Innovative CSR

Insights abound in this packed volume of academic papers from scholars in 12 different countries around the world and how they perceive the modern practice of CSR and, in particular, the ways in which CSR can be leveraged to create strategic value for businesses. It is rare to find an academic textbook that is utterly riveting, highly readable and well-structured, providing a wide range of case studies and commentaries on the practical aspects of CSR in a multitude of companies and organizations. This book does it superbly. Each paper is a gem. Each paper builds effectively around the central theme of strategic CSR innovation, exploring different dimensions of innovative and strategic practice on the part of corporate entities around the globe, offering new ways of thinking about the ways in which CSR is, and sometimes isn't, leveraged to deliver creative, strategic, triple bottom line value for businesses, society and environment. ... All in all, despite the academic nature of this book, the sometimes rather tedious descriptions of methodologies applied, and the often repetitive introductory sections to each of the different papers penned by different academics, this book is a delight. The deep-dive into core CSR concepts provide original ways of thinking about how companies have and can make CSR a business-builder rather than a series of bolt-on projects. An essential understanding of what is strategic and what is innovative in CSR terms is a prerequisite, I suggest, for any company engaging in CSR practices. This book is a must-read for anyone considering these themes. Read the full article - 'CSRwire', 11 August 2010 - Elaine Cohen || By and large, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gone mainstream: Corporations have realized that by being innovative in all things – including their CSR activities and initiatives – they will add value to the so-called bottom line to the positive contributions they make to society and to how they are perceived by their key stakeholders. However, many criticisms have been made of CSR in its current form, often related to the lack of value that it generates within the enterprise and the fact that it offers only a partial and short-term response to the full challenges of sustainable development. This book aims to explore innovative and strategic CSR: With contributions from 12 countries, it gathers together a variety of innovative practices. "Innovation" in this book means new products, services, and technologies and, in addition, new organizational and institutional systems, structures, and new business models that empower the organization to advance strategically. The book's key question is: How do corporate entities shift their attention from risk management to value creation? - 'Journal of Consumer Policy' 33.4 (2010) || Idowu et al. provide an introduction emphasizing the facets of people, planet and profit, a good set of frames for the topic. These papers may have relevance to both researchers and policy makers ... The collection of papers provides a broad perspective of CSR. Three main future trends identified were: 1. The convergence of international CSR standards, 2. Management of costs in CSR implementation, and 3. Opportunities for innovation. Like all collections of papers, the treatment is mixed. However, for those with specific interests, the book gathers together some interesting works on the role and potential of corporate social responsibility, with both cases and tools presented. The price is moderate ... - 'Journal of Cleaner Production' 18 (2010) - David L. Olson, University of Nebraska; and Desheng Wu, School of Science and Engineering, Reykjavik