Abstract

‘Corporate social responsibility is a hard-edged business decision. Not because it is a nice thing to do or because we’re forced to do it... because it is good for our business.’  –Niall Fitzgerald, Former CEO, Unilever

Corporate Social Responsibility is an umbrella concept for a corporation’s responsibility towards the society. It embraces an ethical, moral and business element that requires the commitment of people at all levels of the corporation. The concept tends to present itself with a soft law shield and therefore corporations usually have to go beyond their initial (legal and economic) obligations to implement its policies. But why should a corporation make an effort to adopt this concept?

This article tries to answer this question by first of all examining the evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility and the development of its regulation at an international and European level. Furthermore, recent corporate scandals and their post-scandal behaviour is investigated to highlight the power of society on a corporation and its well-being. Lastly, the use of a case study will present the added value found in Corporate Social Responsibility for corporations.