The A to Z of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Tolhurst, N., M. Pohl, D. Matten, and W. Visser. 2010. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.
Book preview available here.
CSR has now moved beyond the stage of specialist or niche subject to become an integral part of global business and society. This timely edition is destined to become the definitive guide to CSR, Sustainability, Business Ethics and the organizations and standards in the field.
The book is a unique publication and is the culmination of over a hundred of the world's leading thinkers, opinion formers, academic and business people providing an easy-to-use guide to CSR: from general concepts such as sustainability, stakeholder management, business ethics and human rights to more specific topics such as carbon trading, microfinance, biodiversity, the Base of the Pyramid model and globalisation.
This book also covers all the most important codes and guidelines, such as the Equator Principles, the UN Global Compact and ISO standards, as well as providing background on organizations such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Transparency International and profiles of CSR in particular industries and regions.
This paperback edition includes all the latest developments in CSR as well as incorporating new sections on boardroom pay, the sub-prime market and the financial crisis. (Google Books, 2010)
Cleaning up down South: supermarkets, ethical trade and African horticulture
Freidberg, S. (2003b) Social & Cultural Geography, Volume 4, Issue 1, p. 27-43.
This paper explores the story of ethical food in supermarkets, and how the commodification of pre-packed vegetables, for example, has in some ways obscured the exploitation that occurs earlier in the life history of the product. Freidberg uses a narrative writing style to address this issue, as well as qualitative research conducted with UK supermarkets.
Consumer perception of organic food production and farm animal welfare
Harper, G.C. and Makatouni, A. (2002), British Food Journal, Volume 104, p. 287-299.
As part of a wider project looking at UK consumers attitudes to organic food, this paper uses focus group data to explore the relationship between organic food and animal welfare. The article shows how consumers often confuse different ethical practices in food production, such as organic and free range, and the implications this can have on consumer decision-making.
Corporate environmental reports: the need for standards and an environmental assurance service
Beets, S.D., and C.C. Souther. 1999. Accounting Horizons, Volume 13 Issue no.2, pages129-145.
Many companies are becoming more responsive to investors' concerns about the environment by voluntarily compiling and issuing periodic environmental reports that are essentially independent of the annual financial reports.
Because of an absence of environmental reporting standards, however, these reports differ significantly thereby confounding comparability. Additionally, the credibility of these reports is being questioned, as they are typically not verified by independent third parties.
As many public accounting firms are currently attempting to develop additional assurance services to offer existing and potential clients, verification of environmental reports may be an appropriate application of accounting firms' attestation skills and their desire to expand the client relationship.
Such verification engagements may also be beneficial for corporations, investors, regulators and, ultimately, the environment. Guidance and criteria for environmental verification services are scant, however, and the accounting profession may benefit from expeditious development of such standards so that public accountants are empowered to offer a needed assurance service and compete effectively with other consulting firms. (Beets and Souther, 1999 p.129)
The ethical complex of corporate food power
Freidberg, S. (2004), Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, Volume 23, p. 513-531.
This paper focuses on ethical reforms in how and what food is provided by British supermarkets, as the result of pressure from the media and campaigns by non-government organisations. Three case studies of NGOs are used to show how the third sector is able to generate public interest in this area, forcing supermarkets to listen to their demands.
'Fair trade gold’: Antecedents, prospects and challenges
Hilson, G. (2008), Geoforum, Volume 39, p. 386-400.
This paper looks at the implementation of fair trade principles in the mining industry. Specifically, the paper focuses on gold mining, and the possibilities for increased living standards for gold miners, with an increasing Western industry for fair trade jewellery. The paper presents the case study of a community in Noyem, Ghana to explore the challenges of making fair trade gold mining a reality.
Fast food/organic food: reflexive tastes and the making of ‘yuppie chow’
Guthman, J. (2003) Social & Cultural Geography, Volume 4, Issue 1, p. 45-58.
This paper explores the changing moral discourses surrounding food over time. This includes a discussion of organic systems of provision, demand and supply, to question whether organic foods are an alternative to industrially-produced goods. The paper questions a number of assertions about organic food production, telling the story through the example of one organic commodity in California – organic salad mix.
Hidden hands in the market: ethnographies of fair trade, ethical consumption and corporate social responsibility.
de Neve, G. 2008. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.
Book preview available here
This collection of essays discusses a series of alternative perspectives - manifested in ethical movements, alternative consumer behaviour, and social corporate responsibility initiatives - that seek to reveal the 'hidden hands' of power, inequality and morality that shape market exchange.
Twelve essays - all based on first-hand ethnographic studies of alternative trade movements, corporate social initiatives and consumer behaviour - provide the groundwork for wide-ranging theoretical engagement and comparative analysis.
The case studies cover a range of places, commodities and initiatives, including Fair Trade and organic production activism in Hungary, CSR discourses in South Africa and Europe, Fair Trade coffee in Costa Rica and handicrafts made in Indonesia.
The essays contribute to a series of current debates within the social sciences about what drives alternative market engagements, how they are understood and represented by different actors, and what makes their outcomes often ambivalent or contradictory.
The volume as a whole engages with questions about morality and the economy, the creation and circulation of value, and, ultimately, the possibility of making alternatives work.. The volume will be of particular interest to social scientists, business and management studies scholars, and a range of practitioners. (Amazon.com, 2010)
Mobilizing Consumers to Take Responsibility for Global Social Justice.
Micheletti, M., and D. Stolle. 2007. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Volume 611 Issue no.1, pages 157-175.
This article studies the antisweatshop movement’s involvement in global social justice responsibility-taking. The movement’s growth (more than one hundred diverse groups) makes it a powerful force of social change in the new millennium.
The rise of global corporate capitalism has taken a toll on political responsibility. As a response, four important movement actors—unions, antisweatshop associations, international humanitarian organizations, and Internet spin doctors—have focused on garment-production issues and mobilized consumers into vigilant action.
The authors examine these actors, their social justice responsibility claims, and their views on the role of consumers in social justice responsibility-taking.
The authors determine four paths of consumer action:
1) support group for other causes,
2) critical mass of shoppers,
3) agent of corporate change, and
4) ontological force for societal change.
The authors find that the movement mobilizes consumers through actor-oriented and event-specific (episodic) framing and offer a few results on its ability to change consumer patterns and effect corporate change. (Micheletti and Stolle, 2007 p.157)
Re-naturalizing sugar: Narratives of place, production and consumption’
Hollander, G. M. (2003) Social & Cultural Geography, Volume 4, Issue 1, p. 59-74.
With a focus on the history of one commodity, this article explores the political economy of the sugar trade. It explores the historical foundations of sugar production, and moves to the present day to look at supermarkets’ marketing of sugar. The paper also uses a case study of sugar producers in Florida to exemplify some of the earlier claims made.
Shared producer and consumer responsibility – Theory and practice
Lenzen, M., Murray, J., Sack, F. and Wiedmann, T. (2007), Ecological Economics, Volume 61, p. 27=42.
As this paper explains, producer and consumer responsibility has become a growing topic for discussion, particularly in academic literatures. The paper explores different means and methods of measuring producer responsibility, and how responsibility may be shared by various economic actors.
Humanising the Cut Flower Chain: Confronting the Realities of Flower Production for Workers in Kenya
Hale, A. and Opondo, M. (2005), Antipode, 37.2:301-23.
This article focuses on the cut flower trade in Kenya, particularly looking at the production chain and the impacts of these globalised production systems on women workers in the industry. The paper draws on qualitative research conducted with women regarding their role in this industry, and raises questions for company auditing processes.
Seduced or Sceptical Consumers? Organised Action and the Case of Fair Trade Coffee
Webb, J. (2007), Sociological Research Online, 12 (3).
This article uses the concept of ‘organised consumption’ to analyse the role of consumers in the global economy, namely the coffee industry. It shows how social movements have the potential to influence the behaviour and ethical supply chains of transnational businesses and corporations, using the example of fair trade coffee.