Creating Sustainable Value

“Global Practices on Corporate Social Responsibility”, Idowu, Samuel O.; Leal Filho, Walter (Eds.), 2009, XXIV, 508 p. 13 illus., Hardcover, ISBN: 978-3-540-68812-9

“Global practices of Corporate Social Responsibility” is the first book in a series coordinated by Samuel Idowu, senior lecturer at the London Metropolitan University, and dr.Walter Leal Filho, head of the Research and Transfer Centre “Application of Life Sciences” at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.

The aim of the book is “to codify in one single document international evidence of CSR actions of corporate entities which are already practising or in the process of formalizing their practices in different countries.” As the issue of CSR is a topical one in every country, the book focuses on national institutional arrangements and practices which are studied according to different methodologies.In the 21 chapters the authors provide evidence  about the various aspects of the  relationship between the national context and CSR. The 19 participating countries in the project have been divided in five parts: Europe, East Asia, Middle East and Africa, Americas, Australasia.

Some of the  questions addressed by the authors are : Which issues fall under the umbrella of CSR in each of these countries and why?  The chapter on South Africa shows how the historical context (colonialism and apartheid) determined a certain evolution of the concept of CSR which was further shaped by the regulatory framework like the Mine Health and Safety Act 1986 and the National Environmental Management Act 1998.

Other questions raised and answered are: Who are the players in the field of CSR in each country? Which are the drivers for CSR? How are the companies practicing CSR?Which is the relationship between the regulatory framework and CSR?

The national dimension of the CSR concept is obvious in the case of drivers. A  culture based on trust,intolerance to corruption, an emphasis on good corporate governance and a pro-globalization attitude are the main drivers for CSR in Finland while in Russia, some  CSR initiatives are an attempt to avoid mandatory norms.

How are companies practicing CSR? Several authors  include in their articles results of the research undertaken on topics like: awareness of the csr concept by the managers (Nigeria), involvement in csr practices (U.S., Belgium), mode of csr reporting (Russia, U.S.) or of framing a csr policy(Sweden).

Several chapters like those on Sweden or Belgium present the governmental initiatives designed to create an enabling environment for CSR. The chapter on Russia offers evidence on the relationship between the regulatory framework and CSR. The russian study links the poor quality of voluntary disclosure to the lack of mandatory disclosure and the weakness of NGO’s and other forms of pressure making again clear the relationship between the national dimension and CSR.

The authors managed to provide a clear and detailed picture of the national dimension of CSR and it is interesting to analyse the results from a comparative perspective. The main strength of the book is its diversity reflected in the number of countries selected and the methodologies used to study CSR in context. It makes a good case for including the local complexities in the existing ranking assessments.It is written in an accesible style therefore it is suitable not only for specialists but also for wider audiences.