The Emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility
Heightened corporate attention to CSR has not been entirely voluntary. Many companies awoke to it only after being surprised by public responses to issues they had not previously thought were part of their business responsibilities. Nike, for example, faced an extensive consumer boycott after the New York Time and other media outlets reported abusive labor practices at some of its Indonesian supplier in the early 1990s. Shell Oil’s decision to sink the Brent Spar, an obsolete oil rig, in the North Sea led to Greenpeace protests in 1995 and to international headlines. Pharmaceutical companies discovered that they were expected to respond to the AIDS pandemic in Africa even though it was far removed from their primary product lines and markets. Fast – food and packaged food companies are now being held responsible for obesity and poor nutrition.