Corporate Social Responsibility

The role of corporations in society has been discussed for many decades. In the light of globalization, corporations are becoming more and more transnational, and the question of their responsibilities has been raised and discussed. In addition, climate change and unethical behavior (even if not against the law), as well as human rights discussions, have influenced the debate. Along with the shift from a mere shareholder point of view to a more integrative stakeholder point of view social and environmental responsibilities and the idea of sustainable development has entered the scene. On the one hand, the rule of thumb is: "Do no harm". On the other hand, corporations are also seen as an answer to the problems by living up to their social and environmental responsibilities.

The course discusses – with a particular focus on communication – latest trends in standardizing and reporting CSR, in implementing CSR, e.g., in supply chains, the role of the consumer and the threat of hypocrisy, and last but not least the philosophical foundations of CSR.

At the end, we open up the focus towards CSR and technology subsumed under the (latest) concept called Corporate Digital Responsibility.

In presenza