University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND THE LANGUAGE AND
ACTION OF COPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Abstract
Louise Ellis
Sustainability Research Institute
University of Leeds, UK
Ms Claire Bastin
Sustainability Research Institute
University of Leeds, UK
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In UK policy-making, sustainable development is discussed in a corporate-centric manner, with
CSR seen as an extension of, indeed as interchangeable with, sustainable development. The
agendas of CSR and sustainable development have, to some extent, been confined to ones which
are ‘safe’ in the current economic system. Given the significance of the role of corporate actors
in this context, this paper examines whether the way corporations ‘talk about’ CSR has changed
since the onset of the recession.
Using document analysis of popular business media and interviews of key informants, this paper
contributes to the debate around whether change in language subsequently leads to change in
action and whether this will affect the direction of agenda setting and policy making relating to
CSR. This paper contributes to the debate linking CSR and corporate activity and it begins to
investigate how robust CSR activity is when economic prosperity is threatened.
Keywords: CSR, Sustainability, Recession, Economic Downturn, Language.
Introduction
In the UK policy-making context, sustainable development is discussed in a
corporate-centric manner with CSR often being seen as an extension of, indeed as
interchangeable with, sustainable development. To some extent, the agendas of CSR
and sustainable development have been confined to ones which are ‘safe’ for the
main economic players and corporate actors. Within this context this paper examines
whether the language used when corporations ‘talk about’ CSR has changed since
the onset of the economic downturn. We discuss whether this subsequently leads to
a change in action and whether this will affect the direction and agenda of policymaking.
In examining CSR in this context, this paper extends the debate about the
link between CSR and corporate lobbying activity. It also begins to investigate how
robust CSR activity is when economic prosperity declines. In doing so, it illustrates
how important it is to consider the discourse of CSR and its interrelatedness with
corporate activity.