Good intentions towards corporate social responsibility

When the going gets tough, costly good intentions can go out the window. Company spending has been squeezed by the global recession and budgets for corporate social responsibility (CSR) have suffered disproportionately. A survey of UK businesses by KPMG and Business In The Community found a third of companies cut their corporate social responsibility budgets in 2009. Corporate philanthropy has also been hit, with a study by the Giving USA Foundation revealing that charitable donations by US companies fell by 8% in inflation-adjusted terms in 2008. (Read the article Good Intentions in the Wall Street Journal online.)