In recent years, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become more and more emphasized by businesses in China. Companies are beginning to recognize the importance and benefits of formulating CSR strategies in order to contribute to the development of the social, environmental and economic aspects of society. It is widely known that the 2008 milk contamination scandal in China caused a tremendous impact on the global awareness of the food safety of the country’s imports. This comparative study assesses the responsiveness of four selected milk products companies to the 2008 milk scandal. For the data analysis, we use a content analysis approach to examine the CSR reports and CSR-related activities of these four main dairy enterprises before, during and after the milk scandal. We then compare these CSR activities with other external information sources in order to determine their significance. We find a very close relationship between the increase in the CSR activities of the sampled dairy enterprises and the massive media coverage of the scandal in China and worldwide. The presented findings demonstrate that the greater the market share of the milk enterprise, the higher is its social commitments and social sustainability system. This finding implies that such contributions to society promote a win/win situation both to the public and to the enterprise itself. It is believed that the motives 3 of such voluntary CSR contributions also deliver tangible and intangible benefits to the firm in terms of marketing, goodwill, a positive image, a reduction in branding costs and sustainable business development. It is also clear that CSR increased in the investigated enterprises during the period when media coverage was intensively reported.