Enlightenment or Resistance?

Abstract

This chapter seeks to analyse the gradual evolution of the corporate law and corporate governance frameworks in Mauritius, an African emerging economy, insofar as they pertain to the embedding of the sustainability agenda. Section 2 provides an account of the historical and socio-economic context in which sustainability initiatives came to be implemented. This is followed by a presentation of the regulatory framework insofar as company law and corporate governance requirements are concerned in Section 3. The section demonstrates how corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability issues arose from these developments in corporate governance. The notion of sustainability was first used in corporate governance requirements and subsequently took a more concrete meaning within the country’s sustainable development agenda. Distinctively, and somewhat parallel to the sustainability-led changes, a CSR legislation was enacted to attempt to enhance the level and efficacy of the social contributions of the private sector. Section 4 then analyses actual corporate engagement with both CSR and sustainability on the basis of evidence of practice by major companies and their corporate foundations. In spite of the increased ‘mainstreaming’ of sustainability and social responsibility arising from different external and internal factors, and a fairly unique innovation by the state to mandate CSR, we find a mixed picture of corporate engagement, and a resistance to more holistic or ‘wider-impact’ forms of sustainability (beyond philanthropy). Even in visible cases of a corporate enlightenment, there is little evidence or understanding of the tangible benefits of sustainability interventions and activities. The chapter concludes by providing an explanation of the factors underlying such state of affairs and what this may imply for the advancement of the sustainability agenda in emerging economies.