Gazing into the CSR crystal ball

Abstract

At the end of 2001 a global summit conference in San Francisco aimed to address the future role of corporate social responsibility in business. As the delegates got to grips with the subject, among the challenges tabled were two that stood out clearly from the rest. These were whether CSR could in fact survive in a business system intent on cutting “nice to have” costs and, if so, how value from CSR can be clearly and accurately measured. Just over a year on and the CSR annus horribilis that was 2002 has served to cry out for immediate answers to these pressing questions.