The research, titled: “A new model for CSR”, studied more than 400 firms in five nations namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa with an overview of CSR in West Africa provided by the Centre for CSR.

Led by Prof. Peter Williamson of the University, the study revealed that successful corporate social responsibility activity was based on the context on where it was delivered and not just where a business operated and that the activity must adapt to the market where they operated. 

Additionally, the research revealed that for some companies trading only in their home market, social responsibility appeared not to be a priority, but it became a necessity when they started to trade in any foreign country including the developed and developing ones.

It also showed that there were different expectations for CSR interventions in different parts of the world, adding, the disparity between the nature of CSR interventions expected in the developing world and Europe or America was quite significant.

The Lead Project Manager for the CSR West Africa, Mr. John Kojo Williams noted that: “A number of indigenous African organisations are following CSR examples of Western multinationals that operate in the same market.

“However, there is still skepticism that some multinationals are in danger of applying a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to CSR to their operations in developing economies.”  Mr. Williams said though there were still a number of militating misconceptions about CSR in Ghana and West Africa, many business players in the sub-region were gradually embracing the concept and its sustainability dimension.

“Specific expectations from beneficiaries of CSR interventions also influence the type of CSR activity companies implement. Sometimes companies, especially multinationals, are torn between implementing sustainable interventions that meet international best practices or responds directly to need-specific requests from stakeholders.”

The Centre for CSR, West Africa continues to contribute significantly to the discourse of Sustainability and CSR while ensuring companies develop pragmatic and sustainable interventions for all their stakeholders and the environment.

In September last year, the Centre, in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Industries, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and other strategic partners, successfully organised the 6th Ghana CSR Excellence Awards (GHACEA).

The MTN, Kosmos, Unilever, Guinness, Tigo, Vodafone, Airtel, Samba Foods, Odebrecht Ghana, the Databank, Coconut Grove Hotel were some of the award winners.