Corporate Social Responsibility: A Fig Leaf for Capitalism or Path to a Better World?

Australian tobacco companies tick all the corporate social responsibility (CSR) boxes on their websites. Yet recent court actions against plain packaging of cigarettes suggest profits take precedence over harm reduction – and the companies are continuing their fight with an appeal to the World Trade Organisation. The profit motive can feed criticism that CSR is a marketing exercise. Ajnesh Prasad, from the Australian School of Business, questions whether some corporations are using CSR as a means to enhance their bottom lines rather than for social good.