CSR & Sustainable Development

Introduction and background

Definition 1: CSR is a corporation’s initiative to assess and take responsibility for the
company’s effects on environmental and social wellbeing.

Today it is believed that company have a bigger responsibility than just making a profit.

Definition 2: CSR is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and

contribute to the economic development whole improving the quality of life of the
workforce as well as that of the local community and society at large.

Why is CSR important?

- Environmental concerns
- Treatment or workers
- Dangerous products

Google Example:
- Google Green:
o Shifting away from “short-sighted consumer electronics” and move towards
development of “green technology”
o Example: App (“Prediction”) that help Automobiles know where you are
going and then making the performance more efficient. This technology,
called Prediction, maximizes fuel and power consumption, which effectively
reduces carbon emissions.
- Google invests heavily in the support of nonprofit organizations (Money investments
and Googler volunteering hours)
- Google has been carbon neural since 2007. Google also advocate carbon neutrality in
every aspect of its internal affairs.

What is the payoff of CSR initiatives?

- Better public image: this builds up things like customer loyalty.

- Better media coverage: It’s better to be on the news for the good that you have done
rather than the other way around.
- Boosts employee engagement
- Attain and retain investors
- More volunteer participation
- Varied sources of revenues

History of CSR
1950-60s – Introduction to CSR
1970s – Rapid growth
- CSR becomes a discipline within the management field
1980s – Stakeholder theory
-
1990s – CSR Practicing
2000s and onwards: Empirical study

William Frederick:
- Responsible for a history of CSR
- The concepts of CSR come from:
o Institutional
o Intellectual
Howard Bowen:
- Social Responsibilities of the Businessman (1953) is considered the foundation for
the study of corporate social responsibility (CSR). 
- Business man have more responsibility than making money.
Keith Davis:
- Wrote 5 propositions that a company should follow to be socially responsible
- Businesses should listen to the public to know what could be done better to improve
society.
- A company has power than you have responsibility and that goes way beyond just
making money
Milton Friedman:
- Against CSR and almost caused the slow down.
AB Carroll:
- Pyramid of CSR
- https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/carrolls-csr-pyramid
Edward Freeman:
- A company real success lies in satisfying all the stakeholders and not just the ones
who stand to profit from investment in their stocks.
- You cannot last as a profitable business if you don’t pay attention to your
stakeholders.
John Elkington:
- If you really want to have an idea of how healthy your company is you have to
analyze according to three P’s: People, Planet and profit  the triple bottom line.

The Global Compact

The UN has been involved in CSR for a long time.

What are the primary aims of the UN:
- Secure international peace
- Protect human rights
- Eliminate poverty
Important idea: The expression of the global compact goes through 10 principles that are
expressed in 4 critical areas.

17 Sustainable development goals.