The role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in contributing to the development of society and growth of business is faced with the challenges of business relevance and sustainability. While many remarkable endeavours are being undertaken to help address social problems through various partnerships and collaboration with government, civil society and community organizations, CSR has yet to be seen as an integral part of the business process. Its strategic role in the larger arena of social development and the current business environment needs to be realized.

In the past six years, the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) has been at the forefront of promoting CSR to an increasingly diverse audience—from the business sector to media, civil society, students, the academe, and government. LCF has showcased various programs and projects featuring the best practices in both the local and international arenas. From topics such as forging partnerships for peace and progress, securing the future of the Filipino child, going beyond giving, providing business solutions to social problems, to taking CSR to heart and putting it to the test, the discussion on CSR has come a long way from mere philanthropy to business integration.

Today, CSR finds itself in the mainstream— being integrated in the curriculum for business courses, gaining media coverage and generating interest from business, government and civil society leaders.

While the nation’s development continues to face many social challenges, the private sector is becoming more involved in helping bring solutions. From the crises in education and health to the alarming effects of global warming, more businesses are initiating efforts to address these since they, too, are beginning to feel the consequences. The education crisis alone is widely felt at the recruitment and employment stage, where far more applicants are found unqualified due to their poor communications skills. Many businesses are forced to hire less competent employees resulting in poorer delivery of business services. Meanwhile, the exodus of medical professionals for greater opportunities abroad leaves the health sector with far less resources and expertise to provide adequate healthcare.

Realizing not just the urgency of responding to societal ills but also the need to sustain CSR efforts and integrate them with business strategies, LCF is taking a big step towards raising the level of discussion on CSR through its 7th annual gathering— the LCF CSR Conference 2008.

Here, LCF will partner with various industry and business associations towards pushing the CSR agenda into the boardroom and corporate planning sessions as it brings together CSR practitioners and corporate decision makers. Chief Executive Officers, professional and industry association leaders, and other key colleagues in the business process will develop their CSR vision and craft winning strategies that will yield meaningful benefits between business and society, and sustain efforts, especially in the areas of environment, education, health, entrepreneurship and arts & culture. Through this partnership between and among LCF, the various industry and business associations, corporate leaders and middle management, the CSR Conference is expected to provide an opportunity for a more collective and greater stakeholder support for CSR initiatives.

The CSR Conference will also take stock of LCF’s social and environment roadmaps to reflect on the gains and opportunities with which further collective action could be taken. As sessions are designed to actively engage corporate leaders and help them realize the value of CSR in meeting their business objectives while helping address social challenges, the CSR Conference also seeks to enlist more CSR champions.

With its thrust of serving as the prime mover of CSR in the region, LCF offers the first CSR Conference 2008 as an opportunity for business leaders to deepen their appreciation of CSR. Together with their CSR practitioners, they can integrate a concrete CSR strategic plan into the corporate agenda, bring it to the boardroom, and make their business part of the growing practice of CSR in the country and unite the Philippine business sector in securing a better future for both business and society.

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVE & THEME

The objective for this year’s gathering is to engage corporate executives and business and professional association leaders and transform them into CSR advocates by defining the strategic relevance of CSR for their businesses.

While the social benefits of CSR are clear and widely accepted, the business case for CSR is an ongoing discussion that is continually enriched as it addresses the following key questions:

• Why should businesses respond to social and environmental problems?

• What social issues should the business sector focus on?

• How can CSR help build my company's brand value?

• How can CSR protect my company? (reputation and risk management, community relations)

• Why is CSR relevant to my internal stakeholders (employees, shareholders, etc)?

• How is CSR linked to profitability and sustainability?

• How can businesses best respond to the education crisis?

• What is the role of the business sector in addressing environmental challenges such as climate change?

Believing that responding to social challenges through CSR is equally beneficial to enhancing the corporate strategy, LCF brings CSR to work in a larger scale and in an integral way. By converting more and more CSR advocates in the corporate leadership, propagating good corporate citizenship among employees and integrating CSR values in day-to-day business operations, CSR initiatives can be substantially sustained to benefit both society and business. Hence the Conference theme. Indeed, CSR is Everyone’s Business.