As I discussed in my last month’s post that CSR efforts will not bear the brunt of the looming economic disaster. However, the recent catastrophes of Merrill Lynch, AIG and Lehman Brothers have again raised some very serious doubts about the future of corporate social responsibility. Skeptics are eyeing a near end of corporate citizenship if not a complete blackout.

Adam Jones wrote in the Financial Times that many corporations will now think twice before embarking on a socially responsible venture. He writes:

The public demand for stories about the caring, sharing side of investment bankers is unlikely to be huge right now. But bankers aren’t necessarily the only turn-off in “caring capitalism” ventures these days. I’ve been wondering for a while whether tougher economic conditions will lead to a broader backlash against the CSR industry on the grounds of cost.

So will CSR really suffer because of this economic slump? That’s really a difficult question to answer. It may be possible that the financial industry might withdraw from some of its responsible efforts but CSR would not be shun down by all and sundry. The non-financial sector, which is relatively on higher grounds from this crisis, is a major contributor towards the social projects.

Another important aspect of changing social responsibility trends is its integration with profitability. The concepts of 3Ps and fortune at the bottom of the pyramid will only strengthen the overall responsible business efforts. Non-profit sector can tolerate this apparent collapse of Wall Street, experts say. These not-so-recent tips will also help the entrepreneurs in allying their worries about expenditures on social sector.

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