Where is corporate social responsibility actually heading? Online publication date: Wed, 26-May-2004
by Pontus Cerin
Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal (PIE), Vol. 1, No. 1/2/3, 2004
Abstract: A discrepancy is indicated between the emergence of environmentalism and the sustainability agenda, and accomplished environmental improvements. Despite the increasing number of success stories, environmental and social progress is not keeping up to the same advancement pace. The enormous information asymmetries among actors in society and the dangerous circularity of rating and selection of firms may well obstruct the changing of the State of the World. Sustainability indexes may lead to investments in twice as much greenhouse gas emissions per turnover which is probably the opposite of what the environmental conscious individual investors have in mind. Thus, actions that diminish the need for image building are suggested. The scope of corporate environmental and social responsibility should be extended to better coincide with the actor who has the largest potentials to make a change, including governmental bodies by strengthened environmental and social public procurement – that is to Walk the Talk themselves.
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