(Business in Cameroon) - Directed by Cameroonian native, Thierry Téné (photo), Institut RSE Afrique has just released the results of a study on the perception and application of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Cameroonian businesses. This survey was conducted in collaboration with the Cameroon Association of Human Resource Managers and Syndicat des industriels du Cameroun (Syndustricam).
According the results of the study involving a sample group of 16 companies with cumulative sales amounting to 710 billion FCfa and a combined labour force of 20,000, “Human Resource Managers (in the companies that participated in the study) are not adequately cognisant of the notion of corporate social responsibility.”
The study also reveals that, “73% of companies surveyed have no sustainable development or corporate social responsibility division” while 57% of them are completely unaware of the ISO 26000 standard.
Although unfamiliar with much of the practice of corporate social responsibility, the vast majority of companies participating in the study admitted that the implementation of this practice would improve their performance.
According to experts, CSR involves a company taking into account the effect of its activities on society and the environment. More simply, explains Wikipedia, CSR is “the contribution companies make to promote sustainable development.”