The essays in this volume examine the emergence of the concept of corporate social responsibility, and the uses that have been made of the language of corporate responsibility to explore the business/society relationship. The first section traces the emergence of the concept of corporate social responsibility as a way of understanding and framing the business/society relationship. Section two of the volume looks at "Definitions and ethical justifications" with a view to exploring current discussions of the nature, scope and source of the social responsibilities of corporations. Section three,...

Traditionally, industry has been accused of sacrificing sustainable development in the pursuit of short-term profit. Yet today, under the banner of Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER), a growing number of business organizations are claiming to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. So, what is this emerging phenomenon of CER and what does it aspire to achieve? How pervasive is it and what are its implications for both business and the environment? This collection of essential articles and papers maps the development of the CER concept, traces the principal debates...

Sustainability is one of the key concepts underlying our thinking about corporate responsibilities, particularly with respect to the environment and inter-generational justice, but also in relation to corporate governance and the long-term economic viability. The advantages of the discourse of Sustainability are that it brings together contemporary economic and moral imperatives in the context of scientific knowledge. Its disadvantages relate to its open-ended content, its systematic ambiguity, and the internal tensions between economic growth, human survival and global justice. The essays in...