The impression that business enterprises have some duties toward society beyond that of making profits for the owners has been around for centuries, and it is still, today, at the core of the business ethics debate. The social responsibility for a business is to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, appealing in open and free competition without dishonesty or fraud. In order to effectively communicate CSR, corporations should be transparent, use third-party verification, remember the workers, explain their metrics, and be proactive. The benefits of CSR are corporate reputation and enhanced brand image, earning and maintaining social license to operate, establishing reputation with investors, reducing and managing business risks, competing for access to resources, attracting and keeping employees, maintaining employee morale and productivity, meeting changing stakeholder expectations, and eventually improving the bottom line. This chapter explores corporate social responsibility.
The social license to operate in the onshore wind energy industry: A comparative case study of Scotland and South Africa
