EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY IN ASIA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

In recent years, the development of corporate philanthropy in Asia has progressed and evolved in tandem with increasing consumer consciousness, investor pressure, media scrutiny and governmental regulations. From adopting one-off philanthropic donations with minimal organisational involvement and staff engagement, many companies have increasingly incorporated a spectrum of value creation models in their corporate sustainability strategies such as impact investing and corporate social innovations aligned with their industry sector focus. This paper reviews the largest corporations in Asia and their role in supporting sustainable development through monetary and non-monetary contributions. First, the largest corporations are presumed to have achieved financial sustainability and thus have the ability to dedicate surplus resources to support societal needs across the region. Many of them are market leaders in the various industries that they operate in, thus extending their capacity and resources to provide their expertise, network and staff volunteering support in addition to philanthropic donations. Second, while the measurement of corporate resources routed to community causes is vital, it is equally important to channel resources and effort to the critical community causes. Increasingly, large companies in Asia are aligning their strategies to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and solve relevant environmental and social needs in their countries. To do so, stakeholder engagement is vital to help corporations understand critical on-ground societal problems for them to integrate the knowledge in their sustainability roadmap. Third, the trajectory of Asian corporate philanthropy is fast changing with diverse forms of shared value creation models and innovations. Large companies in Asia are beginning to innovate new corporate philanthropic integrated models, adopted from the West as well as from internal innovations, which have proven effective to champion the alleviation of environmental and social causes as part of their corporate DNA, a competitive advantage and simply the right thing to do. These forerunners are lauded for their risk-taking mentality and resolute to reinvent the wheel of corporate philanthropy and as a role model to other companies. Finally, the paper concludes with key trends and recommendations on realising the full potential of corporate philanthropy for sustainable development in the region.