This was shared during a session on "Agents of change in social responsibility and philantrophy", which touched on how the economic crisis was affecting social landscapes.

Panelist, Halogen Foundation Chairperson, Melissa Kwee, was reported to have said, "We saw social venture capitalists investing in social projects. This financial crisis (had certainly) made us reflect on the fundamentals,"

Weber Shandwick chairman, Jack Leslie, was of the same view. He said companies found that consumers wanted businesses to fulfill specific social needs. He was quoted as saying, "A lot of companies found that they can get more profit and increase customers loyalty when they fulfill their specific social needs." Leslie, a veteran communications strategist, was of the opinion that European companies were more ahead compared with their US counterparts in terms of corporate social responsibility.

"They first started as part of compliance, then they moved to the level of philanthrophy and social works until creating ethical products. At the end, the whole enterprises model was created according to social needs," he added.

Leslie said most of these ethical companies were started by small entrepreneurs, which were later bought by larger companies.

When asked on the skepticism about CSR as just a clever marketing strategy, another panelist, Albert Place Holdings Ltd's chairman, Timothy Beardson, said there was a need for companies to undertake CSR activities and that more must be done during the economic crisis and the companies must ensure that their social projects are sustainable.

Arghyam Foundation chairperson, Rohini Nilekani, was reported to have said, "Don't give a person a fish, but teach him to fish. I think large foundations which have scaled back during this downturn are gearing up to start giving again." Nilekani, oversees a charitable trust endowed with USD35 million to fund initiatives in water and sanitation.