Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development: Is Business the Solution?

The business of business is business. So then why should corporations be involved in development? This groundbreaking new book makes the case that that governments and their international agencies grouped under the umbrella of the UN, have failed in their attempts to rid the planet of under-development and poverty. If development is the objective then it seems that the solution and the responsibility lies with the private sector, particularly through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs of large corporations, with their tremendous power and economic strength.

This book, written by noted CSR practitioner Michael Hopkins, is the first to explicitly link CSR with development. It spells out what corporations are doing on development, what more they could do and how CSR can be a useful tool to promote economic development via corporations. This is important and challenging reading for all of those in government, business and NGOs who think that there must be a better, more effective and dynamic way to kick-start development and eradicate poverty.

Michael Hopkins is CEO of MHC International (London and Geneva) and Chair of the International Centre for Business Performance and Corporate Responsibility, Middlesex University Business School, UK. He is also the author of The Planetary Bargain (2003).