Sustainability Standards and Instruments

It is becoming increasingly clear that firms can contribute to their own wealth and to overall societal wealth by considering the effect they have on the world at large when making decisions and take operational actions to execute their strategies. All of this has led to growing interest in corporate social responsibility, or CSR, which has been described as the way that firms integrate social, environmental, and economic concerns into their values, culture, decision making, strategy, and operations in a transparent and accountable manner and thereby establish better practices within the firm, create wealth, and improve society. The commitments and activities associated with any CSR initiative should begin with compliance with laws and regulations promulgated by the governmental entities have jurisdiction over the firms activities; however, CSR extends well beyond the law to include important subjects as to which the law has not been able to keep. As a result, voluntary corporate responsibility standards developed from a variety of sources have emerged to fill the gap. This book serves as an introduction to sustainability standards and instruments and includes chapters on initiatives of governmental and intergovernmental bodies, sectoral CSR commitments, CSR-related reporting and management standards, and securities exchanges and regulators.

Alan S. Guttermans prolific output of practical guidance and tools for legal and financial professionals, managers, entrepreneurs, and investors has made him one of the best-selling individual authors in the global legal publishing marketplace. Alan has authored or edited over 90 books on sustainable entrepreneurship, leadership and management, business law and transactions, international law and business, and technology management for a number of publishers. Alan has extensive experience as a partner and senior counsel with internationally recognized law rms counseling small and large business enterprises. For more information about Alan and his activities, please visit his website at alangutterman.com.