?Should environmental corporate social responsibility be mandatory in the UK

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the emerging topics that represent the supplementary work of the corporations towards the environment and social issues besides the original work of the corporation which is for the purpose of profit. These activities are typically assumed to be a voluntary activity rather than being a legal mandate, however, over the time the nature of CSR has been in the debate of whether it should be mandatory or voluntary. It is significant to note that the role that law plays in all life aspects is widely acknowledged as an essential role in economic development which could also have a positive impact on regulating CSR. This dissertation argues that CSR should be mandated for various reasons including the fact that certain regulations could have a positive impact on encouraging enterprises to meet their socially responsible activities. It also evaluates the motivation, nature, implementation, examples and limitations of the mandatory CSR legislation especially the environmental CSR. Consequently, this dissertation reveals that environmental CSR should be compulsory in the UK due to its wide advantages for the corporation, shareholders, stakeholders, environment and the community in general. After reviewing the available regulations, it is suggested that a new stand-alone law need to be established in the UK to include the ECSR regulations in detail by specifying the target type of corporations and the possible punishments to deter the corporations from neglecting to follow these procedures.