Making CSR Communication part of your business strategy
There are many reasons why BenCham China is a great place to discuss Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
One is the impact of China on the globe due to its sheer size. With more than 150 cities over 1 million inhabitants and most of the Fortune 500 companies at full swing here, whether the economy is managed in a responsible manner here has a huge impact on the globe and everyone on it.
Another is that with the World Expo scheduled in Shanghai under the motto "Better City, Better Life", increasing attention is being paid to CSR in China.
Finally, because this part of the world has a lot to learn from Benelux countries and how they approach corporate responsibility. I for one have learned a lot from my Dutch clients.
The breakfast seminar “Making CSR Communication part of your business strategy” in Swissotel Shanghai on 5 March 
gathered great audience who were the to do just that: exchange ideas about corporate responsibility in a Chinese context. Indeed, in the environment of modern China, where companies and people have been typically focused on making money much more than how it is made, the issue of CSR is picking up. Representatives of several companies already ahead of the market were also present and contributed a great deal to the discussion.
Question: How can we deal with the problem of “greenwashing”, in other words when companies publicize CSR goals or activities just to look greener?
Answer: This is inevitable as a more responsible corporate behaviour becomes a prerequisite for connecting to quality clients. Responsible companies, for instance, will require their providers (e.g. raw materials or energy) to meet responsibility standards as well. There will always be companies that try to “cheat the system” and report responsible behaviour that in reality they do not display. In my opinion, such efforts are a waste of resources. While they may mislead the occasional visitor of their website or corporate venue, the actual situation will turn out even under the scrutiny of the most basic due diligence research.
A great comment by Jan Devens from DSM was that China is bound to become one of the leaders of CSR know-how simply for the money to be made this way.
This is a shrewd observation in a number of ways. First, Mr. Devens shared with us that the companies who take CSR seriously are often the ones who have gone through the trauma of being blamed for industrial accidents, chemical spills or similar incidents in the past. If such eventualities spur companies to take CSR more seriously, there is certainly no shortage of mishaps in China, including low work safety, collapsing mines and food safety scandals. Moreover, if China manages to attract as much R&D in the field of corporate awareness, prevention and cleanup as it did in hi-tech, the benefits are considerable.