Shanxi released 50 private corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports at a meeting held on Nov 18. It was the second time that Shanxi arranged for local private businesses to release their social responsibility reports.

"The 50 reports epitomize how private businesses in Shanxi live up to their responsibilities and shows a new image of Shanxi’s merchants in the new era," said Yang Linsheng, Party secretary of the Shanxi Association of Industry and Commerce. 

The private corporate social responsibility reports meeting is held on Nov 18.[Photo/Xinhua]

"It's inspiring to see the fast growth in the number of private businesses issuing the CSR report, from 22 in 2013 to 50 now," said Liu Chuanjun, vice-president of Taiyuan University of Science and Technology's economics and management department.

"It shows that more companies are aware of the importance of their social responsibilities and communicating with interested parties and the public through the CSR report."

Representatives of private enterprises are on hand at the social responsibility reports meeting in Shanxi on Nov 18.[Photo/Xinhua]

Private business takes up a big part of Shanxi's economy. Whether they can live up to their responsibility greatly affects the stability of Shanxi's reform and development.

Analyses on these reports show that many private businesses have done something, although they didn't issue CSR reports before, according to the provincial industry and commerce association. On the contrary, many of them have kept a low profile and have carried out public welfare projects.

At the moment, more than 200 above-scale companies have participated in poverty alleviation development, including 180 private ones, according to statistics from the Shanxi Poverty Office.

Corporate social responsibility reports are released to attendees during the meeting. [Photo/Xinhua]

"However, some enterprises still think that their social responsibility merely lies in charity work," said Liu Chuanjun.

An increasing number of private businesses in Shanxi have expanded their responsibilities from charity to honest business practices, safe production, energy conservation and environmental protection, and harmonious labor relations, according to a survey.

"In addition to donations, CSR also covers employee benefits, national taxes, employment, quality and cheap products, resources and environmentally-friendly practice," said Guo Xingyin, chairman of Pingyao Coal Chemical Group Co.

Publicizing CSR achievements by private enterprises was the original purpose of the CSR meeting.

Yang Linsheng said that relevant parties should fully use newspapers, television and the Internet to comprehensively display CSR achievements by private enterprises in Shanxi and create a benign atmosphere for private businesses to fulfill their social responsibility.

Shanxi held a new Shanxi merchant and CSR symposium in 2013 and took the lead in openly releasing the private business CSR report nationwide. The action caught the attention of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Some relevant departments said that they would learn from the summary and apply it.

Liu Chuanjun said that modern Shanxi merchants have carried forward a traditional honesty and sense of responsibility from their ancestors. Liu suggested that the CSR report be used to publicize the responsible spirit of the local merchants and serve as a good way to inherit the Shanxi merchant spirit.

Edited by Liu Yufen and Michael Thai