Building an Inclusive Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria’s Real Estate: A Co-Founder’s Perspective
Social Responsibility (SR) may be defined as the processes involved in the balancing of economic growth and social responsibility. More precisely and in the context of a corporate environment, social responsibility describes the nexus between a business and being socially and environmentally responsible. It is the balance between corporate growth and profitability, and non-profitable social goals, most of which relate to the issues of sustainability (social welfare and equity, community development, environmental protection, etc).
In Nigeria (a country faced with various socio-economic and environmental challenges) where real estate is fast growing, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a budding, yet important topic, given that it has impressed the need for companies to respect their policy, regulations, code of conducts, and that of the location they are operating in, especially as they affect socio-economic and environmental well-being of those environments. It is noteworthy that despite the increased growth of CSR practices among real estate companies in Nigeria, the line between exercising it genuinely and exercising it to launder a company’s image has been blurred.
In fact, most companies are practising it voluntarily in a bid to maintain a positive public image whose endpoint is mostly business growth and profit, not social and environmental well-being. It is therefore important to emphasize the essence of Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria (and in its real estate sector), and its goal of promoting sustainability.
In this article, I attempted to shed light on this concept, and how real estate companies can build an inclusive corporate social responsibility (CSR) that can drive positive change for profit and for the development of their community of operations.
Simply put, the essence of CSR is to ensure a company’s commitment to the socio-economic and environmental well-being of its host community, which is without any ulterior motive (profit).
In Nigeria’s real estate, where all business endeavours have consequences on the environment, CSR should be more pronounced to foster an environment that facilitates economic growth and social development.
Below are the factors guiding CSR:
-Ethical Business Practices;
-Sustainable Development;
-Environmental Stewardship;
-Stakeholders Collaboration;
-Transparency and Accountability.
How then can real estate companies in Nigeria build an inclusive corporate social responsibility (CSR)?
By leveraging the factors above.
First is being ethical in their business endeavours. This involves the set of principles and processes that guide a company’s operations, its relationship with the government, and other businesses, and its relationship with its employees and customers. By doing this, a company lays a good foundation for the subsequent factors of CSR much needed to contribute positively to society. Furthermore, they must also be transparent and accountable in their operations. This is to encourage accessibility to stakeholders and ensure that they are held responsible in case of a mishap. Also, they must be sustainability-conscious, socially and environmentally.
Real estate companies in Nigeria can create inclusive corporate social responsibility (CSR), by empowering the people in the community of their operation. A good example of this is employing the locals of a community for a project they wish to embark on. This will consolidate their relationship with the locals and create an enabling environment. They can also do this by being cautious of the environmental peculiarities of their location of operation. This will enable them to balance construction innovation with preserving the environmental heritage of the allocation. Implementing the above, real estate companies in Nigeria can build a sector driven by trust, transparency, and endeavours conscious of socio-economic and environmental norms, for the development of the industry, and country the country at large.
