International Institute for Environment and Development 
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Business
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Small
and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Corporate Social Responsibility:
A Discussion Paper Every business entity has its stakeholders and its impacts on society, both positive and negative. The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), broadly defined as the overall contribution of a business to sustainable development (SD), should therefore be equally valid for large and small enterprises. But the focus in discussions on CSR tends to be on the largest companies; small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are often overlooked. Some related policy debates, however, do address SMEs, with programmes on enterprise development and business development services often focusing on ensuring an enabling environment for SMEs and microenterprises. The justification is that a vibrant SME sector can form the bedrock on which all economic activity is built, and that SMEs can be the mainstay of an economy, particularly in terms of employment. This paper examines this apparent dissonance between the SME/CSR agenda and the SME/SD agenda. We take the position that CSR is a useful entry point from which to consider SMEs. We assume that there remains scope for reforming the CSR agenda to be more relevant to SMEs, and we explore how this might be achieved. View pdf (77KB)
Dominic Ayine,
Hernán Blanco, Lorenzo Cotula, Moussa Djiré Candy Gonzalez,
Nii Ashie Kotey, Shaheen Rafi Khan, Bernardo Reyes, Halina Ward, Moeed
Yusuf This report is about an area of corporate and government policy and practice that is little known or understood beyond the restricted circles of the specialists who are directly involved in it. It has far-reaching implications for the way of life, the rights, and the natural environments of millions of people around the world. The broad policy area is foreign investment. But this report focuses on deals between foreign investors and governments - foreign investment contracts. The terms of these deals have major implications for whether investment projects bring real benefits for the people and environments where they take place, or whether they undermine sustainable development. Based on investigations into a broad group of foreign investment projects we highlight concerns about the way these contracts are negotiated, the terms of the deals, and their wider implications for sustainable development. Corporate Responsibility and the Business of Law Halina
Ward Little has been written about the business of law. And very little has been done to address the contribution of business lawyers to the corporate responsibilities of their clients or employers. There has been a tendency to focus, not on the practice of business law or the legal profession, but on the content of laws that are relevant to corporate responsibility. This report considers the implications of the corporate responsibility agenda for business lawyers and for the practice of business law. Its aim is to stimulate discussion in this neglected area, with a view to strengthening the contribution that business lawyers make to corporate responsibility. View pdf (183KB)
Mumo Kivuitu,
Kavwanga Yambayamba, Tom Fox It is now recognised that poverty reduction and sustainable development will not be achieved through government action alone. Policy makers are paying increasing attention to the potential contribution of the private sector to such policy objectives. The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is sometimes used as shorthand for businesses' contribution to sustainable development. A number of core development issues are already central to the international CSR agenda including labour standards, human rights, education, health, child labour, conflict and environmental impacts. But what does this mean at the national level, particularly in those countries in which sustainable development challenges appear most intractable? Does CSR resonate among local stakeholders? This paper describes key aspects of the emerging CSR agenda in Kenya and Zambia - in order to explore what it would take to help unlock the potential private sector contribution to sustainable development in each country.
Our work on business and sustainable development aims to build an understanding of where and how business can best contribute to sustainable development in middle and low income countries. We work through research projects, partnerships and capacity-building initiatives. We function as a strongly collaborative venture that works in partnership both with other IIED programmes and a range of new and existing organisations in both the North and South. Our emphasis is on building bridges between theory and practice.
Copyright © 2005 International Institute for Environment and Development. |
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