Corporate Social Responsibility: A Step Towards Stronger Involvement of Business in MEA Implementation?

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). It offers an overview of the linkages, a survey of relevant provisions of key MEAs, and a review of the relationship between global trade rules and MEAs. Finally, the article highlights three ongoing discussions with relevance to linkages between CSR and MEAs: (1) whether, and if so how, to identify minimum global business standards in the environmental sphere; (2) the rapidly evolving ‘sub‐theme’ within the CSR agenda which addresses the business/development interface, and the contribution of business to poverty reduction, sustainable livelihoods and achieving the Millennium Development Goals; and (3) the development by the International Organization for Standardization of an international guidance standard on ‘organizational social responsibility’, which, if adopted, will become ISO 26000. The risk of seeing CSR as a new pathway to MEA implementation is that the role of MEAs in informing the development of minimum acceptable environmental norms of business behaviour will be ‘watered down’. If MEAs are to learn from CSR, their competitors and often stronger counterparts in the international architecture – intergovernmental trade and investment arrangements – also need to be equipped not only to be sensitive to CSR, but actively to support it. 1

CSR and environmental responsibility: motives and pressures to adopt green management practices

“…The topic of CSR is receiving growing attention in the academic literature as the role that CSR plays in business has grown (Margolis and Walsh, 2003; Orlitzky et al , 2003; Gouldson, 2006; Campbell, 2007; Siegele and Ward, 2007). Although academics have tended to focus on identifying the link between financial and social performance (Margolis and Walsh, 2003), consistent with the approach adopted in this paper, Campbell (2006; 2007) argued that there are a number of mitigating factors in the relationship between organizations and society which help to explain why companies would behave in socially responsible ways.…”

Privatizing Environmental Resources: The Need for Supervision of Clean Development Mechanism Contracts?

“…This needs to be countered through global governance mechanisms. 69 Sixth, from an environmental perspective, making environmental issues subject to rules of confidentiality converts public goods into private and secretive commodities, where the price and conditions of emission reductions is subject to guess work. This is not acceptable from an environmental perspective.…”

Corporate and State Social Responsibility: A Long-Term Perspective

“…8 These have taken the form of treaties, conventions and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). It is unlikely that the implementation of many MEAs will be achieved through public initiatives alone [9].…”

“…A number of alternative approaches reflect different views on the utility of CSR into framing the role of business in society (see [9] for a review).…”