Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has rapidly gained a foothold in business. In the last decade, many companies developed 'Planet, People, Profit' strategies, and put them into practice. Governments and civil society have called on private actors to contribute in resolving the difficulties of global governance. This book concentrates foremost on legal aspects of CSR but also deals with CSR in the broader perspective of assessing best practices. It elaborates on international developments over the decade 2000-2010. The introductory chapters consider globalisation in relation to sustainable development, thereby identifying the role of CSR and comparing it with corporate governance. Part I of the book offers a discussion on the legal and semi-legal frameworks which can assist a business organisation in the course of becoming a socially responsible company. Examples are the institutionalisation of CSR in the corporate governance code, annual reporting on CSR, setting up an anti-corruption programme to support the internal control process, making human rights impact assessments part of corporate due diligence investigations, making use of private regulation and sustainability labels, and providing consumer product information. Part II contains five case studies that show how CSR works in practice. Two case studies focus on conflict situations concerning CSR practices of companies; the other three concentrate on water management by companies, biodiversity concerns for the capital market, and on how to invest in nature, respectively.