How do you get China suppliers to clean up their acts to prevent melamine or other toxic substances from finding their way into your products?

Plenty of expert advice centers on developing an iron-clad contract, where clauses about quality spell out what you want clearly, and other prose details litigation or arbitration if anything goes wrong. Some suggest grading suppliers’ performance to encourage overachieving, and being empathetic with suppliers under tight financial strains so as not to push them too far.

Meanwhile, it’s a little hard to ask WWJD – what would Jesus do?

But you could ask WWCPD - what would the communist party do?

The answer: demand corporate social responsibility. It’s a little off Marx’ beaten path, but hey, it’s good stuff.

CSR’s fluffy image is, therefore, getting a makeover in China. It’s no longer nice to be a nice company. In some cases, it’s becoming required – although how enforceable those requirements are remain to be seen.

So far, government efforts to promote CSR appear to be limited to bigger companies – ones that it can influence via their interests in, say, listing on stock exchanges. Trickle down CSR could be in effect though, whereby big companies socially responsible methods indirectly benefit the broader supply population. Big business needs suppliers, and suppliers likely will have to fulfill certain expectations to meet the big guys’ CSR needs.

According to China Business Review (CBR), the following groups have created guidelines “that emphasize the importance—and, in some cases, require the incorporation—of CSR standards and principles in Chinese businesses’ plans.”

• Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SSE). In 2006, the exchange created CSR guidelines for listed companies.

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