Corporate Social Responsibility

According to the ecocentric model of CSR, environmental protection and sustainability are more important than economic or social benefits.

Learning Objectives

Explain the concept of ecocentric corporate social responsibility and how it relates to other forms of CSR

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• Ecocentric CSR seeks to protect and improve the quality of the natural environment, regardless of the economic benefits to an organization.
• Ecocentric CSR reflects an organization's commitment to the environment as the primary core value for conducting business.
• As a core business activity, ecocentric management may also incorporate life-cycle assessment, a technique aimed at assessing the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product's life, from raw material extraction to disposal or recycling.
  

Key Terms

• ecology: The branch of biology dealing with the relationships of organisms with their environment and with each other.
  

Corporate social responsibility, also referred to as CSR, can be described as a business's efforts to assume responsibility for its actions and to encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, and other stakeholders. Ecocentric management is one type of CSR that adopts a deeply ecological view of business.

The ecocentric model differs from more human-centered interpretations of sustainability or responsibility. "Deep" ecology is a form of environmentalism that seeks to protect and improve the quality of the natural environment. It values environmental good above economic or even social benefits. For this reason, ecocentric CSR activities, more than any other type of CSR efforts, are not expected to provide business benefits. Instead, they reflect an organization's commitment to the environment as the primary core value for conducting business.

Emerging Values: Environmentalism and Green Energy: Image of an energy plant.

Ecocentric supporters believe that low-impact technology and self-reliance are more desirable than technological control over nature. As a result, the ecocentric manager may argue against using ecologically damaging products, such as pesticides and nuclear power, even if these products benefit people. In this way, the ecocentric approach contrasts with that of a more traditional CSR environmental sustainability, which seeks to maintain economic performance while reducing the impact of those products or making parallel investments in alternatives.

Ecocentric CSR activities are typically integrated with business operations. For example, they may incorporate life-cycle assessment, a technique aimed at assessing the environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life, from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling. The more environmentally harmful stages can be identified and targeted for improvement so that every part of the value chain demonstrates the paramount importance of ecocentric CSR.