Corporate social responsibility

Key people

• Paul PolmanDutch businessman
• Paul RiceAmerican businessman
• Koh Buck SongSingaporean writer, journalist, educator, consultant in branding, communications and corporate social responsibility

Timeline

• 1930In the 1930s, two law professors, A.
• 1989The CERES principles were adopted following the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident.

Read

• Corporate social responsibilityWesley Cragg · 2009Book
• Strategic Corporate Social ResponsibilityDebbie Haski-Leventhal · 2017Book
• Business ethics and corporate social responsibilityJose Mario B. Maximiano · 2007Book
• Ethics and corporate social responsibilityRonald R. Sims · 2003Book

Listen

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)Salam Abdul GhofarPodcast
• Capgemini Americas Corporate Social ResponsibilityCapgemini Americas Corporate Social ResponsibilityPodcast
• Corporate Social Responsibility in Hospitality IndustrySoPodcast
• How To Save Our PlanetLottie DalzielPodcast

Voices to follow

• Oriana Perrone@oriperr · XBusiness Strategist expert in Corporate Responsibility & SDGs
• Josep Santacreu i Bonjoch@DrSantacreu · XDoctor, philanthropist, activist and Catalan business manager
• Paul Polman@PaulPolman · XDutch businessman
• Bruna Capparelli@BrunaCappa20696 · XItalian legal scholar and university professor specialized in criminal procedure law, digital justice, and European judicial cooperation

By the numbers

• 118.4TWorld GDP (US$) — global, 2025 (World Bank)
• 3Global inflation — global, 2025 (World Bank)

Debates

• Is the primary goal of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to maximize profit or to benefit society?One view: CSR initiatives ultimately serve to enhance brand reputation, attract customers, and improve employee morale, all contributing to long-term financial gain. · Another: True CSR prioritizes ethical conduct, environmental protection, and social equity, even if it means sacrificing some short-term profit.Open question
• Should CSR be voluntary or mandated by government regulation?One view: Voluntary CSR allows companies flexibility to innovate and tailor initiatives to their specific business and stakeholder needs, fostering genuine commitment. · Another: Mandatory CSR ensures a baseline level of ethical and sustainable practice across all industries, preventing 'greenwashing' and ensuring accountability.Open question
• Are consumers willing to pay more for products from socially responsible companies?One view: Many consumers, especially younger generations, prioritize ethical and sustainable practices and are willing to pay a premium for products from responsible brands. · Another: While consumers express support for CSR, their purchasing decisions are often primarily driven by price and quality, limiting the financial impact of CSR efforts.Open question

Glossary

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)A business approach where companies consider their impact on society and the environment beyond legal obligations.
• StakeholderAny group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of an organization's objectives, including employees, customers, and communities.
• SustainabilityMeeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, often encompassing environmental, social, and economic aspects.
• GreenwashingWhen a company or organization spends more time and money claiming to be 'green' through advertising and marketing than actually implementing business practices that minimize environmental impact.
• Ethical SourcingThe process of ensuring that products are obtained responsibly and sustainably, without exploiting people or the environment.
• ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance)A framework used by investors to evaluate a company's performance on environmental, social, and governance factors.

Careers

Roles this can lead toward

Student research

Published policy papers by One Young India delegates — every delegate leaves published under their own name.

• The Public Persona Trap: US College Admissions and Social MediaGunika Chaudhary
• Understanding misinformation in India: The case for a meaningful regulatory approach for social media platformsGandharv Dhruv Madan
• The Evolution of Social Media Marketing: From Engagement to CommerceHimanshi Bhutoria
• The Gender Leadership Gap – Breaking Barriers for Women in Corporate LeadershipMehreen Kaur Khanuja
• Artificial Intelligence in Businesses Decision MakingAanya Kapur

Threads 3

Where this connects to other fields — and why it's worth knowing.

• Biogeochemical Cycles Environment

  In nature, nothing is truly trash: a dead leaf feeds the soil, and the loop closes with zero waste. When a factory dumps its mess on everyone else, economists call that an 'externality,' which is really just a loop left hanging open. So asking business to be ethical is basically asking it to close the loop nature never leaves open.

• Immunology Health

  Your immune system normally protects you, but in an autoimmune disease it turns around and attacks your own body. A company chasing only profit can do the same thing: it squeezes its workers and trashes the environment it actually depends on, until it starts wounding itself. Feeding on your own host is a losing strategy for germs and for businesses.

• Religion and Morality Religion

  Today companies talk about serving more than just profit. But religions were doing this centuries ago: banning loans-with-interest, forcing a day of rest, demanding a slice of income for the poor. Each rule was a way of telling the market it had to answer to something bigger than money.