CSR and Sri Lanka

The study is based on an analysis of the contribution of CSR practices towards community development of the society in Sri Lanka. Thus the problem statement of the study is; what are the CSR practices implemented by companies and how they contribute towards community development of the society in Sri Lanka?

Several objectives were developed as to find out the types of CSR initiatives undertook by the companies in Sri Lanka during the period of 2004-2008, the level of effectiveness, measures taken to assess the progress and contribution towards community development and to recommend effective CSR practices for community development of the society in Sri Lanka. Consequently, the listed companies in the CSE were used as the sampling frame and a sample was derived by using simple random sampling technique in order to address the objectives of the study. 

The study is conducted by analyzing the secondary data from annual reports, newspaper articles, magazine articles, company websites and government publications along with primary data gathered through interviews. Identifying the types of CSR activities which support the community development and assessing the effectiveness of those initiatives in terms of received benefits by the community of Sri Lanka are done in the study. Consequently, the types of measures taken by each company as to assess the progress and contribution towards the intended beneficiaries are identified and effective recommendations are given for the corporate sector of Sri Lanka as to fill the existing gap in CSR in local context. A checklist on community related CSR initiatives is presented as the deliverability of the study. Accordingly, the study leads the corporate sector of Sri Lanka to implement effective and strategic CSR as to achieve community development in the long run.