How Corporate Social Responsibility Is Driving Sustainable Development—-Expert

By Tosin Clegg

As businesses across the globe continue to evolve beyond profit-making, management consulting professional and researcher Fuhad Ogunsanya has shed light on how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can serve as a bridge between profitability and sustainable development. With his extensive background in business management and consulting experience at KPMG Professional Services and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ogunsanya believes CSR is not just a corporate obligation but a strategic tool for advancing global development goals.

Corporate Social Responsibility, according to Ogunsanya, represents a company’s moral and economic duty to its stakeholders. He emphasizes that organizations now view CSR initiatives as crucial channels for contributing to environmental conservation, gender equality, education, and public health. These initiatives, he explains, reflect the interconnected dimensions of the Prism Model of sustainability, which integrates economic, social, environmental, and human aspects into one holistic framework.

Drawing from his research and consulting expertise, Ogunsanya highlights how companies such as Johnson & Johnson have integrated sustainability into their core operations. The multinational’s commitment to reducing environmental problems, enhancing product safety, and promoting health initiatives has strengthened the environmental pillar of sustainability while adhering to Freeman’s Stakeholder Theory, which emphasizes shared value creation.

Similarly, Coca-Cola’s 5by20 program, which seeks to economically empower five million women globally at the initial phase, exemplifies CSR’s potential to transform societies. Ogunsanya notes that this initiative aligns closely with the Triple Bottom Line theory of balancing people, planet, and profit while driving human capital development. The initiative, he adds, not only benefits communities but also enhances Coca-Cola’s long-term business stability.

LIXIL Corporation’s sanitation initiative also stands out in Ogunsanya’s analysis. By focusing on safe sanitation solutions, the company contributes to public health, environmental conservation, and economic empowerment. He believes that such efforts highlight how CSR can simultaneously serve social responsibility and business sustainability, offering a model for corporations across emerging markets.

In his recent academic pursuits, Ogunsanya connects these real-world examples with theoretical models such as Friedman’s Doctrine and Freeman’s Stakeholder Theory. He argues that when strategically implemented, CSR can harmonize profit motives with social impact, and thereby generating both short-term community benefits and long-term economic advantages for companies.

Currently pursuing an MSc in International Business at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, in the United Kingdom, Ogunsanya is a multiple award-winning scholar whose academic trajectory reflects both excellence and purpose. Having graduated as the Overall Best Graduating Student from Lagos State University (a First-Class Honours degree in Business Administration), he has consistently demonstrated a deep intellectual commitment to understanding how global business strategies can be localized to address sustainability challenges. His professional experience with KPMG and PwC further refined his analytical and consulting acumen. At PwC, he offered technical expertise and strategic advisory support to major clients such as the Kaduna State Government and FMDQ Holdings PLC, which contributed to enhanced financial governance and sustainable investment frameworks. These experiences, Ogunsanya asserts, reinforced his conviction that corporate governance and corporate social responsibility are inseparable pillars of long-term sustainable development and ethical global business practice.

Across his professional journey, Ogunsanya has combined academic excellence with practical impact. From advising government institutions on risk management to helping private organizations optimize compliance and efficiency, his work demonstrates how strong governance and ethical leadership can reinforce the goals of sustainable development. His multidisciplinary exposure gives him a global perspective on how CSR strategies can be customized to suit different cultural and economic realities.

Ogunsanya’s contributions to academia and international research also amplify his thought leadership. He envisions a future where African corporations align their strategies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), prioritizing inclusive growth, gender equality, and climate resilience. However, despite notable corporate successes, Ogunsanya stresses that there is still much work to be done. He calls on policymakers, corporations, and civil society to strengthen CSR alignment with sustainable development frameworks. For true progress, he emphasizes, businesses must move beyond philanthropy toward strategic investments that address systemic social and environmental challenges.