Many companies in China still have the misconception that CSR equals charity, said Tong Shumeng, assistant to the dean of Peking University's Market Economy Academy, drawing on the newly released China CSR Survey 2006. The survey summarizes results from 890 companies including multinational, private and State-owned firms. "They think CSR is for big foreign corporations, adds to costs and is not integrated with corporate culture and brand-building," Tong said.

"Many people think CSR is giving money away and saying 'we're doing a good thing, we feel good so we're a good company,'" Valentino agreed. "But CSR is really about creating an impact in society where you need it. It's an opportunity for learning how to create value for your business."

"We had only a vague idea about CSR, so our efforts stayed on charity activities. But now we have become more conscious about what we should do from the perspective of a responsible company," Ma said. This June, the SPDB became the first in China's banking industry to issue a CSR report, which thrust the bank into the spotlight. "We want to be under public supervision and be at the centre of their attention."

Taking action

Actions speak louder than words. This is also true for CSR.

"It (CSR) is not PR it's based on actions, on what you do, who you do it with and how you do it. It's the impacts you create and what you are contributing to the solution. This is also where innovation comes in," Valentino said.

Bayer issues annual CSR reports about its values, ethics and CSR projects. "Companies need to put words into actions. Even the smallest of projects can create an impact on the society, and every individual makes a difference," he said. Bayer launched its Tsinghua-Bayer Public Health and HIV/AIDS Media Studies Programme with Tsinghua University in November 2004. It also collaborates with UNAIDS, MercyCorps and the Special Olympics on various CSR projects. "Good partners can help us understand the problem and direct us in finding the right impacts. And the more people you work with, the greater the impact, the greater the results."

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