Regulating CSR: A precursor to ‘complete’ globalisation

This chapter posits that in an ideal world, regulation of CSR policy would alleviate many issues. Although the idea of regulating CSR seems paradoxical in nature, the evolution of CSR is such that there is an ideological shift with regard to CSR quasi-regulation in some jurisdictions – for example, in the constituency statutes in the US (state level); s. 172 of the Companies Act 2006 in the UK; s. 223 of the Companies Act 2014 in Ireland; and, perhaps most far reaching, s. 135 Companies Act 2013 in India. Regulation would be ideal to ensure that true ‘development’ occurs beyond dependence on capital investment. It would also ensure that governments’ value as an external stakeholder is realised and, indeed, cement their role within a more globalised market system. However, the challenge lies in the economic climate in which we are currently situated. Not only do states need development via CSR, but also injections of investment are paramount to ensuring growth. This chapter makes the argument that faced with a choice, national governments are less likely to enforce a mandatory CSR agenda if it means losing out on capital investment. Perhaps the solution lies elsewhere.