Corporate social responsibility and occupational safety and health

By Jorge V. Sibal

Subjects: corporate social responsibility, social compliance, employment relations, industrial relations

Description: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) obliges corporations to give back something to society where it generates its profits. Occupational safety and health (OSH) programs on the other hand protect employees from adverse work environment. Both CSR and OSH programs are often seen by corporations as unnecessary costs and burdensome. Times have changed. Corporations that stick to these old beliefs are destined to failure. Corporations not friendly to its stakeholders like the communities where it operates will suffer negative corporate image and loss of goodwill. Disregard of OSH programs often leads to lower productivity, increased incidence of illness and health care expenses, higher labor turn-over, more training expenses and higher risks of court cases. The current business trend of ethical consumerism has caused corporations to be more concerned with the environmental and occupational impact of their products and activities. Several corporations certify their products with ISO standards that assure sound environmental management, occupational health and safety. Hence, this book draws together the fundamental principles of CSR and OSH. It is organized as an assembly of modules with guide questions. It aims to serve as a handbook for corporations that wish to develop CSR programs encompassing OSH.