Professor Michael Hopkins, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., CEO and Chairman of MHC International Ltd., presents:

Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development - Is Business the Solution?

The business of business is business. So why should corporations be involved in development? Michael Hopkins makes the case that governments and their international agencies, grouped under the umbrella of the United Nations, have failed in their attempts to rid the planet of underdevelopment and poverty. If development is the objective then it seems that the solution and the responsibility lies with the private sector – particularly through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs of large corporations, with their tremendous power and economic strength.

Explicitly linking CSR with development, Michael Hopkins spells out what corporations are doing on development, what more they could do and how CSR can be a useful tool to promote economic development via corporations. This is an important and challenging message for all of those in government, business and NGOs who think that there must be a better, more effective and dynamic way to kick-start development and eradicate poverty.

Michael Hopkins will discuss questions like “Can CSR Pave the Way for Development?” and develop why companies should concentrate on CSR. Other topics of the presentations will be a critique of CSR and development, limitations of international agencies, and socially responsible investment in developing countries.

Professor Michael Hopkins, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., is CEO and Chairman of MHC International Ltd. (London & Geneva). MHC is a research and service company that specializes in social development issues for the public and private sector alike, working in two main areas: Labor markets and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), with numerous international organizations, NGOs, and multinational companies.

Michael has also worked on human resources and labor market issues in over 100 countries around the world.

Michael is part-time Professor of Corporate Responsibility and Business Performance (CRBP) at Middlesex University Business School and Visiting Professor at Brunel and Geneva Universities. Michael holds First and Masters degrees in Mathematics and Statistics and a Doctoral Degree in Labor Economics from the University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Amongst others, Michael has worked as Senior Economist for eleven years with the ILO in Geneva where he helped developed the research program on social development. He continues to serve as adviser to World Bank, UNDP, UNRISD and ILO on CSR. He has published widely on social development issues, based upon both theoretical and empirical research in all the main continents, and this has led to nine books and around 120 published articles.

His most recent book is Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development: Is Business the Solution (Earthscan, London, 2006; Stylus, New York, 2007).

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