Abstract
In the literature, circular economy (CE) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are increasingly interconnected concepts. Turon at al. (2016) consider CE the guidelines of conduct for designing and developing good CSR strategies. In particular, the corporate management philosophy needs to be translated into mandatory CSR reports that better frames circular economy objectives by identifying and communicating actions to achieve sustainable development goals. The purpose of this paper is to explore a number of CSR reports in order to understand if cosmetic multinationals’ (MNC) nonfinancial reporting is focused on the concept of circular economy and if CSR reports ensure an adequate level of disclosure to circular strategies. Moreover, the paper highlights the advantages that arise by converging the concepts of CSR and CE. The originality of this paper lies on providing evidence on “how” MNC are implementing a circular model. This paper contributes to our understanding on the relation between CSR and CE; it assesses the state of the art of circular strategies in MNC and proposes a consolidation of the concept of CE in terms of sustainable strategic and managerial practices communicated to the market by CSR reports. Moreover, it brings MNC to a better understanding of the ways to communicate their new circular business model. The analysis reveals a good level of attention by MNC to circularity in drafting their CSR reports that in many cases are able to describe objectives and actions that embrace multiple dimensions.
Highlights
The increasing complexity and turbulence of the environment make it necessary for companies to develop competitive management models aimed to reach profits and to meet the expectations of society and stakeholders in a sustainable and long-term view [1]
The purpose of this paper is to explore a number of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports in order to understand if cosmetic multinationals’ (MNC) nonfinancial reporting is focused on the concept of circular economy and if CSR reports ensure an adequate level of disclosure to circular strategies
This paper contributes to our understanding on the relation between CSR and circular economy (CE); it assesses the state of the art of circular strategies in MNC and proposes a consolidation of the concept of CE in terms of sustainable strategic and managerial practices communicated to the market by CSR reports
Summary
The increasing complexity and turbulence of the environment make it necessary for companies to develop competitive management models aimed to reach profits and to meet the expectations of society and stakeholders in a sustainable and long-term view [1]. The European Commission, in 2001, defined corporate social responsibility (CSR) “as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on the voluntary basis” [2]. The new regulation better clarifies that enterprises, to fully meet their corporate social responsibility, have to integrate social, environmental, ethical, human rights, and consumer concerns into their business operations and core strategy in close collaboration with their stakeholders. In line with this aim, CSR is defined as “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society” [3]. The concept of the CE is spreading significantly, expanding to new issues such as economic growth and political strategy for the development and implementation of new business models [5]
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