Is Corporate Responsibility More than a Communication Tool?

New expectations of civil society towards companies today invite us to reconsider the role of the latter. Whilst companies have long been legally defined as entities motivated by profit, it appears that their objectives are now beginning to expand to include environmental and social considerations.

CSR, positive impact on society, greening of their activities, better working conditions: can companies be actors of trust? Social performance raises several questions. On the one hand, as to the motivations of companies: is social performance a strategy of companies to prosper in the long term or a true humanistic commitment? What gains can be made from social performance beyond image benefit? On the other hand, as regards the impact of these initiatives: does the involvement of companies extend to measuring the impact of social performance? Is this impact sufficient to conclude that companies can replace traditional, state or associative actors in the management of future social and climate issues? Would a better distribution of profits not be more prone to achieve some of these objectives?