The practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) may impact positively on a firm's financial earnings. That is the perception of 75 per cent of 116 firms that participated in a Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF) survey being published this month.

The JEF survey, 'State of the Industry Report: Corporate Social Responsibility in Jamaica, 2007', was conducted between July and September last year.

Good citizenship

The survey found that the majority of firms felt the public had the right to expect corporations to display good citizenship, and that CSR should not be regulated but, rather, left as a voluntary activity.

The organisations surveyed represented various sectors, such as sales, services, manufacturing, mining, construction, transport, educational, information technology and government. Most of the interviewed firms were privately owned, 10 per cent were publicly traded and 15 per cent were branches of international or regional organisations.

Environmentalists

The report also stated that a majority of firms manage and monitor their environmental practices. Some 20 per cent of those interviewed report that they have considered the impact of their operations on greenhouse gases and global warming.

Among the conclusions, the report stated that tax incentives for positive actions need to be established.

The definition that CSR used to conduct the survey was 'how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society'.

Companies adopt workplace strategies to enhance staff outcomes, such as:

Some 95 per cent support staff training

Exactly 73 per cent provided access to health care

About 91 per cent ensured a safe and adequate working conditions

Those practising non-discrimination in employment were 89.7 per cent, while supporting advancement were 94 per cent

About 97 per cent of firms respected human rights at the workplace.