Sustainable Business

Integrating CSR in Business and Functions

The developments in our environment and society have made it clear that the way we run our businesses and govern our nations is not sustainable in the long run. This is also why more and more companies and organizations are pursuing sustainable business through various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. While many companies facilitate a CSR strategy on the corporate level, CSR is often not embedded in their business and/or integrated across their functions. If companies are to achieve the full business potential and performance impact of CSR, sustainability has to be operationalized, targeted and measured across the value chain through empowered employees and in alignment with the business strategy of the company.

Through state-of-the-art CSR research, theories and models, the platform for sustainable business and CSR is presented in this book. Each chapter is supplemented with practical case examples explaining the way in which companies and their managers have integrated sustainable business strategy across their organization’s functions. As is evident both in theory and practice, the success of CSR integration is highly affected by industrial context, as the unique characteristics of the industry have an impact on the key sustainability challenges and business opportunities of the company. The book reveals how CSR can be implemented across private and public organizations as well as small and medium sized entities (SMEs).

Theoretical and empirical topics discussed in the book include:
Defining sustainable business and CSR
CSR strategy integration
Stakeholder management
Sustainable innovation, management and production
Change management & change leadership
Green business model innovation
Responsible HRM and administration
Cradle-to-cradle
Green procurement
Corporate social innovation
Sustainable Communication and – Sales
Business-NGO partnerships