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Related concepts

A number of related concepts are linked to the area of sustainable development. Looking more
closely at these concepts can lead to questions concerning how the individual concepts differ or
overlap. This module provides an overview of several related concepts that are linked to the field
of sustainability.

Corporate Social Responsibility

The foundations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) were laid in the publication by Howard
Bowen entitled “Social Responsibilities of the Businessman
from 1953, in which the author defined CSR as the obligations of a businessman to use practices,
make decisions or follow directions of behavior that are desirable for the goals and values of our
society (Carroll, 1999). Carroll (1991) sees CSR as a combination of philanthropic, ethical, legal
and economic responsibility.

CSR was further developed in the 1990s thanks to the creation of the first platforms and initiatives.
Nonetheless, the issue concerning the lack of a unified definition of CSR still remains, and many
authors today are still dealing with this. For example, Dahlsrud (2008) reached the conclusion
that three of five areas appear in nearly all researched definitions, and four of five areas appear
in 80% of definitions. His analysis of the definition of the CSR concept revealed five areas with

the most frequent occurrence:
• environmental,

• social,

• economic,

• stakeholders,

• voluntariness (Dahlsrud, 2008).

Furthermore, an institution like the EU defines CSR in its Green Paper as the voluntary integration
of social and ecological viewpoints into the everyday activities of company operations and
interactions with company stakeholders (Commission of the European Communities, 2001).

The CSR concept is based on the same pillars as sustainable development and stems from the
triple bottom line principle – People, Planet, Profit (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014). Concepts of
sustainability and corporate social responsibility can sometimes be seen as nearly identical
(Laine, 2005). A contradicting opinion in terms of the relationship between sustainability and CSR
sees sustainability to be a broader concept than CSR. Corporate social responsibility then

represents a tool to achieve sustainability while using voluntary tools such as quality management
systems, environmental management systems, cleaner production, ecological signs, etc.
(Zadražilová et al., 2011).

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