A Comparison of CSR Disclosure Guidelines and a Self-Prepared CSR Disclosure Index- A Study of Select Automotive Companies

In India, corporate social responsibility and its disclosure got attention during the eighties and have been gaining importance with time in present economic environment, especially after adoption of liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation (LPG) (Goswami, 2011). Guidelines, principles, and codes are being developed by various regulatory bodies in India and across the globe to increase transparency and accountability about both a company's daily operations and the impact of these operations on society (Tran, 2014)

In this paper, the author has studied the CSR guidelines laid down by Global Reporting Initiative G3.1 (GRI-G-3) and The National Voluntary Guidelines by Ministry of Corporate Affairs (NVG-MCA) and has compared them with a self-composed CSR Disclosure Index (CSRDI). The social responsibility initiatives taken by select Indian Automotive Companies have been analysed and the companies have been rated as per the disclosures made by them.

The main focus of the research is to compare the CSR Rankings of companies as per CSRDI with the companies' rankings as per GRI-G-3 and NVG-MCA. It was observed that out of 30 sensex companies, Maruti Suzuki and TATA Motors have been the pioneers in contribution towards CSR initiatives. The top five rated companies were TATA Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Mahindra, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto, and Apollo Tyres.