Title: Perceptions of corporate social responsibility in Australian forestry companies

Authors: Melissa Gordon; Michael Lockwood; Dallas Hanson; Frank Vanclay; Jacki Schirmer

Addresses: School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 78, Hobart, 7001, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Forestry, Private Bag 12, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia ' School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 78, Hobart, 7001, Australia ' Faculty of Business, Commerce Building, University of Tasmania, Hobart, 7001, Australia ' Department of Cultural Geography, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands ' Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, ACT, 0200, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Forestry, Private Bag 12, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia

Abstract: To date, limited research has been conducted investigating forest company employee views about corporate social responsibility (CSR). We interviewed 19 employees within two forest companies in Australia. Employees mostly understood CSR as an approach to business not purely focused on financial outcomes, but also addressing social and environmental objectives. Some employees also believed that CSR was an action required for community acceptance of forestry, although many believed CSR would not always be effective in improving acceptance of their company's practices. Employees believed that not all negative perceptions of forestry practices could be addressed within the scope of their company's CSR strategy. However, there are opportunities to improve current practice by: a) improving the ability to measure company social license to operate; b) enhancing relationships with a broader range of stakeholders; c) improving collaborations with other forest organisations to address industry social licence to operate issues.

Keywords: community engagement; corporate social responsibility; CSR; sustainable forest management; social license to operate; sustainability; Australia; sustainable development; employee perceptions; forestry industry; collaboration.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2014.066772

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2014 Vol.6 No.4, pp.336 - 353

Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

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