A strategy is a long-term plan of action to cope with a certain perception of the future.

CSR – as it is understood in Business and Poverty: The global CSR case-book – is a corporate strategy, a concept on how to manage the various interfaces of business and society, today and tomorrow. It thereby expresses the private sector’s social and environmental responsibilities and its commitment to respecting ethical principles in the framework of business operations, in order to create mutual value benefi ting both society and the private sector. So what is global CSR?

European and developing societies differ in many ways. Europeans are welleducated, wealthy and growing old. Societies in developing and emerging countries are characterised by youth, widespread poverty, poor standards of education and large quantities of people. Global CSR takes these societal characteristics into account and accordingly suggests specifi c ways of managing their effects on business and vice versa.

More pro-active step, corporations operating in developing and emerging regions often implement global CSR in areas such as market development, employee enablement and supply chain management. These efforts are designed to develop business. Thus, integrating social and environmental objectives within company goals can often be equated to unfolding socio-economic development among the poor. This is not only a social value as such but also transforms societal needs into market-demands – a prerequisite for long-term company value.