Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an important feature of the new round of economic globalization.
Central SOEs CSR Management series published
Central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) play an irreplaceable role in China’s economic and social development and CSR fulfillment is their bounden duty. After years of reform and development, central SOEs play an exemplary role in CSR fulfillment and have achieved significant results in CSR management promotion and practices.
To summarize and share the central SOEs CSR promotion models in a timely manner, under the guidance of the Bureau of Sci-Tech Innovation and Social Responsibility of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), the first three books of the Central SOEs CSR Management series were introduced to the public on September 22, 2020. The books were published by the Economy and Management Publishing House and compiled by enterprises, experts and GoldenBee Consulting.
The three books are: State Grid Corporation of China: Bi-direction driven and Exemplar-geared Social Responsibility Management, China State Construction Engineering Corporation: Brand-geared Social Responsibility Management, China Resources Group: Mission-geared Social Responsibility Management.
It is the first time that central SOEs grouping together to summarize CSR management experience and practices. The series will disclose the CSR management experience of central SOEs to different social sectors. They serve as an important proof of central SOEs being leaders in China’s CSR management system development.
Leapfrog development: Central SOEs achieve significant results in CSR management
Since 2000, CSR has been developing rapidly in China and central SOEs have been at the forefront in CSR fulfillment.
The SASAC attaches great importance to social responsibility in central SOEs, and has been promoting their CSR fulfillment through policy guidance, management improvement, communication enhancement and other aspects. Since the Guidelines to the State-owned Enterprises Directly under the Central Government on Fulfilling Corporate Social Responsibilities was released in 2008, it has been promoting central SOEs to fulfill social responsibility. The year 2012 signaled the first year of China’s CSR management, when the SASAC included social responsibility management as one of the 13 key measures to improve corporate management of central SOEs, marking CSR management as an important part of corporate management improvement.
Since then, many central SOEs have started to explore and practice CSR management, opening a new chapter from CSR fulfillment to CSR management.
2020 is a key year to achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and to end poverty. It is also the final sprint of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan. In such an extraordinary year, publishing the first batch of this series are significant. They not only offer a systematic summary of the outstanding experiences of central SOEs in CSR management but also reveal the determination of China’s first-class enterprises to follow global trends and promote CSR management and sustainable development.
A systematic summary: To further promote CSR management in central SOEs
Under the guidance of the SASAC, a group of central SOEs that engage in CSR management have not only innovated in theories and achieved highlights in practices, but also upgraded their management and competitiveness, promoting CSR management into a new realm. The three central SOEs that published the books are models.
At the press conference, Yang Shiwei, Director and Chief-editor of the Economy and Management Publishing House, conveyed his vision on the series. He hoped the books can incubate central SOEs’ development blueprint and progress power in CSR management, support central SOEs to become global models in CSR fulfillment and serve practitioners who stride towards “world-class enterprises with global competitiveness’, which would contribute to new Chinese standard, Chinese power and Chinese experience.
At the press conference, Zhang Xiaohong, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Sci-Tech Innovation and Social Responsibility of the SASAC, believed this series can contribute to the following aspects:
The first is to promote central SOEs to enhance CSR management through systematic summary and analysis;
The second is to support central SOEs to become global models in CSR fulfillment and to serve practitioners who stride towards “world-class enterprises with global competitiveness”;
The third is to lay foundation for central SOEs to compete in global market and to become models in the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation;
The fourth is to provide reference to other enterprises in carrying out CSR management and to contribute best practices from Chinese enterprises to global sustainable development.
New books published: Three central SOEs take the lead in sharing CSR management ways
Yin Gefei, Founder and Chief Expert of GoldenBee, as deputy director of the editorial board, shared the research experience of this series and introduced the publication background, research content and future plans.
Yin said, CSR management is gradually taking the role of a new management type, and central SOEs have already made remarkable achievements in innovation of CSR management. CSR management methods will in turn facilitate SOEs in China becoming world-class enterprises. In the future, under the guidance of the Bureau of Sci-Tech Innovation and Social Responsibility of SASAC, the editorial board will deepen our research, combine industrial characteristics of central SOEs with CSR reality, and summarize the methods of integrating social responsibility into corporate strategy, management and business, in order to build a systematic CSR management matrix for central SOEs, and develop an overall mechanism of CSR management for central SOEs with common features.
At the press conference, representatives from State Grid and China Construction shared their experience in CSR management and expressed the determination and confidence to continue promoting CSR management under the guidance of the SASAC, so as to become the world-class enterprises.
Long-term goal: Spreading China’s solution to global corporate governance and sustainable development
“The most competitive and vibrant companies are those that actively assume their social responsibilities.” said Chinese President Xi Jinping. Innovative CSR management will be an effective way for enterprises to actively fulfill social responsibility, and achieve responsible competitiveness and long-term vitality.
These three enterprises initiated the practice of systematic summary, follow-up research and overall spread of China’s mode of enterprise management and sustainable development. In addition, a number of central SOEs have successfully developed unique and effective ways of CSR management, such as, theme-driven CSR management by China Mobile, strategy-driven CSR management by China South Power Grid, integrated value-driven CSR management by China Minmetals Corporation, standard-driven CSR management by Aluminum Corporation of China, public communication-driven CSR management by China National Nuclear Power, transparent operation-driven CSR management by China General Nuclear Power Group, public welfare-driven CSR management by China Three Gorges Corporation, industrial responsibility ecology-geared CSR management by China Electronics Technology Group Corporation.
Therefore, for the future, the editorial board of the Central SOEs’ CSR Management Series also has long-term plans and objectives.
First of all, this series will be aimed at China's CSR pioneer enterprises - central SOEs, and systematically summarize their typical experience of integrating CSR concept and methods into enterprises’ production and operation.
Secondly, the series will continue to follow up and study CSR practices of all types of enterprises in China, and introduce their new practices, models and experience of CSR management.
Finally, with the support of new media and other effective ways of communication, the typical CSR management ideas and experience can be available among enterprises and industries, domestic and abroad, and exhibit China’s solution to global enterprise management and sustainable development.