ORPORATE social responsibility in Bangladesh today is a multifaceted and uneven phenomenon. It is well-established and highly institutionalised in certain prominent sectors, particularly the export-oriented ready-made garments and formal financial sectors, while remaining nascent or largely symbolic in many local and informal industries. Additionally, CSR is increasingly shaped by external regulatory and buyer-driven mechanisms.
Three key features define the current state of CSR: strong institutional drivers that encourage compliance in globally connected industries, increasing formalisation of sustainability practices in finance and publicly listed companies and persistent gaps in labour conditions, supply-chain transparency, and outcome-focused reporting. These can be further explained as follows.
First, CSR adoption largely depends on external scrutiny and value chain pressure. Since the Rana Plaza tragedy in 2013 and the ensuing international response, workplace safety, building integrity and basic social protections have become central to institutional reform and multi-stakeholder initiatives. Legally binding and voluntary mechanisms, most notably the Accord and its successors, have established inspection, remediation, and safety-committee standards that factories and brands must follow, leading to tangible improvements in many export factories. The International accord鈥檚 ongoing monitoring demonstrates how buyer and civil society pressure can create lasting compliance systems in a country where domestic enforcement has generally been inconsistent.
Second, the financial sector and listed companies are internalising sustainability through regulatory incentives and policy tools. Bangladesh Bank鈥檚 green banking and sustainable finance policies now require banks and financial institutions to integrate environmental and social risk management, publish sustainability reports in approved formats and adopt green financing mechanisms such as green bonds and guidance from the Green Transformation Fund. These policies create both coercive and supportive pressures by embedding sustainability into licensing and listing processes while providing financing options and screening tools that reduce information gaps for lenders and investors. As a result, leading banks and major listed companies are increasingly producing formal sustainability reports and adopting climate-related risk assessment practices.
Third, CSR in practice is often motivated by compliance and checklists. When expectations are set by external auditors, buyer codes, stock exchange regulations, or banking circulars, companies tend to adhere to documented standards. This includes establishing fire and building safety committees, effluent treatment facilities, and anti-harassment policies, and generating reports aligned with internationally recognised templates, such as the Global Reporting Initiative formats.
Fourth, notable sectoral asymmetries persist. The RMG sector illustrates concentrated CSR improvements: leading exporters and factories serving global brands have established safety systems, certifications, and green factory programmes. However, large parts of the supply chain 鈥� subcontractors, small suppliers and informal facilities 鈥� remain weakly connected to these compliance networks, resulting in ongoing issues such as wage stagnation, excessive overtime and limited union representation. Investigative reports indicate that improvements in certified factories often coexist with labour abuses in less visible segments of the supply chain. Strikes and protests over wages and conditions continue, sometimes accompanied by violence and production halts, revealing structural challenges.
Fifth, philanthropy remains a visible and deeply rooted aspect of CSR. Many Bangladeshi companies, especially family-owned conglomerates and SMEs, direct CSR efforts towards community projects, scholarships, disaster relief and healthcare clinics. These philanthropic activities primarily aim to enhance reputation, community relations and corporate image rather than create systemic social change. Consequently, CSR in Bangladesh often appears as a combination of compliance-driven and tradition-based initiatives: the former responds to external market and regulatory pressures, while the latter reflects local cultural norms and governance gaps.
Sixth, financing, regulation and market incentives are becoming increasingly important in expanding CSR鈥檚 reach. Bangladesh Bank鈥檚 sustainability guidelines, green bond frameworks, and the development of sustainability ratings for banks illustrate how policy can move beyond voluntary philanthropy towards risk- and performance-based approaches.
The primary challenges for CSR are threefold: inconsistent enforcement and limited regulatory capacity that allow weaker actors to evade scrutiny; insufficient worker representation and collective bargaining, restricting labour鈥檚 influence on company practices; and inadequate impact measurement and assurance mechanisms, making it difficult to distinguish meaningful CSR from symbolic compliance. Addressing these gaps requires coordinated policies across labour, environment, and financial regulators, building SME capacity and creating incentive structures that link finance and market access to verified social and environmental performance.
CSR in Bangladesh is evolving. Pressure from international buyers and national regulators has driven notable compliance improvements in key sectors like RMG and banking, while many domestic companies continue to prioritise philanthropic activities. The next phase must translate compliance and disclosure into measurable, lasting outcomes by strengthening enforcement, amplifying worker voices, enhancing sustainable finance incentives and professionalising assurance. If successful, CSR can shift from a patchwork of compliance and charity to a unified engine of social and environmental resilience, promoting inclusive growth.
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Dr Nasim Ahmed holds a PhD in public policy from Ulster University in the UK. He is currently working as associate professor of Public Policy at the Bangladesh Institute of Governance and Management.
