The relevance, importance and applicability of corporate social and environmental responsibility: South African case studies

[摘要] At the beginning of the new millennium, the world faces various challenges. Globalwarming is an all too familiar word, global terrorism is a threat to many countries thatalways felt safe and an ever looming oil crisis just does not want to go away. No longercan it be argued that nature is a never-ending provider of resources. In order for humanityto co-exist with nature, it is of great importance that we take our responsibility towardsnature and other human beings seriously. In the midst of all these, the most prominentinstitution in the world, the corporation, plays a very significant role. They are the biggesttraders in resources and they are also the institutions that affect our lives more than anyother.It is because of the influence that corporations have in our lives and on the naturalenvironment they operate in, that they need to take their social and environmentalresponsibility serious. This thesis focuses on the corporate social and environmentalresponsibility of two prominent corporations that operate in and around Stellenbosch: theUniversity of Stellenbosch and Spier Holdings. The validity of the reasons behindcorporate social responsibility is also investigated through literature before it is 'testedat the two corporations mentioned above.In terms of its findings, the thesis established the effectiveness of the way the universityis dealing with social and environmental issues. Opposed to this, Spier is studied as acorporation that deals with the same challenges in an environmental and socially sensitivemanner. The thesis also shows that there is a moral and business case for corporate socialand environmental responsibility that is applicable to corporations in general and thatthose reasons are valid and relevant. The thesis found that becoming a more sustainablecorporation is beneficial for the corporation, the society in which it operates as well as the natural environment.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University