ABSTRACT
By 2010, the global impact of the financial crisis made more people aware of the importance of economic governance to all manner of social and environmental concerns. As analysts of the field of corporate responsibility, our attention therefore turned increasingly to basic economic questions, and how voluntary activity would address some of the systemic flaws in capitalism. Despite the fierce winds of financial malpractice, it appeared that the corporate social responsibility and responsible investment fields had become increasingly sheltered and self-referential, considering a growth in uptake of corporate social responsibility as indicative of success. The business leaders are having trouble extrapolating what social responsibility could mean beyond their immediate financial interests. For instance, a theme that was common in many societies worldwide throughout 2010 was growing economic inequality. Societal leadership, to promote systemic change to benefit most stakeholders, also appeared a difficult challenge for professionals working within sustainable finance fields.
