Title: Corporate Sustainability, Social Responsibility and Environmental Management: An Introduction to Theory and Practice with Case Studies
Abstract: Responsible behaviours are increasingly being embedded into new business models and strategies that are designed to meet environmental, societal and governance deficits. Therefore, the notions of Corporate Sustainability, Social Responsibility and Environmental Management have become very popular among academia as corporations are moving beyond transparency, business ethics and stakeholder engagement.
This book provides business students and scholars with a broad analysis on the subject of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It builds on the previous theoretical underpinnings of the CSR agenda, including Corporate Citizenship (Carroll, 1998; Waddock, 2004; Matten and Crane, 2004), Creating Shared Value (Porter and Kramer, 2011; 2006), Stakeholder Engagement (Freeman, 1984) and Business Ethics (Crane and Matten, 2004) as it features the latest Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility (CSR2.0) perspective (Visser, 2010). These recent developments imply that the organisations’ commitment to responsible behaviours may represent a transformation of the corporation into a truly sustainable business that is adding value to the business itself, whilst also adding value to society and the environment.
This ‘new’ proposition is an easy term that may appeal to business practitioners. CSR2.0 is linked to improvements in economic performance, operational efficiency, higher quality, innovation and competitiveness. At the same time, it raises awareness on responsible behaviours. Therefore, this promising concept can be considered as strategic in its intent and purposes, as businesses are capable of being socially and environmentally responsible ‘citizens’ whilst pursuing their profit-making activities. Carroll (1979) affirmed that the businesses have economic responsibilities as providing a decent return on investment to owners and shareholders; creating jobs and fair pay for workers; discovering new resources; promoting technological advancement, innovation, and the creation of new products and services along with other objectives.
Lately, there is similar discourse in many international fora, conferences, seminars and colloquia about corporate sustainability and responsible behaviours. However, the discussions are usually characterised by the presentation of theories that define the concepts, rather than being practical workshops (which involve the businesses themselves). In this light, this book clearly identifies the business case for CSR. It attempts to trigger active participation in corporate suites. Inevitably, it contends that there are still some challenging opportunities facing businesses, which will have to be addressed in the foreseeable future; including Stakeholder Relations and Collaborations, Government Regulation for CSR Compliance and the role of Strategic CSR in Education and Training.
This publication combines theory and practice with case studies. Part I introduces the readers to the CSR Agenda. Chapter 1 provides a broad overview of the CSR terminology and its emerging constructs. It presents the business case for CSR. Chapter 2 reports on several international policies and regulatory instruments on the subject of environmental, social and governance disclosures of large organisations. Chapter 3 suggests that there is a rationale to maintain ongoing communications with stakeholders through integrated marketing communications including digital media and traditional channels. Chapter 4 sheds light on socially reponsible and sustainable investments that are being offered in the financial services market. Chapter 5 discusses about the importance of stakeholder engagement with responsible suppliers in the value chain. In Part II; this book contains five detailed case studies on a wide array of corporate sustainable and responsible initiatives that have been taken on board by global corporations in different contexts.
Publication Year: 2017
Publication Date: 2017-03-03
Language: en
Type: book
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Cited By Count: 29
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