Between 1993 and 2005, Sabaf – a world-leading manufacturer of components for domestic gas cooking appliances – went through a transformation process to develop a strategic approach to Corporate Responsibility (CR) that embedded social, environmental and governance values into its organisation, its approach to business and its overall performance.
Environmental pioneers can still dominate markets reluctant to reward them. They may be eco-friendly, but clean tech companies confront hostile markets. In order to prevail, they will need to attract customers prepared to pay more for a green product, perform better than competitors, and change the rules of the game.
During the last decades, a whole series of concepts have been launched in what has developed to a new management field : the business and society field also called the social issue in management. These concepts include corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship, corporate social performance, sustainable development, stakeholder theory, and business ethics.
This book examines the daily problems of responsible investment practitioners. It emphasises the importance of asking the right questions as well as getting the right answers; anD of process as well as product. It raises questions about the very purpose of investment and the responsibilities of investors, both economic and societal. Accessible, vivid and illuminating, 'Dilemmas in Responsible Investment' is the first book specifically written for teaching and professional training in responsible investment. It will be required reading for students, academics and practitioners in the areas of finance, ethics and CSR.
Modern businesses and organizations understand that corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an important factor for sustainable success. At the same time CSR has established itself as a widely accepted element of courses in managerial training and education. This book, designed to support CSR teaching, collects 14 essays that clearly illustrate and explain the benefits and challenges of socially responsible corporate policies.
By and large, corporations of the 21st century have come to realize that their obligations to societies in terms of corporate social responsibility are fourfold: economic, ethical, altruistic and strategic. Meeting these four responsibilities is crucial to their survival in their various markets and industries; it also requires them to rewrite their previously less socially responsible business models in order to do so. With contributions from a creme de la creme of scholars from 12 countries, "Innovative CSR" gathers together a cornucopia of innovative practices that will be essential reading for academics and practitioners alike.
A two-year EABIS-funded research project set out to explore how the environmental, social and governance performance of companies might impact on their performance drivers and how to improve the dialogue between companies and investors. It was a catch-22 situation: investor surveys consistently suggested that more information about the non-financial performance of companies would support higher ratings, if only companies would provide such information. Equally consistently, surveys of companies showed they felt investors were ignoring or undervaluing the non-financial drivers.
Companies are coming under increasing social pressure to reduce the adverse impact of their operating activities. Professor Céline Louche, whose area of expertise is sustainability and related fields, and Professor Ann Vereecke, specialising in Supply Chain Management and manufacturing strategy, set out to develop a tool to help assess to what extent a company has integrated sustainability into its supply chain.
While available data seems to suggest that corporate responsibility (CR) is the prerogative of large businesses, there is ample anecdotal evidence that being a small business does not impede corporate responsible behaviour. Jan Lepoutre, Assistant Professor at Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, has investigated the impact of firm size on CR engagement. SMEs face particular challenges, but are not lacking in opportunities.