ABSTRACT
Business is facing unprecedented scrutiny, risks and challenges in the face of dramatic change sweeping the world. There is growing recognition that companies need to move beyond being responsible to shareholders for financial performance and become accountable to stakeholders for their wider economic, environmental and societal impacts. Society’s changing expectations are important to business, especially how society views the role of companies. There are demands for companies to be responsible to a broader group of people than only their shareholders. In the developing world, many governments are struggling to provide their citizens with the basic social services because they are either too poor or face endemic corruption. Non-governmental organisations are calling for binding international legislation to force companies to behave in a certain way. Managers need tools to help them do their business in a way that contributes to sustainable development.
