As has been explained in previous CSR articles for The Executive Times the new term coming into international acceptance is Social Responsibility (SR). This fresh understanding of the 'duty to be responsible' includes environmental and ethical responsibility. This SR is not something 'peripheral' to the business of the company and is not solely directed into the funding of external projects.

Rising fuel and energy costs in Bangladesh focus the thoughts of Facilities Managers onto ways to reduce their office utility bills.  Rising levels of concern about diminishing natural resources in Bangladesh e.g. gas field depletion, river water pollution and the ever lowering water table under Dhaka lead all of us to become more conscious of our environment. These 'environmental realities' in Bangladesh also focus workers and managers on the need to limit the damage we do to our environment and on the urgency of using less of these non-renewable resources.
 
Water minimisation options are available for an office building as they are for a factory. Water use reduction options for an office include the use of modern efficient toilets which need less water for flushing, also taps over wash basins which turn themselves off after a specified flow period and a simple 'turn it off after you use it' message.  The use of paper towels, electric hand dryers and roller towels/cloth towels needs to be evaluated by the office manager in terms of costs and eco-efficiency.
 
There are many electrical energy saving options available to a modern office e.g. replacing old style tower computers and monitors with laptops brings significant energy savings. Flat screen monitors (LCD, LED) in place of an old style 'TV set' computer monitors (CRT) can reduce electricity consumption. Lighting systems upgraded by the use of electronic rather than magnetic ballasts in fluorescent lighting arrays saves energy as does replacing the older style fluorescent tubes with modern Category 5 tubes.  When an office makes use of LED lighting there is the potential to run it powered by photo voltaic solar panels. Careful design of the lighting arrangement will ensure the correct level of illumination from the minimum number of lighting units. The same careful design and layout will also lead to the best use of the natural light available and proper ventilation without 'hotspots' or 'chill areas'. When an office or the office-canteen and kitchen have refrigerators that need to be replaced they should be of the modern energy saving variety. An environmentally friendly office can be a cool well lit environment when lightings, ventilation and air-conditioning systems are carefully designed, well maintained and carefully monitored. Air-conditioning uses significant amounts of electricity and is probably the largest component of the office electricity bill and so the 'turn it off after you use it' message applies here also. Setting the office air-conditioning at not less than 25 degrees and turning off the room air-conditioning and the lights on leaving the room saves electricity and reduces the utility bill.

 
Much has been written about the benefits of having a 'paperless office' but this aspiration seems to be a long-way off for most companies in Bangladesh. Here there is still heavy reliance on folders containing substantial quantities of paper all fastened with a pink ribbon.  Even a 'paper based' office can reduce its impact on the environment e.g. by using paper from sustainable sources - paper made from wood pulp from trees that get replaced by replanting.  Much of the paper used in an office can be recycled by being re-pulped.  Even the confidential paper waste of an office can be shredded before it leaves the building and then be recycled by being repulped.  In addition to recycling paper and cardboard, offices also need to have a sustainable and environmentally friendly way of disposing of used toner and used printer ink cartridges.  Whatever type of waste is disposed of from an office, the Facilities Manager and Staff need to be sure that it is being disposed of through legitimate channels and is simply not being dumped on the banks of a river or pool.  It is good practice to print on both sides of a sheet of paper in an office, perhaps using single sided printing as the paper loaded into a fax machine. When an office does have a significant amount of single sided non-confidential printing as waste this paper could be given to slum schools as writing paper for their children. There is also of course the 'informal re-cycling network' in Dhaka city and not infrequently office memos and reports end up 'recycled and reused' as the inside face of a paper bag.

In order to proclaim itself a CSR office or a Socially Responsible office the employment practice of the office needs to be Social Responsible.  This Social Responsibility includes the employment and promotion of women and the employment of people with disabilities and this latter made possible by the provision of better access and facilitation aids.  These disabilities include walking, sight and hearing disability and these potential employees are regarded as assets by an insightful Office Manager.  Socially Responsible 'Human Resources' practices are, in essence, 'investing in your people'. They are evidence of a culture of respect in the office.  The owners and managers of socially responsible offices will want to listen to their staff e.g. by having a staff suggestion box. There will be a 'Grievance Procedure' in place as well as a 'Disciplinary Procedure'.  There will be a Participation Committee in a work-place when fifty or more workers are employed or there will be another worker-manager discussion forum.

 
Social Responsibility expresses itself in a style of management.  When managers regard their workers as 'human resources' with potentials to be developed these employees begin to be viewed by their managers as valuable assets of the company rather than a wage burden or a payroll cost.  Managers who regard their office workers as valuable assets will also choose to treat those workers with respect and in turn will be treated with respect by the people who work for them.  This culture of respect helps nurture a sense of 'belongingness' and team spirit in an office.
 
Managers will then shun negative leadership and management styles including bullying, intimidation and ridicule choosing instead to be positive role models bringing out the best in their employees and enabling work and life potentials to be met.  These socially responsible managers will also want to ensure that their employees have a work-life balance and that valuable employees in the office are also given sufficient holidays and time-off to enable them to also be good family members.
 
All (C) SR practice should be evaluated and reported and this is also the case for in-office SR.  There are International Standards against which (C)SR can be evaluated and bench marked and some of these international standards and norms were explained in the December 2011 issue of The Executive Times.  In order for the office CSR to be evaluated and reported there needs to be risk assessment and evaluation.  The risks to be evaluated include: - occupational safety and health (OSH) risks - the tripping hazards and fire hazards that may be present in an office in addition to risks to the company image and Brand from failures to be socially environmentally or ethically compliant.  Smoke detection and fire alarms and fire control should be a key component in the design of an office building. If the office is moved into premises designed and built by a third party safety considerations should be part of the 'moving in' risk assessment. Included in the OSH and fire safety preparations should now be earth quake preparedness.  The risk assessment for the office should include consideration of a safe way to clean the outside of the office windows and ways to safely service externally mounted AC units!
 
Returning to the topic of SR as business ethics, it is very important an office that intends to be socially responsible office should respect Copyright (the intellectual property of others) and has a policy to uses only legal or licensed software and operating systems.  When an Office Manager is unable to afford the cost of purchasing a legal Operating System e.g. Vista or XP or Mac or the purchase of 'original' software e.g. MSOffice the Manager still has the opportunity for the free use of Open Source soft-ware.  Business ethics as SR includes having a formal anti-corruption policy in place. This would include, a procedure to protect "whistle blowers" and a management culture where the paying of bribes, speed money and rent seeking behaviour are discouraged and prevented by disciplinary action.  This 'ethical office will also collect and 'pay-over' Corporate and Personal Income Tax and the Company's due VAT.  The ethical company will have a Trade Licence and will be based in a licensed commercial building not in a residential apartment.

Socially responsible companies and their employees will also want to have a 'Community Investment Programme'.  Donating some of the company's profit as CSR is a worthwhile and admirable activity as are collections made by company staff of warm winter clothes or cash donations made following a cyclone or other natural disaster.  Rather than rely on supporting external projects, which are a peripheral form of CSR, the office CSR strategy can include: - volunteer programmes; time donation schemes; company match for funds raised and adopted projects - NGO's, communities or schools.
 
In addition to highlighting the international move from CSR to SR terminology this article for The Executive Times has endeavoured to make the point that CSR is something that can be carried out inside an office. CSR is not simply projects thought up in an office and then funded through the donations of cash or clothing in the slum area of a major city or remote rural part of Bangladesh.  This CSR is Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility and is capable of being practised by offices of all sizes and by all office based workers whether they are employed by Banks, Government Office, Service Companies, and by international and local manufacturing companies.
 
Rodney Reed is a consultant, trainer, seminar speaker and Senior Columnist of The Executive Times. He holds an M.Soc.Sc from the University of Birmingham in the UK.  Mr Reed is Managing Director of Reed Consulting (BD) Ltd. He resides with his wife in Dhaka where they have lived for the past five years. Reed Consulting Bangladesh Ltd www.reedconsultingbd.com was Incorporated in Bangladesh in 2006 and works in private sector development, mostly in export oriented companies. Rodney Reed was a Member of the DCCI CSR and Social Compliance Standing Committee 2009 and 2010 and is a now a Member of the FICCI Committee and the FICCI CSR Sub Committee. Reed Consulting (BD) Ltd is a Strategic Partner of CSR Asia and specialises in developing the policy and practice of Social Responsibility in Bangladesh and in neighbouring countries.   The Reed Consulting (BD) Ltd 'Mission Statement' is 'Enabling business in Bangladesh to be socially responsible, sustainable and profitable'.