Issues on Social and Environmental Accounting

Editorial Notes

Abstract

The new millennium saw the emergence 
of a new way of thinking about the func
tions and duties of modern corporations. 
The growing international demands for 
companies to be more transparent and 
accountable for their economic, social 
and environmental impacts everywhere 
they operate. Corporate managers are 
pressed with more responsibility to serve 
the needs of society at large. Today, 
businesses are expected not only to in
crease their bottom line but also to oper
ate within the ‘new moral marketplace’. 
Corporate morality is increasingly being 
judged by consumers, investors and em
ployees. Terms that are alien to many a 
few years ago such as ‘green marketing’, 
‘environmentally friendly’, ‘gender sen
sitive’, ‘fair trade’, ‘against animal test
ing’ and many more become household 
words and high on consumers’ con
science of today. Beyond that, global 
issues like, the oil crisis, environmental 
degradation, human rights, labour issues 
and energy issue forced the companies 
to reconsider their objectives. Instead of 
just trying to maximize profit and please 
their shareholders, many multinational 
corporations are beginning to understand 
that they now have a broad spectrum of 
stakeholders. This includes investors, 
creditors, 
employee, governments, 
NGOs and the various communities in 
which they operate. Businesses have to 
satisfy all these stakeholders’ needs, thus 
have an additional role and purpose. 
Hence, the term corporate social respon
sibility (CSR) was born.