Sustainable Economic Development As A Means Of Restoring Balance

By Author: Amy Adison
Total Articles: 12
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As the corporate domain is the largest and the fastest growing sector in our economy, it is only natural that our dependency on it has multiplied in recent years. Along with providing a large portion of our population with exciting and innovative employment opportunities, the corporate sector is fast becoming the torch bearer for implementing and bringing about sustainable economic development.

Where are we failing?

For any type of economic development to be sustainable it must look into the economy of the country which supports it. In a cost-driven economic model, sustainable development requires a shift of focus from money to money and ecology and sociology. Sustainable economic development must divorce itself from traditional economic models because they are not in sync with the needs of the times.

They do not account for the ecological services that they use. The thought of maintaining them or judicially using them, never gets noted down.
They look at cause and effect of the fluctuations in the market, but do not measure the degree of effect. How price rise affects the rich much less than ...
... the poor is never made a part of the calculations.

Therefore, the imperative is not only on ensuring collective growth and development, it is also on giving back to a society which has created and continues to create fertile grounds for economic prosperity for the corporate sector.

Corporate responsibility, thus, becomes an amalgamation of the efforts to identify key areas that need help and aid on the one hand, and on the other, making sure that the right amount and the right kind of aid goes out to the right people.

How do Corporates Take Responsibility?

There are many ways in which sustainable development and along with it, social responsibility in corporate endeavors plays out. Multiple areas require aid and financial support, and they can broadly be divided into four categories- health, education, rehabilitation and environment. In each of these domains, efforts need to be made to tackle the existing lack of resources and efforts and to work towards the establishment of funds to support crucial areas like education and health.

Corporate responsibility calls for dedicated efforts to replenish the earth’s natural resources through agendas of forestation and saving the existing resources. In situations when the equilibrium of a site has been drastically affected due to natural disaster, corporates have taken it upon themselves to restore the balance through rehabilitation efforts and catering to the needs of the victims.

Education and healthcare continue to remain the long standing cornerstones of sustainable development. Programs that aim to educate children as well as educate and train mentors in the educational and vocational fields are fast becoming the wheels of change in many areas of India.

Supporting children from less-privileged backgrounds and also providing essential health care to those who cannot afford it have become some of the main programs that the corporates have taken up.

And it is indeed encouraging to see the corporate sector embrace their responsibility with such vigor and zest. Their acknowledgement of the problems and the drive to solve them has helped them become much more than monetary moguls- they have become an agent of change.

Amy Adison is a web enthusiast and a writer. Amy has afforded his articles and write-ups autonomously and through various online forums.

Get more information on: Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Economic Development