Hangzhou Shoe Enterprises Fulfill Their Social Responsibilities

Not long ago, Foxconn's frequent jumping incident pushed corporate social responsibility to the forefront of public opinion. Is it necessary to pay for the legal rights and interests of employees? The discussion on the Internet is endless.

As a result, a decision in Hangzhou has aroused widespread public concern. The Hangzhou municipal government recently held a leading group meeting on corporate social responsibility construction. The meeting announced the revised version of Hangzhou's corporate social responsibility evaluation system, which is ready to be launched in the near future after further consultation and improvement. This will be the first corporate social responsibility standard in cities above the city level.

　　　 Corporate social responsibility has become the mainstream of the world.

It is generally believed that corporate donations are social responsibility. And what aspects of corporate social responsibility actually include, most enterprises are not clear about it. In fact, corporate social responsibility management has been implemented internationally for many years. SA8000, or social responsibility management system 8000, is a standard management system initiated and implemented by SAI, a non-governmental organization in the United States in August 1997, to protect labor environment and conditions and protect labor rights and interests. Since May 2004, the United States and the European Union have started compulsory promotion, requiring multinational companies to check whether the other enterprises have reached the standard when purchasing goods. If they fail to meet the standards, they must cancel the order. China's exports to Europe and the United States clothing, toys, footwear, furniture, sports equipment and daily hardware products, have met the requirements of SA8000.

　　　 Social responsibility is related to sustainable development.

Zhejiang is one of the provinces with the largest number of private enterprises in China. Labor and environmental problems are also many. How to promote social harmony through the promotion of corporate social responsibility is of great significance to the sustainable development of a region.

The evaluation system will be promoted by the Hangzhou municipal Party committee and the municipal government. Hangzhou will try to explore the social responsibility standards with local characteristics through the first batch of 191 pilot enterprises' evaluation and demonstration. Corporate social responsibility assessment will be conducted every two years and verified by the third party evaluation agency. Enterprises with the title of best social responsibility will be rewarded and policy support will be given to enterprises.

Business operators still have concerns.

The enterprise manager who was listened to was cautious about the evaluation system. Lu Guohao, general manager of Zhongtian construction group, spoke frankly about his view of the evaluation system. He said that with these standards, enterprises could measure themselves. In the past, where there was no thought or omission in management, it could be improved in time, which is undoubtedly beneficial to improve the management level of enterprises. He agreed with the implementation of this evaluation system in Hangzhou. However, he was also worried that the 141 indicators would not be easy for most enterprises to achieve.

Several private entrepreneurs are also worried about whether the move will greatly increase the total cost of enterprises. Although they also believe that the implementation of "social responsibility" is the general trend of social development, if the "obedient" enterprises have paid a higher price to meet the requirements of the government, while the "disobedient" enterprises still maintain a lower cost level, then in the final market competition, they always win the lower cost. Will the enterprises be eliminated in the market competition because they fulfill their "social responsibilities"? If it really causes enterprises to increase the cost too high, I am afraid that they will die without any end.

Establishing a reward and punishment mechanism is the key.

Yao Xianguo, Dean of the school of public management at Zhejiang University, is not entirely unreasonable. The biggest highlight of the evaluation system comes from the government's emergence and unified command, and then the departments at all levels carry out according to the actual situation, and the problems are mutually coordinated. Their comprehensive advantages should not be underestimated. The biggest difficulty is the establishment of the index system, which should cover the main aspects of corporate social responsibility, and can not be too cumbersome to add too much cost to enterprises.

Moreover, it is also important for the public and public opinion to participate in the supervision, so as to ensure that the evaluation system is not a mere formality.
　　　

How can we mobilize the enthusiasm of enterprises in implementing the evaluation system? Yao Xian Guo believes that the establishment of an effective reward and punishment mechanism is the key. It is to let the enterprises that conscientiously fulfill their social responsibilities get policy support and turn them into competitive advantages of enterprises in the market; on the contrary, the enterprises that refuse to carry out the evaluation system should implement the elimination mechanism; government departments and trade associations should extend help to enterprises that are willing to carry out the evaluation system but have difficulties at the moment. It is reported that the specific rules for rewards and punishments are still being worked out.