in/420193.htm,> (last accessed on 02nd March 2015)