Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often understood as voluntary actions firms take beyond legal compliance. However, in recent years, governments around the world have also begun to actively promote CSR, reflecting broader governance trends that embrace “soft law,” voluntary...

This paper critically observes a trend in the sources that drive the CSR initiatives. From within the organizational experimentation in 1950s to the research inputs in 1960s to the stakeholder involvement in 1970s and beyond, there is a definite trend that the sources which drive CSR initiatives...

This study discusses how social movements can influence economic systems. Employing a political-cultural approach to markets, it purports that ‘compromise movements’ can help change existing institutions by proposing new ones. This study argues in favor of the role of social movements in...

In this research note, I briefly summarize the history of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), from its earliest gestation in 1997, to its initial realization in 1999 and 2000, to its current status circa 2009. Included are descriptive analyses of (a) the sustainability topics and indicators...

The current crises in the UK – economic, political, financial and social – have created an opportunity to re-examine the social contract and the functioning of civil society. Many people have commented upon these crises, their causes and consequences and there have been many attempts to...

Since the dawn of the computer age it seems that the pace of development of information technology has continued to increase and that this pace of development shows no sign of slowing down. Computers are now a feature of everyday life, evident in the workplace, in our leisure activities and even...

It is clear that the definition of corporate governance has extended considerably beyond investor relations and encompasses relations with all stakeholders – including the environment. This is essential for the longer term survival of a firm and is therefore a key component of sustainability....

The global economic recession from which we are just emerging, much as previous recessions, has highlighted failures in governance and failures in regulation. Indeed some have argued that the regulators are more guilty even than the perpetrators and should be sanctioned accordingly. There is of...

Sustainability is normally considered to be about choices for the future being limited by decisions made in the present, and is frequently portrayed as concerning environmental issues alone. The Durable Corporation rejects both of these notions to argue that sustainability is a more complex...

To what extent should or must a corporation contemplate international human rights law? Following a brief discussion of the increasing influence of transnational corporations and global business transactions, as well as the growth of the international human rights system, this Article uses the...