Don’t Stop CSR Initiatives – AGI boss

President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), James Asante Adjei has advised corporate bodies not to shirk their responsibility of helping to transform society in the face of harsh economic conditions.

Speaking at the 2014 Ghana CSR Diary and Awards in Accra, he emphasized the need for companies to shift from being profit oriented to becoming more responsive to the developmental needs of their communities, stressing that their success, in the long-term, would not be measured by how much profit they made but their positive impact on society.

“Today’s business has become sophisticated that it will be very difficult to only be profit-oriented. Current times do not allow companies to be in business for the sake of making profit. Customers may rely on organisations for goods and services but the level of competition also allows them to make decisions based on company performance outside the workplace,” he said.

Sixteen organizations that implemented various projects in 2013 were rewarded at this year’s event.

The award scheme, which was introduced in 2011 by the former Trade & Industry Minister, Hannah Tetteh, and Nana Owusu-Afari, past President of the Association of Ghana Industries, (AGI) sought to verify and measure the impact of various activities companies submitted and undertook in their catchment areas.

It was also aimed at raising awareness on the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and to correct the impression that CSR was limited to helping the needy in society.

Mr. Asante stated it was also important for businesses to adopt best practices such as producing friendly environmental products to sustain their production.

Nestle Ghana, Fan Milk, Stanbic Bank, Melcom Ghana, MTN, Wire Weaving Industries, Olam Ghana, McDan Shipping, Huawei, and Golden Sunbeam, were among the companies which performed remarkably in the area of social commitment and support in the year 2013.

Huawei was recognized for donating an ICT laboratory, MTN for introducing Heroes of Change; Nestle for implementing nutrition and water treatment projects.

Koji Makino, Country Director of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), reaffirmed his country’s commitment to helping develop key sectors of the economy, including agriculture and also supporting activities aimed at promoting Corporate Social Responsibility.

Fred Odopoi, President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce, also called on JICA and corporate bodies to partner the Chamber to help build the capacity of small-scale enterprises.