Long-Term Common Good

• The pursuit of a long-term common good emerged due to the excesses of market economics.

General Points

• Pressure groups have advocated for management guided by societal benefit rather than individualism and rapid gains.
• It's impossible to build success on social disaster

Company Dependence

• Academic research shows a company is dependent on its societal context and chosen causes.
• Company development relies on resources and customers
• Companies should address collective interest, even if stakeholders are unaware.

Henry Ford Quote

• According to Henry Ford, companies need profits for survival but prioritizing profit alone leads to demise, lacking purpose.
• A company must aim for profitability and societal and member well-being, whether shareholders or workers.

Emergence of New Values

• The modern era is full of contradictions like unprecedented means of wealth production against unparalleled global inequality and market power existing alongside extreme poverty.
• This prompts companies to deeply reconsider their societal role and responsibility and their relationship with market economics and impact.
• Environmental deterioration is occurring during a time when resources to save it are available
• "Life on Earth hangs by a thread."

Civil Society's Influence

• Increased education and consumer culture have led to more informed and discerning consumers during purchase and they now display more thoughtful behaviours in choices, influencing company practices

The New Consumer Trends

• Today's consumers have new attitudes influencing purchasing behavior and are characterized by six major trends:
• A Sense of Power: Consumers recognize their impact on markets and businesses.
• Great Professionalism: The modern consumer is more informed and makes more considered choices.
• Satisfaction-Loyalty Link: Consumers stay loyal only if a brand meets their expectations.
• New Expectations: Contemporary customers seek experiences and values beyond basic products.
• A Need for Dialogue: Today's consumers want engagement and to feel heard by brands.
• Moral Consumption: Preference for socially and environmentally responsible companies.

Socio Ecological Outlook

• Environmentalists see the environment as crucial to economic function, necessitating active protection via concrete actions.
• The most effective solutions give the environment economic value as opposed to viewing it as a free public good.
• An Eco-balance indicator has been developed to gauge a product's environmental impact across its life cycle.
• The life cycle includes raw material acquisition, transformation, production, packaging, and usage.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

• Capron defines CSR as corporate actions addressing societal expectations, including management systems, change strategies, monitoring, evaluation, etc.
• The goal integrates social, environmental, and ethical considerations into management.

ISO 26000 Guidelines

• ISO 26000 sets a framework for corporate social responsibility based on seven principles:
• Accountability: Companies must accept responsibility for their decisions' consequences.
• Transparency: Communicate clearly and honestly about activities and impacts.
• Ethical Behavior: Act with integrity and moral values.
• Respect for Stakeholder Interests: Consider the expectations of clients, employees, shareholders, etc.
• Respect for the Rule of Law: Adherence to laws and regulations.
• Respect for International Norms of Behavior: Conforming to globally recognized best practices.
• Respect for Human Rights: Ensuring decent working conditions and upholding fundamental freedoms.
• These apply to seven key areas:
• Organizational Governance: Implementing responsible management structures.
• Human Rights: Respecting and protecting fundamental rights.
• Labor Practices: Improving employee well-being.
• The Environment: Reducing ecological footprint.
• Fair Operating Practices: Combating corruption and promoting ethical business.
• Consumer Issues: Transparency and protecting consumer rights.
• Community Involvement and Development: Contributing to sustainable development and social causes.

CSR Principles

• For lasting success, companies must simultaneously address economic, societal, and environmental concerns by identifying stakeholders and their related issues.
• According to Jean-Pascal Comte, CSR relies on two main ideas
• Companies have obligations to social groups and must act responsibly toward employees, clients and other stakeholders.
• Companies must be responsive to their environments by adapting to societal, environmental, and economic changes to meet social needs and concerns.

Types of Responsibilities

• Carroll identified four types of corporate responsibilities:
• Moral Responsibility: Conduct that the society expects of the companies even if there is no legal obligation.
• Discretionary Responsibility: Actions chosen based on the company's values and priorities and where no clear imperative exists.
• Economic Responsibility: The traditional company role of creating goods/services to meet consumer needs and ensure profitability.
• Legal Responsibility: Compliance with existing laws and regulations.

Stakeholders and Corporate Governance

• A stakeholder is an individual or group related to the company, affected by or able to affect its decisions.
• Stakeholders have a direct or indirect interest in the company's activities.
• Two types of stakeholders can be distinguished:
• Internal Stakeholders which include staff, unions, and shareholders.
• External Stakeholders which include suppliers, NGOs and states.
• Company leaders constantly face conflicting demands from stakeholders.
• Leaders must mediate and make decisions considering diverse interests.

Counter Power

• Counter-power is an organized group that seeks to limit a decision-maker's power
• Stakeholders exert counter-power when their interests are harmed.
• In these situations the decision-maker should align opinions to avoid conflicts and to ensure all stakeholders are happy

Corporate Governance

• There are two coexisting modes of enterprise governance:
• Shareholder Governance: Decision-makers and shareholders fully control the company for profit maximization.
• Stakeholder Governance: A model encompassing all parties to create long-term value balancing stakeholders' interests.
• Crozier's power theory suggests reciprocal power between actors, who seek to influence each other or evade each other's influence.
• According to the political decision-maker theory, a business is a group striving to survive and grow, thus leaders must negotiate compromises that satisfy everyone.

The Environment

• The main climate change difficulty is comprehension of scale, speed, water impacts, and unique climate attributes.
• Global temperatures have risen 0.8°C on average which has not been seen for 100 years.
• Environmental policies should be based on solid science for effective action.

Natural Greenhouse Effect

• The natural greenhouse effect is vital for Earth, comprising less than 1% of the atmosphere, yet maintaining a 15°C average surface temperature.
• Without it, Earth's temperature would drop below -18°C.
• Human activity increases greenhouse gases, causing greater warming that disrupts global climates.

Water as a Resource

• Experts predict that water availability and quality will be major societal and environmental concerns amid climate change.
• It is crucial to inform decision-makers and stakeholders on these water issues so they can form solutions.
• Sustainable development frameworks need to prioritize water.

Energy and End of Oil

• Humanity faces a double challenge:
• Near-term: the end of cheap oil poses potentially expensive climate effects.
• Extensively using fossil fuels has major environmental effects, contributing to warming and environmental damage.
• Humanity must rapidly find alternatives although substitution technologies remain costly, complicating the transition to more sustainable energy sources.