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2020/2021

Corporate Social Responsibility

Code: 43059 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
4313784 Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability OT 0 1
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Maria Rosa Rovira Val
Email:
MariaRosa.Rovira@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
english (eng)

Teachers

Isabel Pont Castejón

Prerequisites

 

Objectives and Contextualisation

The course has two differenciate parts. One is an introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of organisations including the environmental, social and governance dimensions of the organisation’s activity. The other part is an introduction to European environmental law.

At the end of the course the student is expected to have a good understanding of:

  • Introduction to the main concepts and topics of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
  • Introduction to the European environmental law.

Competences

  • Analyse, summarise, organise and plan projects related to the environmental improvement of product, processes and services.
  • Apply knowledge of environmental and ecological economics to the analysis and interpretation of environmental problem areas.
  • Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  • Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  • Work in an international, multidisciplinary context.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse best practices in corporate social responsibility.
  2. Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  3. Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  4. Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  5. Know the main concepts, regulations and international initiatives concerning the different dimensions of corporate social responsibility (economic, environmental, social, corporate governance).
  6. Work in an international, multidisciplinary context.

Content

The course is divided in two parts:

 Corporate Social Responsability 
  • Introduction
  • Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Critiques of Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Actors and Drivers
  • Managing Corporate Social Responsibility
     

European environmental law

  • Begining and development of European enviornmental law
  • European Union principles and legal basis for environmental law
  • Instruments and policies
  • The European Union actors on environmental law
  • The role of the Europena Union and the role of the states and local authorities
  • Harmonization, enforcement and implementation

    

Methodology

 The teaching methodology and evaluation may undergo some changes depending on the restrictions on attendance imposed by the health authorities

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Exercise in class 4 0.16 1, 5, 4, 2, 3, 6
Lectures 33 1.32 5, 6
Type: Autonomous      
Reading articles, books and studying for each of the given lectures 90 3.6 1, 5, 4, 3
Short essay writing, which involves reading the necessary academic literature 20 0.8 1, 5, 4, 2, 3

Assessment

The student will be evaluated separately for each of the two parts of the course based on:
i) the knowledge obtained at the end of the course regarding the proposed academic literature and the other topics and aspects worked during the sessions;
ii) his/her brief written submissions and his/her capacity for critical analysis, and
iii) Active participation in the sessions.

 
Details:
 
One or two brief writings of 500-1000 words. The teacher will evaluate the writing according to her/his own criteria. The student could ask for details on his/her mark with the corresponding teacher.
 
The final exam covers most of the topics worked during the sessions. The space for the answers will be limited and these will have to demonstrate the understanding and mastery of the main concepts and ideas provided during the course. The corresponding teacher will assess them according to her/his own criteria. The student could ask for details on his/her grade with the corresponding teacher.
 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Final exam 50% 3 0.12 1, 5, 4, 2
Participation in class 25% 0 0 1, 5, 4, 2, 6
Short essay writings 25% 0 0 1, 5, 4, 2, 3

Bibliography

Bibliography – Corporate social responsibility

BENN, SUZANNE and BOLTON DIANNE (2011) Key concepts in corporate social responsibility, SAGE, Los Angeles (Calif.)

CRANE, A. et al. (2008) The Oxford Handboook of Corporate Social Responsibility,  Oxford University Press Inc., New York

CRANE, A. and Matten, D. (2016) Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization, Oxford University Press Inc., Newe York 

EUROPEAN UNION (2011) Corporate social responsibility: national public policies in the European Union / European Commission. Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, ISBN 9789279197208

HABISCH, ANDRÉ et al. (2005), Corporate social responsibility across Europe, Springer Berlin, Heidelberg (electronic format)

HOPKINS, MICHAEL (2007), Corporate social responsibility and international development: is business the solution?, Earthscan, London

OKPARA, JOHN O. and IDOWU, SAMUEL O. (2013) Corporate social responsibility: challenges, opportunities and strategies for 21st century leaders, Springer Berlin, Heidelberg

 

Bibliography – European environmental law

Jan H. JANS; Hans H.B. Vedder European Environmental Law, Europa law Publishing (Fourth Edition) 2012

CLEMENT, Marc Droit européen de l'environnement.Jurisprudence commentée, ed, Larcie, 2016

DE SADELEER Nicolas. EU environmental law and the internal market. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014

EU Environmenal Law Training Package. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/law/training_package.htm

JUSTE RUIZ, J., CASTILLO DAUDÍ,M., la protección del medio ambiente en el ámbito internacional y en la Unión europea, Tirant loBlanc, Valencia, 2014

HAIGH, Nigel, EU Environmental Policy:Its jouney to Centre Stage. 2016.

IEEP, Manual of European Environmental Policy (2012), https://ieep.eu/understanding-the-eu/manual-of-european-environmental-policy

KRAMER, L. EU Environmental Law, Sweet and Maxwell, 8th ed. 2015

LEE, Maria; EU Environmental Law, Governance and Decision-Making, 2nd Ed. 2014

MACRORY (2014),Regulation, Enforcement and Governance of Environmental Law, 2nd edition Hart Publishing, Oxford

MACRORY et al. (2004),  Principles of European Environmental Law. Europa Law Publishing.

 

Bibliography- Environmental Law. Others

BIRNIE, P.W.-BOYLE, A.E., REDGWELL, C.,International Law and Environment, 3a ed. Oxford University Press, 2009.

BROWN WEISS, E. (Edited), Environmental Challenge and International Law, The United Nations University Press, 1992.; International Environmental Law, Second Edition (Casebook) 2nd Edition, 2006

KISS, A., SHELTON, D., A Guide to International Environmental Law, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2007

SANDS, Ph., Principles of International Environmental Law, Cambridge University Press, 2nd. Ed., Manchester/N.Y., 2012

THORNTON, James; GOODMAN, Martin, CLIENT EARTH 2017. Scribe Publications (May 11, 2017)

CAMPINS, M; CASADO, L; NIETO, J.E; PIGRAU, A; PONT, I; Environmental Law in Spain, Wolter Kluwers-kluwer Law International, The Netherlands, 2014

 

Webs

PNUMA (United Nations Program for Environment http://www.pnuma.org

European Court of Human rights http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/

Council of Europe. Manual on human rights and the environment”; Council of Europe Publishing 2012, http://www.echr.coe.int/LibraryDocs/DH_DEV_Manual_Environment_Eng.pdf

Official website European Union http://europa.eu/index_en.htm

Training Package on Principles of EU Environmental Law http://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/law/principles.htm

Official Journal of the European Unionhttp://eur-lex.europa.eu/oj/direct-access.html?locale=en

Summaries of the European environmental legislation http://eur-lex.europa.eu/summary/chapter/environment.html?root_default=SUM_1_CODED%3D20&locale=en

European Commission (Environment) : http://ec.europa.eu/environment/index_en.htm

 European Environment Agency http://www.eea.europa.eu