Four Prevailing Justifications for CSR
Broadly speaking, proponents of CSR have used
four arguments to make their case: moral obligation,
sustainability, license to operate, and reputation.
The moral appeal – arguing that companies have
a duty to be good citizens and to “do the right thing”– is
prominent in the goal of Business for Social Responsibility,
the leading nonprofit CSR business association in
the United States. It asks that its members “achieve commercial
success in ways that honor ethical values and respect
people, communities, and the natural environment.”
Sustainability emphasizes environmental and
community stewardship. An excellent definition was developed
in the 1980s by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro
Harlem Brundtland and used by the World Business Council
for Sustainable Development: “Meeting the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.” The notion of license
to operate derives from the fact that every company
needs tacit or explicit permission from governments,