The Components of Sustainable Development

The term CSR is not new in literature, but it gained momentum from 1997 exponentially. This development may be attributed to various international initiatives like the Global Reporting Initiative and UN Global Compact. Indian industries also have taken CSR activities since the beginning. Traditionally, CSR in India is philanthropic-oriented, whereas the core concept of CSR is reducing the effect of the adverse impact of business processes on society and increase in value-added effect the purpose of the organisation. This study aims to confirm the hypothesis: industries are neglecting the core CSR issues and doing more on philanthropic activities, which is important but not a core component of CSR. As a result, the adverse impact of the business processes is not addressed adequately by the CSR activities. In India, philanthropy-oriented CSR got a fillip ever since Government of India (GOI) introduced the Companies Act 2013. Our study on CSR spending and the CSR projects of top 30 companies from the Economic times top 500 industries indicates that all are working compliance-oriented. In support of our hypothesis, we argue based on the findings from the extant literature and also by analysing various reports. We argue that the corporate sectors are not giving enough attention to the minimum regulatory-level environmental requirement; some instances are given.

‘Democratising Heritage’ is considered to be a highly transformative approach to the concept of heritage, management of cultural property and its conservation worldwide. To deliberate on the emerging global approach and validate its multi-faced applications in diverse fields, experts drawn from a cross-section of the world by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) assembled in Delhi, India towards the end of 2017 and adopted the Delhi Declaration on Heritage and Democracy-2017. Though India continues to be the largest democracy in the world (which in fact was the reason for holding the event in the country’s capital), the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ programme of India launched in early 2018, under invited participation of corporate entities through CSR, is found to have missed the people-based approach to heritage management and conservation. Besides, the project provides no space for preservation, protection and promotion of traditional crafts/craftsmanship, which according to the views of UNESCO on intangible heritage merits equal attention in all programmes of intangible heritage management. Though the mandatory CSR activities approved by the Indian Companies Act, 2013 include ‘protection of national heritage, art and handicrafts’, the heritage adoption project may fail craftsmen—their livelihood, continuation of craft skills, identity and pride. In the above backdrop, the paper takes a holistic view of these concerns, in terms of an artisans’ perspective on India’s ‘Adopt a Heritage’ programme-2018.

The aim of the paper is to investigate CSR disclosures of M&S and Next, the UK’s eminent retailers for the period from 2010 to 2015. The extensive debate on the definition of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is yet unsettled because researchers have not agreed upon a conclusive and universal definition. In the intense competitive retail market, many of the retailers have been showing their concern about retaining their customers and working hard to build good reputation among the community (Fletcher in Sustainable fashion and textiles: design journeys. Earthscan, London, 2008; Hawley in Sustainable textiles: life cycle and environmental impact. Woodhead, New York, 2009). International comparative corporate governance research shows that UK CSR governance mechanisms are different (Aguilera et al. in Corp Gov: Int Rev 14(3):147–158, 2006) and UK firms have higher rates of social reporting and stakeholder management (Williams and Aguilera in Corporate social responsibility in a comparative perspective, 2006). Firms have been pursuing their own understanding of CSR (Jones et al. in Int J Retail Distrib Manag 33(12):882–892, 2005) while consisting within the broader social sector. However, there is lack of research in the literature specially related to UK retail industry which focuses on the environmental, social and philanthropic work (Pederson in J Bus Ethics 91(2):155–166, 2010). Also, the proliferation of incomplete ethical claims and so called green washing which is the practice of making spurious claims by some companies about the environmental benefits of their products, services or practices, has resulted in increased consumer mistrust about the intention of the firms (Jahdi and Acikdilli in J Bus Ethics 88(1):103–113, 2009). This study contributes to the literature by looking into the ethical performance of M&S and Next through the lens of CSR communications published in their CSR reports. The paper argues that some firms such as M&S and Next, use CSR communications as a tool to convey their socially responsible image to the stakeholders. But do they mean to create a social change, or it is just a pretence to calm the sentiments of their stakeholders. Moreover, the paper maps an overview of the CSR strategies with reference to environment, corporate philanthropy and community work. Practically, the study contains implications for policy makers of the retail firms which can enhance future potential of CSR. The limitation comprised of the generalisability of the findings and sample size.

Sustainable innovations and socially responsible marketing practices are critical for future sustainability. This chapter presents a case study analysis of three research projects that, in conjunction with observations of contemporary business and marketing practice trends, draws out key perspectives on impediments to innovation adoption and future sustainability. Poor government and regulatory policies, as well as irresponsible business activities, are highlighted as significant hindrances to environmentally and socially responsible behaviours. A framework summarising the different impediments to sustainable innovation adoption is subsequently presented, which includes the radicalness of the innovation, internal and external barriers, unintended negative consequences, as well as unsustainable and irresponsible marketing practices. By highlighting these elements, the framework will help researchers to identify ways to speed up rates of sustainable innovation adoption. The feasibility of future sustainability is also discussed, with potential solutions to key global social and environmental challenges presented. While the relevant case studies relate to three different sectors in Australia, the findings, framework and subsequent recommendations should be relevant to a much wider range of innovation and sustainability contexts.

Corporates play an important role in the development of our economy. They have an obligation towards the society. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives undertaken by different corporates have significantly contributed a lot to the society. Kerala is a state which is famous for its Kerala model of development. The state stands first in all human development indicators but the industrial and agriculture sector is not performing well. This backward trend of industrial sector has also affected the corporate social responsibility initiatives undertaken by both public and private corporates in Kerala. Most of the public sector corporates are loss making and in the case of corporate social responsibility private corporates are more engaged in such activities when compared with public sector. Even though the performance of Kerala in corporate social responsibility is not outstanding, there has been a significant change in it over the past few years. It was mainly after the introduction of the Companies Bill 2013, when spending on corporate social responsibility was made mandatory. The paper focuses on corporate social responsibility activities followed by selected private corporates in Kerala after the implementation of provisions under the Companies Bill 2013 and the study is based on secondary data.

Evidence shows the understanding of green marketing and corporate green decision-making in China is still underdeveloped. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perception, motivation and marketing practices of a large joint-operated cashmere firm in the textile industry. Both Chinese domestic factors and international economic trends have contributed to the rapid restructuring of the Chinese cashmere industry into a highly dynamic, flexible and international openness towards green development. Drawing on the literature on firms’ motivations to go green and characteristics of firms which induce green initiatives, this paper selected a large hybrid mixture of ownership and corporate governance state-owned cashmere producer as basis for a case study. This study illustrates the central role of the top management team as the firm operator within the jointly owned state-owned firm and the influence of firm’s past history and value in their green initiatives. While findings from this case have confirmed some of the literature on green motivation, they also exposed the reform of state-owned firms’ ownership and governance for the firm contributes to more effective management and more efficient operations pursuing cost saving and profit-making, more responsiveness to market demand and in turn to increase the resource utilization efficiency and environmental performance. This research has hence provided new insights and policy implication for a successful transition towards a market economy in China with firms that are both economically strong and also socially and ecologically sustainable.

The aim of the present study is to analyze the environmental commitment of luxury hotel brands with five globes of environmental responsibility. The study identified the top four luxury Indian and Foreign hotel brands. The brands include Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces and Marriott Hotels & Resorts. The study followed the convenience sampling approach to collect the data from the hotel Website. The information available in the hotel Web site under environment/sustainability was collected, segregated and coded to identify the level of environmental commitment with five globes of environmental responsibility. The five globes of environment responsibility include employee education, energy management, environmental commitment, solid waste management and water conservation. The results of the study indicate that the globe ‘Employee Education’ was not reflected in any of the hotel brands. All the selected hotel brands showcased excellent practices with regards to energy management, environmental commitment and water conservation. Evidence of solid waste management practice in Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces was not found. The study results will help the luxury hotel brands to include employee education as part of the environmental commitment to achieve sustainable environmental practices. In addition, the present study recommends the hotel brands to engage in an update of environmental commitment activities to showcase the efforts to various stakeholders and to gain a competitive edge for the brand in the market. This is one of the first studies conducted in the Indian context to compare the environmental commitment with five globes of environmental responsibility.

Although concern for sustainability at a planetary level has become a general concern and subject for discussion, there is still little evidence that action is being taken or even that the causes and required actions are even understood. Thus, the World Overshoot Day occurred on 2 August 2017, six days earlier than in 2016 and 11 days earlier than in 2015. By the time of the conference, it will have occurred in 2018 also and be even earlier. It is clear therefore that the actions of humankind are not sustainable and need to be modified. One factor which needs to be addressed is that of the usage of raw materials, which are needed to produce our requirements and are integral to consumption. This paper shows that such resources are becoming depleted and in increasingly short supply while demand continues to rise as nations develop and seek to emulate the lifestyle of those in affluent Western nations. The paper continues to argue that a radical rethink of our economic system is needed to ensure future sustainability at a global level and proposes a way to achieve this.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the Corporate Social Responsibility policy of popular hotel brands. The study followed a content analysis approach to collect and investigate the (CSRP) of the hotel brands through reliable data collected from the company website and the publications. The study also compared the involvement of the CSRP between Indian and Foreign Hotel Brands. The findings of the study provided a comprehensive framework for CSRP. The study results indicate that CSRP was focused on nine areas such as education, skill enhancement, restoration, livelihood support, social problems, support to government policy, environmental protection and conservation, extended support and community development. The results of the present study will help to conduct empirical research among the stakeholders of the hotels to know the effectiveness and the outcome of the CSRP. It is imperative that the hotel brands should involve all the stakeholders in the CSRP to provide a holistic contribution and gain a competitive edge from such policies. The present study is exclusively focused on reporting the contemporary CSRP followed by the hotel brands. The study also provides a recommendation to broaden the CSRP to achieve optimum results.

This research offers a critique on the limitations of the capitalism and justifies the potential of the application of social business idea in the sustainable development of developing countries such as Bangladesh. The purpose of this study is to report whether the idea of social business supports the achievement of the concept of sustainable development in the light of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) taking into account the first six goals- no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality and clean water and sanitation- amongst the 17 goals of SDGs set by the United Nations Organization. The study has undertaken a qualitative research approach using both primary and secondary data. In-depth interviews with social business experts and three case studies with Grameen Danone, Grameen Veolia and Grameen Healthcare Service have been conducted. Data have been analyzed using thematic analysis method. The result indicates that there is a high potential application of social business concept for the sustainable development of developing countries. This research has the potential to draw the attention of large corporations towards social business and is likely to enhance the interest of social change makers towards it. This research can be considered as one of the initial attempts to examine the potential application of social business concept in ensuring sustainable development.

Higher education institution plays a crucial role in society. They have garnered interest and generated various important discussions. The following research paper discusses the role of institutional social responsibility (ISR) in higher learning institutions. It gives a thorough literature discussion of the concepts of how higher learning institutions have impacted societies. Also, the research paper describes the various strategies that the higher institution should take in order to be accountable for their activities. Finally, there will be some recommendations of the best practices that the higher education institutions can implement in order to effectively conduct its operations and activities.

The aim of this study is to critically examine the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting through storytelling and institutionalism to understand how BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) has shaped stakeholders’ sensemaking of CSR and its CSR performance. To explore this, the study focuses on how the narrative themes in CSR reports by BHP corroborate with newspaper articles published by the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) from 1992 until 2017. Results have identified instances where BHP used CSR storytelling to manage negative impressions of its CSR conduct, restore trust and re-establish legitimacy. This reinforces literature that identifies how companies use organisational storytelling to shape stakeholders understanding of social responsibility and manage impressions about CSR conduct.

The globalization economies have heightened the importance of entrepreneurial action for creating wealth (Hitt et al. in Strateg Manag J 22(6–7):479–491, 2001) and addressing persistent social problems (Zahra et al. in Acad Manag Rev 25:509–524, 2000). This has left many in poverty, intensifying the plight of those who occupy the bottom of the pyramid (Prahalad in The Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid: Eradicating poverty through profits. Wharton School Publishing, Upper Saddle, 2006). Demographic shifts, liberalization of national economies and attendant markets, institutional and state failures, and technological advances have combined to increase the calls for more social consciousness within businesses, providing the impetus for the formation of social ventures. Porter describes social entrepreneurship as a “Trojan horse,” a means to get business on board as part of a larger movement calling for “a more ethical and socially inclusive capitalism” (Driver in Acad Manag Learn Educ 11(3):421–431, 2012: 421). Social entrepreneurship may be the vehicle or catalyst to change the economic system in such a way that profits produce positive social and economic change, and financial markets reward companies for doing so through social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurs represent a powerful idea, an idea that is relevant today more than ever before: Business can be a vehicle to create both economic values and contributing to building a fair and equitable society. The financial crisis has united economists and philosophers in an effort to promote a more inclusive global economy. The introduction of social enterprise in a global context has advanced an institutional shift in the way society is governed. Social enterprises are frequently referred to as “agents of change.” Social enterprises are gaining popularity in many parts of the world due to their great potential to advance the agenda of inclusive and sustainable growth. Social enterprise could be acknowledged, which begs the question, as a “broader economic social and solidarity movement” and as “an alternative to mainstream capitalist enterprise, which aims to combine economically viable business for wealth creation, service provision and improving well-being of individuals and places” (Farmer et al. in Soc Entrep J 12:235–254, 2016).

In this chapter, we attempt to illustrate that rapid globalization and related forces have created space for social enterprises worldwide. It is imperative to appreciate that ecosystem make possible social enterprises to nurture and mature. The historical evolution of social enterprises illustrates that social enterprises are fashioned by the political, legal and socioeconomic environments prevalent in country (Poon in Harvard Bus Rev 62–77, 2011; Kerlin in Int Soc Third Sect Res Voluntas 21:162–179, 2010). There must be an “ecosystem” of enabling institutions to assist the success and scaling up of social enterprises (Poon in Soc Impact Res Experience J (SIRE) 1–1, 2011: 30). David Cameron, Prime Minister of the UK, highlighted that “Social enterprises, charities and voluntary bodies have the knowledge, human touch and personal commitment to succeed where governments often fail” (Cabinet Office in Prime Minister’s speech at the social impact investment forum in June 2013). This chapter will provide theoretical understanding of social enterprise against the backdrop of debate on deglobalization and will map the significant role of social enterprise in India and the UK in the current context. The field of social enterprise has emerged as an area of mutual learning between India and the UK, and there is strong commitment from both governments to foster the third sector as a “wedge” between the public and private sectors, which can promote inclusive development progress. Social enterprise has increasingly become an important feature in the social and economic policy process at central and local government levels in the UK and India; this cross-country analysis will highlight the convergence of ideas on the future model as inclusive and developmental.