In Search of the Good Dam

There are few places in the world where hydropower development is progressing as intensely as the Mekong River Basin in Southeast Asia. In searching for ways of supporting public dialog on development, the Challenge Program on Water and Food found that the hydropower sector speaks of social responsibility only in terms of “benefit sharing,” while the development sector and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) largely ignore or are unaware of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The chapter begins with an overview of hydropower development in the Mekong, considers some possible reasons for the absence of CSR in the ongoing debate over hydropower development, and concludes with recommendations for designing a project to build on the findings from this research.

Protecting Traditional Knowledge Associated with Genetic Resources by Corporate Social Responsibility

The problems to establish equitable benefit sharing of Traditional Knowledge (TK) associated with Genetic Resources (GRs) have been one of the main discussions in international negotiations. This chapter analyses how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) could contribute to international organizations, national governments, and the private sector protecting TK associated with GRs in indigenous and local communities. This research uses the concept of the United Nations Triple Bottom Line Approach, which promotes balance among economic, environmental, and social imperatives towards sustainable development. This chapter illustrates the responsibility of international organizations by providing legally binding instruments. It also compares different national governments' responses to protect TK associated with GRs. Then, the chapter proposes that Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) could be the key to improving contradictions between legal and voluntary instruments in local communities and national and international governments. The analysis suggests that CSR is coherent with PPPs and might generate environmental, economic, and socio-economic challenges in the private and public sectors.

Branding as a Tool for CSR

This chapter addresses the field of responsible brands and branding and explores core elements of building a responsible brand in a company. Existing literature on responsible brands and branding is reviewed, and as a result of this review, six key components of responsible branding are depicted: (1) integrating CSR into the core of the brand, (2) engaging stakeholders, (3) engaging organisational members, (4) implementing, (5) communicating responsibility commitments, and (6) assessing the achievements of responsible branding both internally and externally. To illustrate how responsible branding can be used as a tool for companies to explicate their CSR activities, two case studies are presented in this chapter, which is concluded by the notion that both inside-out and outside-in approaches can be effective when using branding as a tool for CSR: nonetheless, this would be subject to the different actions taken by different companies, which become crucial.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a global theme. However, social, cultural, and natural characteristics of each nation should influence the application of CSR. This chapter describes CSR practices in five countries: Brazil, Japan, India, Italy, and Romania. The method applied is a descriptive case study, and a qualitative analysis is made. Cross-cultural comparison studies may help one better understand how CSR practices emerge in each country in a globalized economy.

Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility by the Employees

The main purpose of this chapter is to examine the relationships between three underlying aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), namely economic, environmental, and societal aspects, and the level of CSR, as perceived by the employees. The strength and direction of the impact of a single underlying aspect of CSR, on the level of CSR in organizations, is examined through a sample of 288 employees in Slovenian organizations. Results from the empirical survey suggest that employees' higher concern for environmental and social issues increases the level of organizational CSR, while higher striving for solely economic outcomes lowers the level of organizational CSR. Findings in this chapter provide insight into the state of CSR in organizations as perceived by the employees, providing an important starting point for definition or re-thinking of strategies in relation to CSR, and as a starting point for other actions as well, like changes in academia.

Developing Corporate Social Responsibility Projects

While Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a prominent topic in the literature, little is known about how companies operationally implement CSR. Accordingly, this chapter presents key insights into how companies design and implement (develop) CSR projects, including the activities involved, their sequence, and the roles of various stakeholders as actors. The insights are based on a qualitative scoping study involving in-depth interviews with CSR practitioners from five major Australian companies. Ten stages of CSR development and 12 actors are identified before presenting an aggregate empirical model of CSR project development.

Corporate Social Responsibility

In the framework of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), organizations and firms give to the community, environment, and economy. It is clear that an act like this, of giving, enriches the society on the receiving end. That being said, organizations and companies today increasingly understand that the act of giving to another also has a business value for the contributing organization. Companies today are very aware of the advantage and of the contribution to the community. They have internalized the fact that they will begin to benefit as soon as they allocate resources to social responsibility. Contributing to the community brings about a change in the organizational image of a company. Volunteer activities and contributions to the community generally have a positive influence on the company's business reputation. This chapter explores these aspects of CSR.

Workplace Culture as a Driver for Social Change

An individual's employer can be a strong authority within an influential milieu. This chapter examines the impact employers committed to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can have on their staff, as measured by the type and extent of Pro-Environmental Behaviors (PEBs) practiced by staff at work and at home. Empowered internal stakeholders self-report that they adopt pro-environmental behaviors at work, find that they become habits, and report that they pass these new behaviors on to their family and members of the community. Tracking the development and diffusion of PEBs demonstrates the efficacy of CSR in action, confirming the workplace as an important leverage point that governments, businesses, and NGOs can use to encourage rapid social change.

Ethical Outsourcing and the Act of Acting Together

The European Commission (2011) defines Corporate Social Responsibility as “a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis” (p. 3). Outsourcing affects the interests of laborers and ethical outsourcing protects their interests through the act of acting together, ensuring that labor protection is a shared responsibility between the participants. An aspect of social philosophy helps rectify this problem by introducing ethical outsourcing that occurs upon fulfilling the combination of three features: (1) the inclusion of all participants in a joint activity, (2) all participants agree to enter into a multi-lateral agreement, (3) the voluntarism of each participant practicing CSR is strengthened by the peer-to-peer demands of fulfilling these obligations. This chapter proposes that business leaders must find incentives engaging their outsourcing participants in multi-lateral contractual agreements. The empowerment of the participating organizations is incentivizing because of the engagement in participatory decision-making through the act of acting together.

Corporate Sustainability Programs and Reporting

Building upon the thesis of Baden and Harwood (2013) that “terminology matters” in describing sustainability programs and corporate social responsibility reporting efforts, this chapter examines how an organization rhetorically self-defines its specific degree or level of “responsibility” in a particular industry or within an industry sector in its actions as well as its non-financial reporting efforts. Starbucks's evolution in developing sustainability programs and their sustainability reporting over a 12-year period are examined as a case example. Being both praised and criticized, Starbucks provides an instructive example of the evolution of corporate responsibility in a customer-facing enterprise. A model of both internal and external drivers of corporate social responsibility and sustainability progress is proposed and applied to the Starbucks case.