Assignment 2: In-depth Analysis of Intel's CSR Practices

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of Intel Corporation's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices. It begins with an introduction to the significance of CSR in modern business and highlights Intel as a successful example of a multinational corporation implementing CSR measures. The essay critically evaluates Intel's CSR initiatives, focusing on its environmental, social, and governance strategies. It utilizes the three-domain approach of Schwartz and Caroll and stakeholder theory by Edward Freeman to assess Intel's approach to CSR. The analysis covers Intel's environmental efforts, including greenhouse gas reduction and renewable energy usage, as well as its social initiatives, such as employee welfare and human rights principles. Furthermore, the essay evaluates Intel's governance practices, emphasizing transparency and accountability. The essay concludes with a discussion of the company's CSR performance and offers recommendations for improvement, particularly regarding diversity and inclusion within the workforce.

ASSIGNMENT 2 – INDIVIDUAL ESSAY
COMPANY ANALYSIS
STUDENT NAME: DANG NGUYEN QUYNH GIANG
STUDENT ID: S3836465
LECTURER: HOA HUYNH
WORD COUNT: 2426

I. INTRODUCTION
Sustainability reports play a crucial role and have become an increasingly common method
among large businesses. The traditional way of operating a business in term of survival and
making profits no longer exist. The key parts of CSR practices are worker welfare,
environmental protection, and community improvement. By improving brand value, decreasing
costs, minimizing risks, and finding new market opportunities, CSR reporting helps to build
values for businesses and their stockholders (Intel, n.d). The purpose of this essay is to evaluate
and understand deeply how multinational corporations apply CSR measures. The chosen
business in this essay is Intel Corporation as it is a good model of large international business
that practices CSR activities successfully. Schwartz and Caroll’s three-domain method and
stakeholder theory by Edward Freeman are incorporated to identify the CSR approach.
Additionally, after evaluating it, some recommendations are discussed that Intel should be
improved.
II. CRITICAL EVALUATION OF CSR
No company can deny the significant role of Corporate Social Sustainability (CSR) in the
modern business world. The number of firms that prepared CSR reports has increased
dramatically in the two previous decades, leading to the overload of information that could
obfuscate the stakeholders’ attentions towards negative reports (Fifka, 2013). The period of 3
years witnessed a sharp increase of the CSR reports from S&P 500 companies, about 11% from
2011 to 70% in 2013 (Wang, Hsieh & Sarkis, 2017). However, no commonly accepted approach
in measuring sustainability is applied over the world (Venturelli et al, 2016). Thus, there are
many approaches to define CSR in an international business nowadays such as ethical theories,

instrumental theories, or the GRI framework. The three-domain method of Caroll & Schwart
(2003) and stakeholder theory will be used to evaluate and analyze the firm’s CSR initiatives.
III. COMPANY OVERVIEW
Intel, an American manufacturer, was founded on 18 July 1968 in Mountain View, California by
Robert Noyce, and Gordon Moore (Intel, n.d). It is the world-famous manufacturer of advanced
digital technology platforms such as microprocessors, graphics chips found in notebooks,
laptops, desktops, and mobiles that are made by Dell, HP, and Lenovo (Fortune, n.d). The
headquarter is in Santa Clara, California, and operates with employees located in 46 countries
(Intel, n.d). There are 5 main operating sectors of Intel including Data Center Group, Internet of
Things, Mobileye, Non-volatile Memory Solutions Group, and Programmable Solutions Group.
According to Forbes (2020), Intel was ranked no.12 on the list of the ‘World’s Most valuable
brands’ among 100 global countries across a wide range of industries, growing to $39.5 billion in
brand value. It is one of the most profitable business enterprises in the world. As the world's
largest processor company, it reported $20.8 billion and gained revenue of $77.9 billion in 2020
(Intel, 2021). It has been recognized as a leader in the field of corporate responsibility by
receiving over 80 awards and recognitions (Intel, 2008).
IV. ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION
A. ANALYSIS CSR PRACTICES
According to Dillard and Layzell (2014), Intel’s first published its CSR report called The Global
Citizenship Report in 2002 and began using the title ‘Corporate Responsibility Report’ in 2005.
It believes that CSR is implanted in the way of doing business throughout the corporation and

runs deep in its culture. It maintains that doing CSR is not an additional method of operating
business or a marketing scheme but is instead a crucial requisite component of business and
establishing CSR in all aspects of the company (Intel, 2020). All the reports always concentrate
on CSR strategies based on three areas: environmental initiatives, social initiatives, and
governance information.
In terms of environmental initiatives, Intel (2020) states that aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG)
reduction goals have been applied for over 2 decades to control air emissions, leading to its
operational carbon footprint has reduced by approximately 28%, even when it extended its
worldwide operations significantly since 2000. Moreover, by trying to collaborate with other
manufacturers and develop more innovative methods such as allowing intelligence in machines,
and supply chains, Intel focuses on reducing the emissions related to its operational activities.
Besides the efforts of decreasing the climate risks, it also invests in purchasing green power from
utility suppliers and green attributes including wind, solar, low-impact hydroelectric, and
geothermal which help it meet the requirements of one program that Intel is one of the top
purchasers, the US EPA’s Green Power Partnership (GPP) program. In 2020, it has achieved
82% renewable energy used across its global operations and continues to implement several
projects to maintain the goal of using 100% renewable energy globally. In 2021, Intel plans to
preserve 7.5 billion gallons of water internally, which is higher than the 7.1 billion gallons of
water conserved in 2020, as well as invest in restoring several projects to manage the usage of
water (Worford, 2021).

In the field of social activities, Intel always put their employees’ wellness at the top of their
priority, Intel’s Global Human Right Principles which was first established in 2009 shows the
management of human rights across their business. It is one of the first largest corporations that
quickly allows workers to work from home, manifesting firm determination to ensure its
employees’ safety (Forbes, 2020). Apart from the endeavor of managing climate risks, Intel also
stated that its artificial intelligence (AI) development creates both economic and social benefits
that can enrich the lives of citizens without the ethical concerns of human rights.
In the governance aspect, Intel has tried to boost its transparency and improve trust by launching
cross-functional Management Review Committees (MRCs) to monitor corporate responsibility
and sustainable activities throughout its business. It acts as an adviser to develop decisions and
targets that associate with CSR, the publishment of the 2030 RISE strategy, and goals, for
instance. In addition, Intel has established teams in many of its business groups that solve
corporate responsibility issues.
B. EVALUATION CSR PRACTICES
1. Three-domain approach
After developing the model, the initial 4 types of CSR framework of Caroll is changed to the
three-domain approach which is determined by three main categories: economic, legal, and
ethical, implying that the philanthropic element is no longer included (Caroll & Schwartz, 2003).
In terms of economic responsibility, activities that are directly or indirectly positive to the
revenue are the foremost category of CSR as the corporation must gain profit to survive
(Masoud, 2017). The second category is a legal responsibility which is the legal expectation of

the society for firms, indicating that a business must follow the rules of the state, or local
authorities (Lambooy, 2014). Finally, the ethical concerns which lie between undoubtedly
mandatory domains (legal and economic) and desirable voluntary expect firms to act beyond the
legal obligations (Windsor, 2006).
Economic responsibility
Gaining profits and maximizing revenue are the basics of Caroll’s framework in the earliest
stage. Intel is providing several free training classes for unskilled employees to help them have a
better chance of increasing income as well as improving their loyalty to Intel in the period of the
pandemic, which completely benefits its productivity. Besides, creating benefits for employees
and managers such as targeting employee compensation, caring about employees’ morale, and
training all skills for workers are contributed to the quality of the workplace and increase the
productivity of the company (Intel, 2020). Moreover, their CSR activities are also associated
with economic concerns by using the financial fund to support the communities. These activities
are useful for Intel as initiatives methods to increase the trust of consumers as well as their brand
image, leading to the maximization of the company’s profits.
Legal responsibility
It is believed that employees and consumer stakeholders are the main elements that cause the
threat of litigation for businesses in terms of legal concerns (Caroll, 2016). Thus, Intel seems to
be serious about the CSR initiatives in this category. Intel claims that legal concerns are
associated with their CSR practices and significantly contribute to the responsibilities towards
customers. By not collaborating and maintaining a business relationship with suppliers that
violate regional rules related to product standards or environmental protections, Intel makes
efforts to ensure the products obey the laws and regulations required. It mentions that various

environmental laws and requirements are applied to meet the standards of legal products and
services. According to Cheng & Ahmad (2010), Intel has had relationships and worked and local
authorities when it comes to employees’ safety and environmental compliance. Hence, being
legal is considered crucial for Intel to succeed in its business.
Ethical responsibility
Intel has consciously committed that its workers are encouraged to dedicate not only their money
but also the time in the societies where they live and work to support and help the disadvantaged.
A Matching Grant program, which will pay $10 every hour for an approved organization where
its employees volunteer, reached over 164000 hours volunteered by its employees in 2020,
implying the highest number recorded for 13 years (Business in the Community Ireland, 2020).
According to Spencer (2020), $4 million are donated as relief efforts to help communities
confront the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrating their commitment to social issues. Moreover,
the ethical responsibility of Intel is an area where it concentrates on health and product safety for
customers as well as reducing their negative effect on nature (Intel, n.d).
2. Stakeholder theory
Stakeholder theory, which focuses on various groups that a business has responsibilities, was
established by Edward Freeman in the 1980s (Freeman, 1984). According to Freeman,
Dmytriyev & Strand (2017), its primary stakeholders are employees and managers, customers,
local community, suppliers, and business partners while secondary stakeholders are governments
and social pressure groups. It is considered that primary stakeholders have larger impacts and are
more significantly influenced by a corporation’s practices and policies than the other group
(Matuleviciene & Stravinski, 2015).

In terms of employees, Intel offers a wide range of benefits to create the best and comfortable
workplace for its employees. For instance, numerous facilities and services are available such as
providing a large number of food perks and providing monthly base pay to workers and bonus
projects including ‘Factory Excellent Bonus’ which gives work overtime allowance (Yik, 2019).
Muslim prayer rooms and mother’s rooms also are provided for employees in Intel’s office.
Fitness centers, sports facilities, and other services related to medical insurance are implemented
to show the concerns of employees’ health. Besides, it claims that having programs for skill and
lifelong which support their continued careers until retirement. According to Intel (2020), it
started developing the training course of new, holistic human rights to help employees
understand more and take advantage of its human rights strategy. However, the efforts of
reducing racism seem to be weak since the huge difference between the number of white
employees and black employees. According to Northstar Asset management (n.d), the percentage
of white employees is much higher than that of black and Latinx groups (Appendix 1). The
difference between these groups is even higher when it comes to executive-level employment
(Appendix 2).
In terms of consumers, according to Intel's sustainability report (2020), it will stop the
connection with its business partners if the products that are sold to them are being used to
violate human rights. In keeping with the demand and standards of customers to increase the
profits, Intel decided to revise its production approach by reducing energy and quantity of heat in
their manufacturing process (Cohen, 2007). Sale Assist, which is the new development of the
analytics program of Intel, uses artificial intelligence to analyze interesting insights into
customers’ needs (Piore, 2020). This AI development does not only meet the commercial
potential but also its commitment to global health and public safety.

In terms of suppliers, increasing the collaborations with suppliers who are women, ethnic
groups, the disabled, veteran-owned firms, and LGBT+ is the new approach that helps it diverse
suppliers and fosters innovation (Intel, 2020). In 2020, Intel spent around $1.2 billion on
connecting with these suppliers, improving their income and life standards. Besides helping these
disadvantaged groups, Intel also works with its suppliers to ensure that its supply chains are
responsible and flow human rights. As Supply Chain Movement (2018), after consolidating with
all suppliers about the violations of human rights in its supply chain, the percentage of supplier
violations associated with forced labor fell by 60% in 2017, proving its responsibility was paying
off.
When it comes to governments and social pressure groups (NGOs), Intel believes that
working together with local authorities, and non-profit organizations which are external
stakeholders allows it to develop CSR initiatives and projects, leading to the enrichment of
citizens’ lifestyles and solving their social concerns. For instance, Intel that operates in Malaysia
has partnered with the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) to address
industrial issues such as infrastructure policies, climate laws, and foreign workers policies
(Cheng &Ahmad, 2010). Moreover, in Mexico, Intel has collaborated with Center New Mexico
(CNM) Community College to create a program that allows Mexican citizens to educate for
high-demanded careers (Edgerly, 2021).
Recommendations
Although Intel has made efforts to create a better workplace, as the discriminations between
employees are analyzed in the CSR practices for employees, it still has a large differentiation
among workers. Thus, Intel should focus more on activities that reduce the difference and create

more chances for Black and Latinx people to be employed as well as gain promotion, leading to
the diversity of employees and creating a justice workable competition.
Although Intel has done various sustainable purchasing activities, it seems not to be enough
when it comes to controlling the energy used. By working with its suppliers to green certificates
and partnering with more local suppliers, Intel could strengthen its sustainable purchasing,
leading to being the main method to save the cost as well as environmental sources.
Lastly, accountability seems to be not stated in the sustainability report of Intel. Thus, it should
be added to show the stakeholders that if any department or individual violates the CSR policy,
then necessary actions should be taken.
V. CONCLUSION
After evaluating Intel’s CSR approach, it is proved that it has a clear and transparent social
responsibility report. CSR is not only cared with the requirement of stakeholders beyond the
economic goal but also reaching the obligations of other certain stakeholders such as ethical and
legal concerns. Intel is trying to improve its balance between these responsibilities, however, the
discriminations between employees, transparent accountability, and method of green purchasing
are the lack of its CSR practices. Some recommendations such as more solutions for
discrimination, better accountability and get sustainable purchasing to be the main method are
listed that Intel could have a better CSR approach.

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APPENDIX

Appendix 1: Percentage of entry employee employment by ethnic group (Intel’s Global
Diversity and Inclusion, 2020)
Appendix 2: Percentage of executive level employment of Intel by ethnic group (Intel’s
Global Diversity and Inclusion, 2020)