Public policies for scaling corporate responsibility standards: Expanding collaborative governance for sustainable development
Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal
ISSN: 2040-8021
Article publication date: 8 November 2011
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to provide an overview and context for the emerging field of public policies for scaling voluntary standards, or private regulations, on the social and environmental performance of business and finance, to promote sustainable development; in order to stimulate more innovation and research in this field.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes the approach of a literature review of texts from intergovernmental and non‐governmental organisations, to develop a synthesis of issues, before literature review from management studies, development studies and international relations, to revise the synthesis and identify policy relevant future research.
Findings
Governance at all levels but particularly the international level involves corporations and their stakeholders. Together they have created non‐statutory corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards which now influence significant amounts of international trade and investment, thereby presenting new benefits, risks and challenges for sustainable development. Governments around the world are now innovating public policies on these standards, which can be categorised to inform policy development: governments prepare, prefer, promote and prescribe CSR standards. Therefore, a new dimension to collaborative governance is emerging and would benefit from research and technical assistance. As concepts and practices of regulation and governance are moving beyond state versus non‐state, mandatory versus voluntary approaches, so issues about transparency, accountability and democratic participation remain important for any new manifestation of regulation or governance.
Originality/value
By contextualising public policy innovations on CSR standards within new theories of governance, including “private regulation” and “collaborative governance”, the paper helps to clarify a new agenda for policy making and related research.
Keywords
Citation
Bendell, J., Miller, A. and Wortmann, K. (2011), "Public policies for scaling corporate responsibility standards: Expanding collaborative governance for sustainable development", Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 263-293. https://doi.org/10.1108/20408021111185411
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited