By: Raheel Hassan
Corporate involvement with social responsibility (CSR) is a voluntary practice. The government also supports the corporate sector by providing tax exemptions for their fulfillment of CSR goals. Economic globalization and development have resulted in climate issues like disasters, heatwaves, lack of food and underground water depletion etc.
Major corporate institutions in the country are working on the social developmental projects such as opening schools providing facilities to the far-flung areas, in this era corporate sector should opt for environmentally responsible alternatives that are novel and proactive in nature.
Pakistan is suffering from the effects of climate change caused by rapid industrialization with significant geopolitical consequences. As things stand, the country is already facing the effects of climate change in the form of droughts, floods, melting glaciers and much more. Climate change has attracted the attention of international institutions, policy makers, regulators and now the business world.
Pakistan is one of the first countries in South Asia to have its own Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination. It has demonstrated the country’s commitment to combating the challenges of climate change. For years we have been urged to think globally and act locally to mitigate the effects of climate change. While much of the responsibility for carbon neutrality falls on individuals, industry has by far the largest impact on the environment. This is one of the reasons why we rely on corporate social responsibility to help combat climate change.
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Combating climate change requires collective action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote sustainable practices and adapt to climate change. People in Pakistan prefer to do voluntary work and give aid for social welfare. This is the reason why people trust CSRs more than the government and give financial support to them. Pakistan is among one of the countries which is affected due to climate change and now from last few years Pakistan is taking some good initiatives to counter the risks of climate change. Although many remain unaware of corporate CSRs projects running in Pakistan.
Pakistan in few years have faced lot due to climate change in form of floods. Many people have lost their lives and still thousands are facing the effects of floods. To counter the challenge of climate change government of Pakistan with the collaboration of ministry of climate change introduced ten billion tree plantation project. According to the statistics of climate change ministry they have invested Rs1.20 billion on this plantation project and planted over two billion trees across the country. Now if we talk about this plantation project many of the corporate sectors through CSRs planted thousands of trees across the country. The tree-plantation drives at CSRs level reflect the efforts to preserve the environment. There are also programs for children, which aim at improving children’s character and making them realize the issue of environmental degradation and its devastating effects.
As we mentioned above that Pakistan is a country of enormous population with as big number of charitable people and organizations, and so is the essence of our constitution. As the world evolves, so will the debate around CSRs, as businesses continue to navigate the delicate balance between profitability and meaningful social impact. Even with voluntary CSRs, the key lies in transparent reporting, genuine commitment, and long-term vision, ensuring that CSRs initiatives deliver tangible benefits for society and create a more responsible and sustainable corporate sector.
The Corporate’s CSRs can act as climate change ambassadors in the country to invest financial capital in addressing climate challenges. Through CSRs public awareness could be raised by focusing on climate challenges through their projects. Actively manage climate risks and integrate them into decision-making. At least to realize growth opportunities through various company CSR. Government should also take steps to implement effective strategies to strengthen not only our companies but also society’s resilience.
As Pakistan is on the list of countries facing climate challenges and many organizations are planning for the expected threats they will face. When discussing organizational responses to the challenges of climate change, many corporate companies are shifting their focus of CSR projects to climate effective strategies and policy initiatives. CSR efforts should be part of an organization’s response to the challenges of climate change but as part of a larger integrated corporate and industry effort, CSR projects can play an important role in finding solutions to climate challenges in the country. Government should also encourage big corporate institutions to invest and adopting their CSR projects related to climate change.
