ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the issue in regards to sustainability challenges and challenges of regulating these at a global level and regulatory challenges and legitimacy issues related to the inclusion of non-state actors, such as businesses, in super-national law-making. It describes how to respond those challenges and sets out the objective of developing a theory on collaborative regulation. The chapter shows the method that has been applied in terms of empirical cases and the applied theoretical framework. Finally, it also introduces key terms and sets out delimitations. In social sciences, the term legitimacy has a number of nuances that turn around a common core on acceptance, representativeness and coherence with the norms and needs of society. Within the broader context of evolution of norms of conduct on sustainability and business impacts on society, the case of the evolution of normative guidance on business and human rights (BHR) offers an example that places more general Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives into perspective.
