Business sustainability
Introduction
corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a business management concept that refers to the responsibility that companies assume with respect to the environment and the society in which they operate.
It is understood as the active and voluntary contribution of organizations to social, economic and environmental improvement, beyond the legal compliance of their obligations. These actions are usually aimed at generating a positive impact on communities and, at the same time, strengthening the competitiveness and added value of the company.
The overall performance of an organization in these three dimensions—social, economic and environmental—is evaluated using the approach known as triple bottom line, which seeks to integrate financial objectives with those of sustainability and social responsibility in a balanced manner.
Corporate social responsibility goes beyond compliance with laws and legal regulations, assuming their respect and strict compliance.[1] In this sense, labor legislation and regulations related to the environment are the starting point with environmental responsibility.[2][3] Compliance with these basic regulations does not correspond to social responsibility, but rather to the obligations that any company must legally comply with simply by carrying out its activity. It would be difficult to understand for a company to claim CSR activities if it has not complied or does not comply with the reference legislation for its activity.
Under this concept of administration and management, a set of business practices, strategies and management systems are encompassed that pursue a new balance between economic, social and environmental dimensions. The antecedents of CSR date back to the 19th century, within the framework of cooperativism and associations that sought to reconcile business efficiency with social principles of democracy, self-help, community support and distributive justice. Its greatest exponents today are social economy companies, by definition, socially responsible companies.[4].
The concept of corporate social responsibility has multiple interpretations, depending on who uses it. The most comprehensive and advanced perspectives maintain that a company is socially responsible when, when making decisions, it considers the impact of its actions on communities, workers and the environment, and effectively integrates the interests of these actors into its processes and results.