Corporate Social Responsibility in Australia: A Review

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is currently one of the most discussed topics by business people and scholars alike. The concept has been enthusiastically supported by three very disparate groups - by government, by non-government organisations (NGOs) ranging from charities to national and international industry groups, and by business itself, in particular large corporations. In 2000, a study by the Centre for Corporate Public Affairs and the Business Council of Australia found around half of Australia's large companies had policies related to community involvement, social responsibility or stakeholder engagement. More than half of these companies had developed policies in the last decade. In 2001, Cronin and Zappala concluded from their survey of Australia's top 100 companies that just over 70 percent of companies surveyed had corporate community involvement (CCI) or CSR policies. Increasing numbers of companies in Australia have policies and programs that purport to reflect their commitment to the community, society and the environment. Yet, despite the prolific amount of literature on CSR - particularly from the perspective of companies themselves and from practioners in the thriving industry of CSR consultancy - there is a dearth of empirical studies examining whether, and if so to what extent and in what manner, Australian companies are responding in practice to the increasing momentum surrounding CSR. This review outlines and discusses the small number of studies that have been conducted in Australia over the past decade by academics, business associations, government, non-profit organisations and by consultancies into these issues.