scholarly journals The Legitimacy of Sustainability Standards: A Paradox Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 263178772110494
Author(s):  
Patrick Haack ◽  
Andreas Rasche
Keyword(s):  
Growth Trajectory ◽  
Entry Barriers ◽  
Moral Legitimacy ◽  
Global Compact ◽  
Un Global Compact ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Perceived Intensity ◽  
Sustainability Standards ◽  
Theoretical Considerations

Sustainability standards have proliferated widely in recent years but their legitimacy remains contested. This paper suggests that sustainability standards need to cope with an important but unexplored paradox to gain legitimacy. While standard setters create low entry barriers and requirements for adopters so that standards can diffuse quickly and achieve a status of cognitive legitimacy, standards also need to ensure that adopters create high levels of impact, thereby acquiring moral legitimacy. While the need for diffusion and impact occurs at the same time, they cannot be achieved simultaneously. We unpack this paradox and show that its salience for standard setters differs depending on (a) the growth trajectory of a standard and (b) the perceived intensity of the demands for diffusion and impact. We outline five response strategies that standard setters can use to tackle the diffusion–impact paradox and illustrate our theoretical considerations through a detailed case study of the UN Global Compact. Our paper advances scholarly understandings on how sustainability standards gain legitimacy and sheds light on the complex and inherently paradoxical nature of legitimacy. We derive implications for the literatures on sustainability standards, legitimacy, and paradox management.

scholarly journals Clients, clinics and social justice

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Collinson ◽  
Alice Diver ◽  
Sharon McAvoy
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Legal Practice ◽  
Law Schools ◽  
Legal Ethics ◽  
Global Compact ◽  
Un Global Compact ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a case study of an innovative, three-module pathway designed by the Department of Law and Criminology at Edge Hill University (England) in 2014. In addition to supporting the work of its campus pro-bono law clinic, the first-two modules aim to enhance and evidence the legal skills of EHU’s undergraduate LLB students, to embed a deeper awareness of the (legal) ethics needed for sustainable legal practice (within PRME), and to highlight the increasing need for socially responsible advocates, able to defend the rights of marginalised, vulnerable clients.Design/methodology/approachThe critical analysis of the content and scope of an innovative, work-based learning LLB module pathway, which furthers the aim of the UN Global Compact and the PRME, and ties them firmly to socio-legal issues and advocacy involving recent jurisprudence.FindingsThe case law used within the modules, and the practical work of the students in the campus law clinic, are relevant to social justice issues and to the promotion of PRME values—they promote awareness of human rights principles, highlight the importance of access to legal services and provide students with knowledge of legal ethics. Enhanced employability skills flow from this.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a narrow case study but still provides a useful analysis of an innovative, PRME relevant module pathway. The model mirrors international trends in clinical legal education and also offers a template for other law schools keen to promote the concept of ethical, just legal practice.Practical implicationsThe paper posits that enhanced employability can flow from real world tasks such as advocacy for marginalised or disadvantaged groups and presents an exemplar for other law schools wishing to embed ethics/clinical law practice into their curriculum.Social implicationsThe paper highlights how the campus law clinic serves the public in a deprived region—it raises awareness of human rights and of social justice issues. It has the potential to feed into litigation on social welfare issues (housing, social security, child welfare, etc.).Originality/valueThe discussion of the human rights case law that is used in the Year 2 “bridging module” (which prepares students for working in the law clinic in their final year) is particularly relevant and is analysed in detail, highlighting how this module pathway is aimed at promoting PRME and UN Global Compact principles.

Adoption of the UN Global Compact in Spanish banking: a case study

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ainhoa Garayar ◽  
Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria ◽  
Olivier Boiral
Keyword(s):  
Global Compact ◽  
Un Global Compact

Sustainable Supply Chains

2019 ◽  
pp. 115-129
Author(s):  
Janine M. Pierce ◽  
Donna M. Velliaris
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Global Compact ◽  
Un Global Compact ◽  
Ethical Practices ◽  
Sustainable Supply Chains ◽  
Sustainability Standards ◽  
Partnership Networks

Supply chains provide many challenges to organizations relating to ethical practices at all levels of the supply chain in an often non-transparent environment, with different operator values through different geographic and cultural locations. Considerations are discussed relating to the link between ethics and brand success, challenges and risk issues relating to ethical supply chains, the role of partnering with others in the supply chain, and the friend or foe consideration of NGOs. The importance and value of bodies such as the UN Global Compact and ACSI to comply with sustainability standards and achieve accreditation as a double benefit strategy for being a responsible organization, as well as enhancing brand, are highlighted. The values of certification and partnership networks are emphasized, with concluding reflections on how partnerships and strength in ethical supply chain are dependent on the need to have every link in the chain be ethical and transparent.

The UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration: to what extent are human rights and sustainable development mutually compatible in the field of migration?

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-252
Author(s):  
Elspeth Guild
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Global Compact ◽  
Un Global Compact ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Development Framework ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Un General Assembly

AbstractIn this contribution, I examine the links between the human rights basis of the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and its embeddedness in the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. While the GCM grew out of a development framework, it was rapidly incorporated into the UN human rights system. Even during the negotiation of the GCM, human rights took priority over development. The resistance that was manifested against the GCM on its endorsement by the UN General Assembly was directed not against its development links, but rather concerns about its human rights impact. This paper examines the placing of migration in this dual framework and the ways in which outcomes compatible with both are achievable.

scholarly journals Soft Law Engagements and Hard Law Preferences: Comparing EU Lobbying Positions between UN Global Compact Signatory Firms and Other Interest Group Types

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Onna van den Broek
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Global Compact ◽  
Un Global Compact ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gone “mainstream,” the relationship between CSR and corporate political activities (CPA) has received little scholarly attention. This is problematic because firms potentially have a more sizable impact through their lobbying activities for socially and environmentally beneficial (or unbeneficial) public policies than through their own operations. This paper investigates if, and how, UN Global Compact signatory firms differ in their policy preferences on key EU proposals compared to other interest groups. To capture state-of-the-art data on firms’ policy preferences, I draw from the INTEREURO database, which includes firms’ lobbying positions on forty-three directives and twenty-seven regulations covering 112 public policy issues in the European Union. Statistical results show that Global Compact signatory firms significantly lobby for stricter regulation than non-signatory firms and industry associations, however, their positions are still lower than nonbusiness groups. These results are similar across various public policy issues and suggest that the regulatory preferences of firms’ participating in soft law CSR initiatives are more aligned with stakeholders' interests. This paper contributes to public policy literature exploring the relationship between hard and soft law as well as literature studying the political representation of divergent interest.

The UN Global Compact in Sub-Saharan Africa

2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 (28) ◽  
pp. 99-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lothar Rieth ◽  
Melanie Zimmer ◽  
Ralph Hamann ◽  
Jon Hanks
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Global Compact ◽  
Un Global Compact ◽  
Sub Saharan

Why Legitimacy Matters in Crisis Communication: A Case Study of the “Nut Rage” Incident on Korean Air

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myungok Chris Yim ◽  
Hyun Soon Park
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Corporate Communication ◽  
Social Expectations ◽  
Moral Legitimacy ◽  
External Communication ◽  
Depth Interviews

This study analyzes the December 2014 “nut rage” incident on Korean Air Lines by means of in-depth interviews with corporate communication experts. We examine how Korean Air managed this crisis of legitimacy, asking whether its legitimization strategy and tactics were effective. The authors argue that Korean Air breached both cognitive and moral legitimacy in terms of leadership, corporate culture, internal and external communication, and legality. The results demonstrate to other organizations what types of legitimacy resources and tactics are required in order to meet social expectations in their responses to crises.

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