CSR Research

The Five Pillars Applied

A CSR company claims it built 200 borewells. The press release says so. The audit certificate confirms the spend. We ask the beneficiary: did it actually work?

28
CSR Programmes Audited
8
Tribal Districts
4
Open Reports
5
Pillars Tested

Research Methodology

We adopt the posture of the skeptical observer. The default stance is doubt, not deference.

Default Doubt Dissent-seeking

The Skeptical Observer

A CSR claim is treated as a hypothesis, not a fact. Every claim is interrogated: Who says so? Where is the evidence? Can a dissenting voice be heard?

Cross-pillar Systems Lens

Pillar Coherence

A CSR programme that addresses Health but undermines Livelihood is not legitimate. We test every programme against all five pillars of the FPF — Accountability, Execution, Initiative, Outcome, and Meaning.

Tribal Tenure Language Access

Tribal-belt CSR

Of the 28 programmes audited, 19 operated in tribal-majority districts. Tribal-belt CSR carries specific obligations — FPIC, language access, and respect for collective tenure — that we audit explicitly.

Betterment Audit

Compliance vs Betterment

Compliance (was the rule followed?) and betterment (did lives improve?) are not the same. A programme can be fully compliant and produce no betterment. We treat betterment as the higher bar.

BRSR Mapping

We map the SEBI-mandated Business Responsibility & Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework against the FPF to identify where BRSR asks the wrong questions.

Education
BRSR Coverage
Measured as spend or infrastructure, but not as outcome.
FPF Lens
Did learning outcomes improve? Was the school still open in year 3?
Health
BRSR Coverage
Adequate — covered under CSR indicators.
FPF Lens
Did morbidity fall? Did the PHC remain staffed after handover?
Environment
BRSR Coverage
Strong — covered under E indicators.
FPF Lens
Did river health improve? Was biodiversity actually restored?
Livelihood
BRSR Coverage
Weak — covered only as CSR spend.
FPF Lens
Did household income rise? Did migration fall? Did the job last?
Heritage (FPF Pillar)
BRSR Coverage
Absent — not in BRSR.
FPF Lens
Was indigenous knowledge protected? Were sacred sites respected?

CSR Audit FAQs

Why does Meer Foundation audit CSR programmes? +
Because the Legitimacy Gap is widest in CSR. The press release says a borewell was built; the audit confirms the spend. But did it work? Was it wanted? Nobody asks the beneficiary. We audit CSR because nobody else audits it from the beneficiary's side.
Do you name the companies you audit? +
It depends. If the company consented to a public audit, we name them. If it was an independent audit without cooperation, we anonymise the company but publish the findings.
What is the difference between compliance and betterment? +
Compliance asks: was the 2% net profit spent and audited? Betterment asks: did lives actually improve in the beneficiaries' own terms? A programme can be fully compliant and produce no betterment.
Can a CSR team commission a Meer Foundation audit? +
Yes, and we encourage it. It carries the same rigour as an independent audit, but the company must agree in advance to publish the findings, including adverse ones. Write to csr-research@meerfoundation.org to begin.

Are you ready to audit for betterment?

Commission an audit View publications