Corporate Social Responsibility – Sustainable Business: Environmental, Social and Governance Frameworks for the 21st Century

International Bar Association Series 27

About this book:

Corporate Social Responsibility – Sustainable Business: Environmental, Social and Governance Frameworks for the 21st Century explores the evolving field of corporate social responsibility (CSR). In a dramatic departure from its voluntary origins, CSR is rapidly shifting to hold multinational companies accountable for more than traditional shareholder performance. This CSR movement is embracing new environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks that promote global sustainability goals and enhance accountability for negative impacts businesses can have on ‘planet and people’. It also focuses on the positive role corporations play in supporting the international community’s efforts to achieve the UN Sustainability Goals by 2030. The collection of chapters by leading businesspeople, international civil servants, legal practitioners, academics and other experts offers a forward-looking and pragmatic perspective that illuminates the major themes in this movement towards increasingly sustainable, transparent and accountable business practices.

What’s in this book:

This book shows how CSR has evolved to account for societal pressures, environmental, climate change and human rights impacts, international policy imperatives and the practical challenges of regulating commercial activity that transcends borders. The chapters offer an in-depth examination of current issues, including:

• international frameworks and multistakeholder initiatives catalysing foundational change;
• the shifting emphasis on corporate imperatives to avoid harm to third parties;
• trends in CSR, focused on assuring the planet’s future sustainability and social stability;
• regulatory initiatives around the globe, including Europe, North America, Asia and Africa; and
• extended accountability for activities of corporate group members and supply chains.

How this will help you:

As the pressure and business case for companies to incorporate CSR into corporate governance is intensifying with each quarter, this book is intended as a reference tool for global business executives, in-house legal counsel, private practitioners and government officials seeking to discern the emerging legal parameters around these issues. This volume is an invaluable and pragmatic addition to the practitioners’ toolbox at this important juncture in an ever-more dynamic field designed to discuss each topic independently and to present a holistic survey of the scope of CSR issues, trends and impacts.

Editors

Contributors

Foreword

Preface

PART I
Corporate Social Responsibility: Key Themes

CHAPTER 1
Corporate Governance and Responsibility as Drivers of Sustainability
A. Jan A.J. Eijsbouts

CHAPTER 2
The Business Case for CSR, ESG and Responsible Business
Peter Herbel & Elodie Herbel

CHAPTER 3
Business Ethics
Rosamund Thomas

CHAPTER 4
Understanding and Addressing Criticisms of the Corporate Social Responsibility Movement
Michael Hopkins

CHAPTER 5
CSR Is Dead: What Should Come Next?
Roel Nieuwenkamp

CHAPTER 6
Corporate Governance and Sustainability
Alan S. Gutterman

CHAPTER 7
Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
Margaret Peloso & Travis Hunt

CHAPTER 8
Corporate Social Responsibility and International Law: Where Are We Now, and Where Are We Headed?
Jennifer A. Zerk

PART II
Sectoral and Cross-Sectoral Approaches to CSR

CHAPTER 9
Supply Chain Management
Ken Rivlin & Felise Cooper

CHAPTER 10
Corporate Social Responsibility in the Oil and Gas Sector
Elizabeth Wild

CHAPTER 11
Evolution of CSR in Mining: Key Challenges and Trends
Hannah Clayton

CHAPTER 12
The Intersection of CSR and Economic Sectors—Manufacturing
Ann E. Condon & Michelle Mendlewicz

CHAPTER 13
Corporate Social Responsibility in the Financial Sector
Motoko Aizawa

PART III
Worldwide Frameworks and Initiatives on Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability

PART A
Some Key Global Frameworks

CHAPTER 14
The Global Compact
Hans Corell

CHAPTER 15
The OECD Agreement on Corporate Responsibility and Its Future
Roel Nieuwenkamp

CHAPTER 16
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: A Bold Effort to Achieve Transformative Global Change in an Ever-Evolving World
Stacey Sublett Halliday & Dacia T. Meng

PART B
Environment and Climate Change

CHAPTER 17
Environmental Frameworks and Corporate Social Responsibility
J. Brett Grosko & Jennifer Wills

CHAPTER 18
Corporate Social Responsibility and Climate Change
Michael Burger & Jessica Wentz

PART C
Human Rights and Labour Issues

CHAPTER 19
The International Human Rights Framework and the Role of Business: The Journey from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the UN
Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Lene Wendland

CHAPTER 20
Beyond CSR: The Story of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
John F. Sherman III

CHAPTER 21
The Regulation of Multinational Labour and Employment Practices Through a Galaxy of Norms
Elise Groulx Diggs & Brian Burkett & Mitt Regan

CHAPTER 22
Multi-stakeholder Initiatives in the Business and Human Rights Arena
Martijn Scheltema

PART IV
Legal Dimensions and the Role of the Lawyer

CHAPTER 23
Corporate Responsibility and National and International Legal Frameworks
Suzanne Spears

CHAPTER 24
Accountability: Legal Risks and Remedies
Sara L. Seck & Akinwumi Ogunranti

CHAPTER 25
CSR Risk Management and Due Diligence
Jonathan Drimmer & Michael Torrance

CHAPTER 26
The Role of International Arbitration in the New Lex Mercatoria for Business and Human Rights
Claes Cronstedt & Robert C. Thompson

CHAPTER 27
Ethical Considerations: Corporate Social Responsibility and the 21st Century Lawyer
Irma S. Russell & Joan MacLeod Heminway

PART V
Some Regional Perspectives

CHAPTER 28
A Case Study of CSR in North America—Business Engagement on Climate Change
Rosalie Winn & Peter Zalzal

CHAPTER 29
Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia, with Particular Reference to South East Asia: Untapped Potential, New Approaches, and the
Imperative for Humanistic Enterprise
Thomas Thomas & Eugene K.B. Tan

CHAPTER 30
The Intersection of Corporate Social Responsibility and African Regulations, Policies, Laws, and Initiatives
Nkiruka Chidia Maduekwe & Cheri-Leigh Young

CHAPTER 31
Corporate Social Responsibility in the EU: From a Vague Concept to an Increasingly Normative Principle?
Javier de Cendra de Larragán

CHAPTER 32
Corporate Social Responsibility in Mexico
Leopoldo Burguete-Stanek

Index