Editorial comments

Welcome to this issue of the International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility (IJCSR). The Journal hopes to continue to advance knowledge and search for innovative ideas in both theoretical and practical terms as far as corporate social responsibility and sustainable development are concerned. We aim to offer a unique platform where today’s CSR scholars and practitioners are able to publicise their latest theoretical and empirical research findings which will enable innovative concepts for sustainable business strategies to be propagated and understood. We hope to use the Journal as a medium to espouse the latest innovative management approaches in the fields of CSR, Sustainable Development, Ethics and Governance.

A lot has happened over a number of years in both our world of business and the civil society which has enabled Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to be successful in practically re-shaping and refocusing our world and how our operational existence should be perceived from different dimensions. The concept has literarily enabled us to understand that for this planet – called Earth to survive and remain habitable for this generation and future generations, we all need behave and operate differently. This will require us to move away from many of those our old, irresponsible and unsustainable habits we once were accustomed to which have led to many of today’s social, environmental and economic challenges. Not only that, it also requires better accountability on the part of those at the helm of corporate entities for their impacts on people and the environment. They also need to be more transparent than ever before. Actions such as these will add value to all stakeholders including corporate entities and of course survive our planet.

It has been argued that our world now requires us all, whether we are individual or corporate citizens to do more with less; that is what will survive this planet. If we continue to do what we did yesterday, we will certainly get what we got yesterday; waste and irresponsible production and consumption practices should be kept in the past where they both belong. What we got yesterday has created a lot of problems, that situation cannot be sustainable, that’s a fact. The new UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 were set on the 25 September 2015. These seventeen goals are a good way to continue progress to fully meet the objectives of the old eight UN Millennium Development Goals set in September 2000 in New York by 189 world leaders.

It’s a fact of life that there are always two sides to everything. We therefore should not only focus our attention on what have gone wrong, but we should intensively discuss how business can become part of the solution to many of these problems. This requires us all to collectively work on fostering sustainable growth as well as facilitating improved quality of life for all and sundry. We need to simultaneously create value for business and society. Thus, today’s immense social and environmental challenges provide us the forum for new opportunities for business leaders and academics alike. There is a great need for integrative management techniques, economic specialisation and innovative technologies. Academics and management practitioners will discuss this trend from a scientific perspective and its practical application in the International Journal of CSR (IJCSR) on CSR, Sustainability, Ethics and Governance published by Springer.

The goal is to explain the complex issue of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by providing a break-down of its application on specific areas of business administration such as Supply Chain Management, Strategic Management, Corporate Finance etc. For too long, the subject of sustainability and the assumption of corporate responsibility were depicted in management literature as a predominantly defensive strategy and, therefore, applied practically as a mere cost factor. Until recently, social and environmental issues and the related business opportunities remained generally underexplored. However, CSR and Sustainability are now being integrated into the company DNA, i.e., in the core processes of value creation, innovation management and organisational development.

The launch of the IJCSR has come at just the right time of the worldwide discussion. Companies need to prepare for the future by developing a sustainable business model in which the creation of business as well as social values is essential. Academic discussion can develop new management models, spread innovative ideas and prepare the ground for a new management paradigm.

The articles in this issue of the IJCSR have emanated from present day respected world experts in the fields of CSR and Social and Environmental Accounting. It is a great honour for the two Editors-in Chief to share with you all these thought provoking articles. We do hope to make a valuable contribution with this our Journal, by providing a platform to our very much appreciated colleagues who are addressing all necessary aspects of sustainable management and give innovative practical examples which will enable the global community to implement new sustainable solutions for our common future.

We hope you enjoy reading them, once again welcome to the IJCSR.