Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    ENTERPRISES from South Korea and Shenzhen shared experiences of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen, on Friday, allowing entrepreneurs from both countries to understand the significance of implementing CSR values.

    The meeting was co-sponsored by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency Shenzhen office and Futian District Government, aiming at promoting the importance of CSR and encouraging enterprises to fulfill their CSR duties.

    “We hope, through today’s gathering, to tell entrepreneurs from all industries that to implement CSR activities is as important as manufacturing or selling products and services,” said Park Eun-kyun, director of KOTRA Shenzhen.

    Park introduced the global CSR performance by illustrating the main strategies and showing outstanding examples of CSR activities in South Korea. “CSR activities help enhance a company’s brand and raise the market competitiveness,” said Park.

    According to a recent study on CSR in China, the country’s overall quality remains “relatively low,” while South Korea is in a leading position in the index, China Daily reported.

    “Most Chinese enterprises stay at the first stage of CSR implementation,” said Fang Tao, sectary general of Shenzhen Charity Federation. She suggested Chinese corporations take one more step from only focusing on philanthropic activities to generate a sustainable system of CSR in order to create a pattern.

    “It is important for enterprises to have a clear position of what their brands represent and find the right target beneficiaries, rather than only donating money. CSR activities can be creative and rewarding,” said Fang.

    Local enterprises also made presentations about their CSR activities. The director of public relations, Lu Meiru, introduced the Shangri-La’s philanthropic activity “Ride for Hope” — a cycling fundraiser aimed at building water storage facilities in rural areas.

    Holy Ranaivozanany, head of corporate social responsibility of the local telecommunication company, Huawei, explained their main CSR strategy is cultivating global IT talents and drawing international students to Shenzhen.

    “I think today’s conference is very meaningful, as it gave opportunity for local industries to think about how to implement CSR activities more effectively and catch up with the global trend,” said Ranaivozanany.