ABSTRACT
The attention towards sustainability in the forestry sector has been growing at unprecedented levels in the last decades, accompanied by the emergence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a key tool to address sustainability challenges. There are several definitions of CSR in literature. In the context of this book, we make reference to the definition given by the European Commission (2011), which defines CSR as “a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interactions with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis" (p. 6). The concept of CSR first appeared in scientific studies in the 1980s (Carroll, 1999). Since its initial focus on social aspects, nowadays CSR is increasingly aligned with the concept of sustainability, encompassing a broader range of business aspects such as environment, governance and economics (Vidal and Kozak, 2008). Different approaches to the relationship between business and society have generated different ways of looking at CSR (Han, 2010):
Instrumental theories: CSR is considered only as a tool to achieve economic goals, hence long-term profit maximization (Friedman, 1970);
Political theories: business is powerful and can impact society; the more social power there is in a business, the more social responsibilities there are (Davis, 1960);
Integrative theories: business depends on society and a company should listen and integrate social demand (Preston and Post, 1975);
Ethical theories: ethical standards are facilitating good business-society relationships; the company is committed not only to shareholders but also to stakeholders (Freeman, 1984).
