Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainable Development et Corporate ­Governance : quelles corrélations ?

Companies are not only members of civil society but are also integral and essential parties to the socio-economic context in which they develop. It is thus legitimate to wonder about their role and “societal” responsibility. The concept of corporate social responsibility is the idea that private companies are supposed to care not only about short-term profit in the interest of their shareholders and management, but also about other stakeholders and sustainable development. It has recently become clear that no corporation can ignore the negative impact that could result for it if it does not behave in a CSR compliant manner. Thus the issue has also to do with risk mitigation. Corporate governance emerges as an important avenue for integrating CSR into companies’ strategy and behavior. It remains, nonetheless, to determine whether social responsibility can be left to the good will of private companies or has to be anchored in a hard law. In any event, beyond any legal requirement, there…