Abstract
CSR generally refers to social, economic, environmental and stakeholder responsibilities that companies should undertake in their activities. It is a strong component of new business and corporate governance (CG) models for long-term sustainability and for the development of socially responsible corporate culture. It has converged with the new trend of CG and contributed to the shifting of the traditional notion of CG to a vehicle for pursuing corporate management to consider broader public policy goals.
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Notes
- 1.
Peter Utting, ‘CSR and Policy Incoherence’ in Kate Macdonald and Shelley Marshall (eds) Fair Trade, Corporate Accountability and Beyond: Experiments in Global Justice (2010) 170.
- 2.
Gordon Renouf, ‘Fair Consumption? Consumer Action and Labour Standards’ in Kate Macdonald and Shelley Marshall (eds) Fair Trade, Corporate Accountability and Beyond: Experiments in Global Justice (2010) 191.
- 3.
In the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region, for instance, almost all economies have either newly revised corporate laws or measures to reform their corporate laws. Sri Lanka revised its company law in 2007, Nepal in 1991, Pakistan in 1984, the Maldives in 1996 and Bhutan in 2000. Bangladesh is about to reform the Companies Act 1994 (Bangladesh) and currently the Indian Lok Sabha is considering the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009 (India). Some developing economies such as those of Thailand and Indonesia also have recently revised their company-related legislation. For details, see the Companies Act 2007 (Sri Lanka), the Nepal Companies Act 1991 (Nepal), the Companies Ordinance 1984 (Pakistan), the Companies Act of Republic of Maldives 1996 (Maldives), the Thailand’s Public Limited Companies Act of 1992 (Thailand), Companies Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan 2000 (Bhutan), the Companies Act 1994 (Bangladesh), the Limited Liability Companies Act 2007 (Indonesia). For a detailed discussion on this point, see Chap. 3 of this book.
- 4.
For instance, the Occupational Pension Law 1999 (Belgium) requires pension fund managers to disclose the criteria on which they have based their CSR performance, the Trustee Act 2000 (UK) c. 29 provides directions to the trustees to develop social performance, the Environmental Management Act 1997 (Netherlands) requires environment reporting. For a thorough discussion on the legal regulation of CSR in strong economies, see Chap. 3 of this book.
- 5.
For example, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, one of the largest institutional investors in the United States, has used its proxy power to implement its Core Principles of Accountable Corporate Governance. It is the largest public pension fund in the USA with assets totalling more than US $250 billion. For details see the Global Principles of Accountable Corporate Governance, available at http://www.calpers-governance.org/docs-sof/principles/2010-5-2-global-principles-of-accountable-corp-gov.pdf at 14 November 2011.
- 6.
For instance, Article 74 of the Limited Liabilities Companies Act 2007 (Indonesia) denotes how companies should incorporate CSR principles in their internal regulation. Likewise, the Bursa Malaysia Corporate Social Responsibility Framework provides a set of guidelines for companies to develop their social responsibility-oriented strategies. The Extractive industries Transparency Initiative Act 2007 (Nigeria) is vital legislation in Nigeria; with this legislation, Nigeria attempts to ensure transparency by the extractive companies working in it. In Ghana, the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative performs the same function. In 2006, this country launched the Ghana Business Code (Ghana), a joint effort of the association of Ghana industries, the Ghana Employers association and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and industry. The aim of this effort is to introduce and strengthen the practice of CSR in Ghanaian companies. For details, see Kwesi Amponsah-Tawiahb and Kwasi Dartey-Baah, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in Ghana’ (2011) 2(17) International Journal of Business and Social Science 107.
- 7.
Incorporation of the idea of a one Stop Shop into the Enterprise Law 2005 (Vietnam), CSR notions in the Public Administration Reform Master Plan 2001–2010 and in the Law on Government Organization 2001 of this country are some instances of legal initiatives to develop CSR notions in corporate self-regulation. For more information, see http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=10&ved at 14 November 2011; United Nations industrial Development organization (UNIDO), Capacity-building for Business Information Networking: The UNIDO Support Program https://www.unido.org/en/doc/18761 at 14 November 2011. Decree 88/2006/ND-CP of 29 August 2006, Decision No. 181/2003/Q?-TTg of 9 January 2003, Decision No. 136/2001/Q?-TTg of 17 September 2001, Decision No. 181/2003/Q?-TTg of 9 January 2003, inter-Ministerial Circular No. 02/2007/TTLT/BKH-BTC-BCA are some important instruments related to the development of one Stop Shops in Vietnam. For a detailed discussion of this type of move in different economies, see Chaps. 2 and 6 of this book.
- 8.
Two instances where India is actively considering the incorporation of CSR notions in corporate regulation through legislation are the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009 (India) and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill 2010 (India). For the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009, visit http://www.prsIndia.org/uploads/media/Company/Companies%202009.pdf at 8 June 2011; India CSR, New Mining Bill Proposes 26 Percent Profit to Share, http://www.Indiacsr.in/article-1517-New-Mining-Bill-proposes-26-percent-Profit-to-share.html8June2011 at 8 June 2011.
- 9.
Gary Hamel and C K Prahalad, ‘The Core Competence of the Corporation’ (1990) 68(3) Harvard Business Review 79, 91.
- 10.
For instance, in the recent labour agitation in the ready-made garments industry in Bangladesh, there were 72 incidents in the first 6 s of 2010, which caused the deaths of four workers, while 988 workers were injured and 45 arrested. Over the last 30 years, Bangladesh’s ship-breaking industry has killed more than 7,000 workers and seriously injured 10,000 others. The untreated discharge of toxic effluent by the leather goods and processing industries of Bangladesh has already turned the Buriganga—a major river—into a toxic dump. There are many more instances like these. A detailed discussion and references are provided in the next chapter of this book.
- 11.
Simply put, a ‘post-regulatory world’ indicates the decrease of state-promulgated regulations and the rise of private ordering systems throughout the world. State authority is not at the centre of this regulatory system; rather, it is a joint effort in which private parties play an important part in the dominant mode of regulation in all aspects within a country, including its international affairs. In these circumstances, governments create less legislation and depend more on private parties. For details, see Julia Black, ‘Decentring Regulation: Understanding the Role of Regulation and Self Regulation in a “Post-Regulatory” World’ (2002) 54 Current Legal Problems 103; Colin Scott, ‘Regulation in the Age of Governance: The Rise of the Post-Regulatory State’ in Jacint Jordana and David Levi-Faur (eds) The Politics of Regulation: Institutions and Regulatory Reforms for the Age of Governance (2004) 145.
- 12.
Jennifer A Zerk, Multinationals and Corporate Social Responsibility: Limitations and Opportunities in International Law (2006) 32.
- 13.
Peter May, ‘Compliance Motivations: Perspectives of Farmers, Homebuilders, and Marine Facilities’ (2005) 27(2) Law & Policy; Soeren Winter and Peter J May, ‘Motivation for Compliance with Environmental Regulations’ (2001) 20(4) Journal of Policy Analysis and Management; Bridget M Hutter, ‘The Role of Non-State Actors in Regulation’ (Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation, 2006) 14; Neil Gunningham, Peter Grabosky and Daren Sinclair, Smart Regulation: Designing Environmental Policy (1998); Malcolm Sparrow, The Regulatory Craft: Controlling Risks, Solving Problems, and Managing Compliance (2000); Vijaya Nagarajan, ‘from “Command-and-Control” to “Open Method Coordination”: Theorising the Practice of Regulatory Agencies’ (2008) 8 Macquarie Law Journal 6; for a big picture view of changing regulatory scholarship, see Carol Harlow, ‘Law and Public Administration: Convergence and Symbiosis’ (2005) 71(2) International Review of Administrative Sciences 279.
- 14.
Ataur Rahman Belal, ‘A Study of Corporate Social Disclosures in Bangladesh’ (2001) 15(5) Managerial Auditing Journal 274–289.
- 15.
Ataur Rahman Belal, Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in Developing Countries: The Case of Bangladesh (2008) 38.
- 16.
Ataur Rahman Belal, ‘Stakeholders’ Perceptions of CSR in Bangladesh’ (CSR in Asia Conference, Kuala Lumpur, April 2006; Eight Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting Conference, Cardiff, July 2006) 8.
- 17.
Legal regulation, legislation and laws are used interchangeably in this book, without making any distinction between them. The definitions and scopes of regulation, legal regulation and law are provided in Chap. 5 of this book.
- 18.
For an idea of the extent of this knowledge gap, see Tom Dodd, A European Public Policy Perspective, Small and Medium Sised Enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility: Identifying the Knowledge Gaps (2005) 2; Allan Larberg Jorgensen, ‘Sustainability and Competitiveness in Global Value Chains: A Research Project into SMEs and CSR’ in Tom Dodd (ed) Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility: Identifying the Knowledge Gaps (2005); Laura Spence, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility and Small Business in a European Policy Context: The Five “C” s of Corporate Social Responsibility and Small Business Research Agenda 2007’ (2007) 112 (4) Business and Society Review 533, 535.
- 19.
The Committee for Development Policy, a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council, prepares the list of least developed countries (LDCs) or weak economies for every 3 years. The identification of LDCs or weak economies is based on a 3 years monitoring of a country’s or economy’s per capita gross national income, human assets and economic vulnerability to external shocks. Currently, there are 48 LDCs or weak economies in the world, within which 33 in Africa, 14 in Asia and the Pacific and one in Latin America. Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan, Bhutan etc. are some of the LDCs or weak economies in the world. For details, visit http://www.unohrlls.org/en/ldc/25/ 15 January 2012.
- 20.
The Societies Registration Act 1860 (Bangladesh) and the Partnership Act 1932 (Bangladesh) do not deal with the core issues of companies. These laws are for the registration and operation of businesses under the form of societies and partnership agreements. This book is limited to the social responsibilities of companies.
- 21.
There are other laws dealing with environmental issues, but those are either dedicated to environmental issues or do not provide provisions for substantial environmental development. Though there are many drawbacks in this Act, it is comparatively broader in its scope for this development. While the Penal Code 1860 (Bangladesh) provides some penalties relating to offences affecting public health, safety and convenience, as well as offences affecting the human body and life through environmental pollution, the main aim of this Code is to cover penal provisions for all types of offences. Likewise, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1989 (Bangladesh) only describes a few procedures relating to the occurrence of public nuisance through environmental hazards. The Smoke Nuisance Act 1905 (Bangladesh) is limited to the issue of abatement of nuisances arising from the smoke of furnaces or fireplaces in certain areas. The Conservation of Playing Field, Open Space, Garden and Natural Water Body Act 2000 (Bangladesh) does not deal with the corporate and industrial nexus with the environment in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Environmental Conservation Act 1995 (Bangladesh) is the flagship legislation in the environment sector. It deals exhaustively with conservation of the environment, improvement of environmental standards and the control and mitigation of environmental pollution. It is the only legislation that provides the de facto definition of ‘pollution’ in this country. The Environment Court Act 2000 (Bangladesh) and the Environmental Conservation Rules 1997 (Bangladesh) were enacted to implement the substantive issues mentioned in the Act.
References
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Hamel G, Prahalad CK (1990) The core competence of the corporation. Harv Bus Rev 68(3):79
Harlow C (2005) Law and public administration: convergence and symbiosis. Int Rev Admin Sci 71(2)
Jordana J, Levi-Faur D (2004) The politics of regulation in the age of governance politics of regulation: institutions and regulatory reforms for the age of governance 1
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Nagarajan V (2008) From ‘Command-and-Control’ to ‘Open Method Coordination’: theorising the practice of regulatory agencies. Macquarie Law J
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Zerk JA (2006) Multinationals and corporate social responsibility: limitations and opportunities in international law
Hutter BM (2006) The role of non-state actors in regulation (Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation)
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Rahim, M.M. (2013). Introducing the Book. In: Legal Regulation of Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40400-9_1
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