The text below is an excerpt from Arvind Devalia new book Personal Social Responsibility.

Your journey – the way forward

Clearly the business debate is no longer about whether a company should make a substantial commitment to CSR but just how? Companies really do have to get their CSR act together and actually start doing stuff.

The purpose of the powerful questions in this book is to help you get your own answers to this dilemma. You will be taken through a journey of self discovery of your own values, given an insight into the world of CSR and finally helped in creating an action plan for CSR in your company.

Start by firstly becoming aware of the concept of PSR. By coming from a place of being socially responsible for all your actions, you will immediately begin to think differently. And that will form a solid foundation for understanding and developing CSR in your company.

Those companies able to tackle issues such as poverty, climate change, dwindling natural resources and social injustice are those most likely to succeed in the future.

At the same time, it is really heartening to see all the positive change happening around the world today. People are waking up to their responsibilities and coming up with creative and innovative ways of tackling the issues we face today. Wherever you look, there are new projects and initiatives all around us, large and small.

For instance, Nobel laureate professor Muhammad Yunus is showing the world a way to get rid of poverty through his Grameen projects in Bangladesh and elsewhere. Then you have new initiatives such as Shivia offering micro financing to help people establish enterprises at grass root levels.

There are also a huge amount of resources now available which will help you keep up to date with the evolving world of CSR and come up with your own initiatives. A selection of key online resources are listed in Appendix 3, but this list is by no means exhaustive.

What new initiatives will you and your company launch?

What is your CSR vision?

My vision is that as individuals we always do the best for us and the people in our lives and at the same our businesses endeavour to do the best for the world at large.

You will reach your own PSR and CSR vision through the use of this book.

Remember that CSR is more than just merely recycling paper or giving out money to your chosen charity. It is all about taking a firm stand and making a commitment towards giving back to society and at the same time ensuring the long term viability and profitability of your business.

How to use this book

There are fifty two powerful questions in this book. These are designed to be followed ideally in sequence helping you to develop your understanding of PSR and CSR and ultimately create a plan of action.

You may take just a few hours or even a few days to completely work your way through these questions. As this book also acts as a journal you can come back to it and refresh your ideas as your own understanding and application of PSR and CSR grows.

So begin today on your journey through this exciting, challenging and fulfilling world of social responsibility and sustainability. Have a pen or pencil at hand and begin your journey right now.

Make your life and your actions count from today.

Make things happen.