The notion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in management refers to how businesses incorporate social and environmental issues into their daily business operations and their relationships with various stakeholders. Based on Velte. (2021) analysis, CSR is usually regarded as how a corporation strikes a balance between its operations’ economic, environmental, and social imperatives. In this way, they meet the requirements of its shareholders and other stakeholders. Nevertheless, some firms, such as Syngenta, have a variety of goals. For instance, the organization’s maximum profit-making ideas have been detrimental to the ecology (Mann, 2018). As a result, they have led to ecological degradation, which they have failed to be accountable for. Therefore, CSR initiatives are fundamentals that each company should adhere to regardless of their objective, thus ensuring effective environmental preservation and failure to which such organizations should be held responsible for the unprecedented damages.
Syngenta, a renowned manufacturer of chemical pesticides and genetically engineered seeds, has frequently been the target of scrutiny from civil society outrage and media criticism for behaving uncouthly. According to (Clapp, 2019), their excess revenue returns ideology has geared them to be unconscious of environmental concerns. Consequently, they have failed to check that excess chemical release has since been hazardous to the environment (Redick, 2021). For example, the products Actara and Cruiser manufactured by Syngenta comprise the chemical component thiamethoxam, a neonicotinoid, and is regarded as one of the most dangerous insecticides for bees. Syngenta, the world’s largest supplier of pesticides, has a yearly turnover of $28.2 billion as of 2021, and neonicotinoids account for around 10 percent of overall sales (Syngenta, 2021). Since bees are essential to mankind’s continued existence, it is vital for them be protected at all costs. At least one-third of the world’s food supply depends on bees and other insects’ pollination services (Lee & Jung, 2019). In addition to parasites, illnesses, climate change, and a reduction in natural habitats as a result of industrial farming methods, the usage of pesticides is a contributing factor in the catastrophic decrease of bee colonies around the globe.
To combat the unethical operations, the Syngenta Group Ethics Board should be rigorous in its oversight of rules and regulations. Furthermore, they should deploy a conformity structure that decides on instances of substantial disobedience and monitors non-compliance risk areas. Certainly, the safety dashboard should be produced twice yearly, giving executives a summary of Syngenta’s due diligence. Nonetheless, they must assemble a professional head of group compliance and a team of regional external auditors to build, administer, and oversee the structure and tools of corporate ethics. Collectively, they should guarantee a comprehensive examination of Syngenta’s adherence. The officers will collaborate directly with law advisers and executives throughout the globe to ensure that the Code of Conduct and other rules and standards are consistently implemented.
In recent years, the global agriculture industry has been subjected to difficulties and uncertainties on a scale never before seen. This is because energy prices have remained at historically high levels, raw materials and transitional costs have skyrocketed, and the cost of shipments and transportation continues to soar. Additionally, Petetin (2020) insinuates that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing radical modifications. These elements have together had significant ramifications on the growth of the agricultural business, especially the supply chain of the food industry. The circumstance has further posed a danger to food security globally, which has caused many people to be concerned about the future of mankind. Under such background, as a worldwide leader in agricultural technology, Syngenta Group demonstrated to be a remedy to confront the food security problem. As a consequence, they have enhanced technology and goods, specifically unearthing the genetically engineered crops that have shortened maturity to be a short-term fix for the food crisis (Muzhinji & Ntuli, 2021). Unfortunately, they have bad adversities, for they contain aflatoxins that poison people and the ecosystem. Hence, this has compromised their situation rendering them to behave unexpectedly.
As a component of the universal food growth strategy, agricultural industries worldwide have pledged to accelerate development for farmers and the environment. They have set to enhance crops’ cultivation and protection and collaborate with partners to discover answers to interrelated environmental, social, and economic problems to solve the food crisis. Additionally, it is essential for the agricultural sector to establish sustainability investment criteria, for instance, using fewer pesticides or less water, avert clearing land for agriculture, and decreasing the firm’s carbon emissions. In addition, the department should partner with nature-conscious firms such as The Nature Conservancy (TNC). As a result, they bring environmental science and preservation expert knowledge to scale up sustainable farming techniques. Lastly, deploy durable solutions on a large scale in several developing nations and engage in innovative dialogues with a variety of external stakeholders to solve sustainability trade-offs and difficulties associated with new technology. Thence, it reduces the pressure imposed on organizations such as Syngenta in solving the food crisis; in this way, they conform with the CSR ideologies.
Notably, Syngenta’s high-on-demand products have increased work pressure on employees as it is an abusive workplace. In particular, the amount of work expected of an employee far exceeds their prowess when working a standard 40-hour work week (Nathan, 2021). It is unreasonable to ask environmental engineering to take on additional responsibilities for two different plant locations. The necessity of ongoing education contributes to an increase in stress caused by the use of third-party contractors (Grant, 2017). As a result of the way the system is designed, which prioritizes profit above all else, its employees quickly become disillusioned and quit their jobs; therefore, they are inconsiderate of the CSR initiatives.
Thenceforth, it is vital to encourage workers to report any adherence problem to their direct supervisor, legal, compliance, or human resources departments or on an anonymous basis via the Syngenta compliance helpline. The hotline is to be maintained by an independent third party and be accessible online and via phone throughout and in various languages. Furthermore, it should be utilized by anybody external to Syngenta’s business, such as its suppliers and contractors. The company should take every issue seriously and examine each one in accordance with the rules to decide what additional action is necessary. Additionally, they should not accept retribution against an employee who has reported a potential compliance breach in good faith, nor does the business condone any purposely harsh claims.
Ultimately, Syngenta is a critical organization in agriculture and its products. Nevertheless, their hellbent nature towards maximum profit making, undying demand for their goods from consumers, and the global food crisis have derailed the organization’s moral standards. As a result, the firm has misused the CSR initiatives. For example, they failed to verify if the excessive chemical emission in the Actara and Cruiser products is hazardous to the bees. Moreover, due to the resurgence of the global pandemic of COVID-19, the food crises have risen staggeringly. The high demand for goods has contributed to employees surrendering their jobs. Therefore, it is prudent to adhere to policies that will ensure the CSR programs are upheld, for instance, diversifying the food question to ease pressure from Syngenta and disgruntled employees to raise their concerns to relevant authorities. Finally, Syngenta should oblige to the code and conduct that ensures compliance while conducting practices.
References
Clapp, J. (2019). The rise of financial investment and common ownership in global agrifood firms. Review of International Political Economy, 26(4), 604-629.
Grant, A. M. (2017). Solution-focused cognitive–behavioral coaching for sustainable high performance and circumventing stress, fatigue, and burnout.Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 69(2), 98.
Lee, C., & Jung, C. (2019). Flower habitat supplementation can conserve pollinators and natural enemies in agricultural ecosystem: Case study in the pepper field. Journal of Apiculture, 34(2), 141-147.
Mann, L. (2018). Left to other peoples’ devices? A political economy perspective on the big data revolution in development.Development and Change, 49(1), 3–36.
Muzhinji, N., & Ntuli, V. (2021). Genetically modified organisms and food security in Southern Africa: Conundrum and discourse.GM Crops & Food, 12(1), 25-35.
Nathan, D. (2021). From monopoly to monopsony capitalism.The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 64(4), 843-866.
Petetin, L. (2020). The COVID-19 Crisis: An opportunity to integrate food democracy into post-pandemic food systems. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 11(2), 326–336.
Redick, T. P. (2021). Liability for market disruption: Challenges facing genetic editing in agriculture.In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology – Plant, 57(4), 645–652.
Syngenta Group reports 2021 performance, growing 23%, with $28.2 billion in sales. (2021). Syngenta.
Velte, P. (2021). Meta-analyses on corporate social responsibility (CSR): A literature review. Management Review Quarterly, 1-49.