Summary literature Toolbox 2
Lecture 1: SDG Compass: The guide for business action on the SDGs, pp. 1-10 (Step 1:
Understanding the SDGs)
Executive summary Why do the SDGs matter for business?
• The SDGs ask businesses to apply creativity and innovation to
solve sustainable development challenges
• The goals (SDGs) are set by governments but the success relies
on action and collaboration by all actors
• The SDGs can help to connect business strategies with global
priorities
• Companies can use the SDGs as a framework to shape, steer,
communicate and report their strategies, goals and activities
Benefits of using SDGs as a business:
• Identifying future business opportunities
• Enhancing the value of corporate sustainability
• Strengthening stakeholder relations and keeping the pace with
policy developments
• Stabilizing societies and markets
• Using a common language and shared purpose
SDG Compass: A guide for companies to align their strategies and
measure, manage their contribution to the SDGs. Five steps:
1. Understanding the SDGs: Companies will get familiar with the
SDGs
2. Defining priorities: Companies define their priorities based on an
assessment of their positive and negative, current and potential
impact on the SDGs across their value chains
3. Setting goals: Aligning company goals with the SDGs, to show
commitment to sustainable development
4. Integrating: Integrating sustainability into the core business and
governance, and embedding sustainable development targets
across all functions within the company to achieving goals
5. Reporting and communicating: Build the SDGs into the
communication and reporting with stakeholders
Step 1: Understanding First step → Important to become familiar with the SDGs and understand
the SDGs the opportunities and responsibilities they represent to the business.
What are the SDGs?
• The SDGs are developed for global action on social, economic
and environmental topics
• The goals are universally applicable in developing and developed
countries → SDGs can be translated into national action plans
• The SDGs recognize the key role that business can and must play
in achieving the goals
There are 17 SDGs:
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
1
, 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and
promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote
lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and
sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern
energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth,
full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable
industrialization and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and
sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine
resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification
and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable
development, provide access to justice for all and build effective,
accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the
global partnership for sustainable development
Benefits for companies that make use of the SDGs:
• Identifying future business opportunities: Global sustainable
development challenges already represent market opportunities
for those companies able to develop and deliver innovative and
effective solutions → Define growing markets for companies
that can deliver innovative solutions and transformative change
• Enhancing the value of corporate sustainability: By integrating
sustainability considerations across the value chain, companies
can protect and create value for themselves (e.g. increasing
sales, developing new market segment)
o Efforts by governments as drivers: Taxes, fines and other
pricing mechanisms to include externalities to the
business
o Drivers from others: Employees or customers
increasingly call for companies to take actions
• Strengthening stakeholder relations and keeping the pace with
policy developments: The SDGs reflect stakeholder expectations
and future policy direction → Companies that align priorities
with SDGs can strengthen engagement of customers, employees
etc.
o Improve trust among stakeholders
2
, o Strengthen their license to operate
o Reduce legal, reputational and other business risks
o Build resilience to costs or requirements imposed by
future legislation
• Stabilizing societies and markets: Investing in SDGs support for
example the existence of rules-based markets, transparent
financial systems, and non-corrupt, well-governed institutions
• Using a common language and shared purpose: It defines a
common framework of action and language that will help to
communicate more effectively with stakeholders about their
impact and performance
The SDGs form a baseline of responsibilities for business:
• It is a baseline expectation of all companies that they avoid
infringing on human rights through their activities or as a result
of their business relationships
• Priority should be given to adverse human rights impacts or
risk, regardless of the potential cost or benefit to the business.
Lecture 1: A review of the theories of corporate social responsibility: Its evolutionary path and the
road ahead - Lee, M. D. P. (2008)
Introduction Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been transformed from an
irrelevant idea to one of the most widely accepted concepts.
Many experts noticed the outward growth of CSR, but only a few noticed
that CSR has also been changing internally in meaning
• Concept of CSR is evolves over time
Purpose of this study: Trace the conceptual developmental path of
theories on CSR and to reflect on the implications of the change
Conceptual Shifts in First (around 1919), the concept of social responsibilities of a corporation
CSR was vaguely framed, shareholders couldn’t see how it served their
interest or how it was related to the performance of the corporation
• The concept of CSR went through a progressive rationalization.
Two broad shifts in the conceptualization of CSR:
o Level of analysis: Change from macro-social effects of
CSR to organizational-level analysis of CSR’s effect on
financial performance
o Theoretical orientation: Change from explicitly
normative and ethics-oriented studies to implicitly
normative and performance-oriented studies
3
, *Corporate financial performance (CFP)
The Evolution of the Trends in CSR theory:
Theory of CSR • 1950s-1960s (Social Responsibilities of Businessmen): The first
attempt to theorize the relationship between corporations and
society → Howard Bowen
o The idea of businessmen requiring social responsibility
had long been a particular interest to many Puritan and
Protestant writers
o CSR is a welcome development that needs to be
encouraged and supported
o The position of businesses (great influence and the far-
reaching scope) obligate businesses to consider social
consequences and responsibilities
o Different legislations were enacted to regulate conducts
of businesses and to protect employees and consumers
o Increasing number of consumer protests led to the
creation of the consumer rights movement
o Most mid-level managers considered CSR to be
damaging the financial performance → CSR got a lot of
criticism, creating bitter disagreement
▪ E.g. Milton Friedman: social responsibility of a
corporation is to make money for shareholders
• 1970s (Enlightened Self-Interest): An article written by Wallich
and McGowan caused a breakthrough in conceptual
development of CSR
o They provide a new rationale that upholds CSR without
compromising stockholder interest
▪ CSR is consistent with stockholders’ long-term
interests for corporations to be socially minded
o Enlightened self-interest model: It is in corporations’
long-term interests to support the well-being of their
environment → if the surrounding society which
businesses belong to weakens, businesses lose their
critical support structure and customer base
o The main research is no longer focused on whether
corporations should engage in CSR or not, but how.
• 1980s (Corporate Social Performance Model): Carroll developed
a three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate social
4
