CSR for Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction? Critical Perspectives from the Anthropology of Development

An anthropologyanthropology of developmentdevelopment perspective on corporate socialsocial responsibility (CSR corporate social responsibility ) seeks to unveil unintended outcomes of CSR corporate social responsibility initiatives, to unpack its discoursesdiscourses and the assumptions that CSR corporate social responsibility is a driver of sustainablesustainable development sustainable development and poverty reduction. The central question underpinning analyses of CSR corporate social responsibility from this perspective is what the implications might be of the private sectorprivate sector as an agent of development. The shift in the perceived role of business as only a profitprofit -driven tool of development to that of development agent is vividly illustrated by the United NationsUnited Nations Sustainable Development Goalssustainable development goals (SDGs sustainable development goals ). The SDGs sustainable development goals emphasise that governments and multilateral development agencies cannot achieve the 2030 development agenda alone and that the private sector has the capitalcapital , resources and powerpower to take on a central role in poverty reduction. This chapter presents the anthropology of development concerns with how the CSR corporate social responsibility apparatus utilises a sustainable development discourse to support the development encounter between corporations of the global North working in communities community of the global South. From this anthropology of development perspective several concerns are brought to the forefront of CSR corporate social responsibility debates: the contested nature of both CSR corporate social responsibility and sustainable development; the taken-for-granted assumptions that the private sector and poverty reduction are compatible; and the unintended consequencesunintended consequences of CSR corporate social responsibility activities despite well-meaning intentions.