Cor­por­ate Polit­ic­al Respons­ibility and Sustain­ability Gov­ernance

Course content

The course investigates the relationships of corporations with sustainability governance, whether in the context of governmental or non-governmental (e.g., multi-stakeholder initiatives) policies.  It uses the framework of Corporate Political Responsibility to extend CSR into the political roles of corporations.  This is important because whilst we are more familiar with the economic and social roles of corporations, their political roles are less well-understood.  Moreover, sustainability debates often under-estimate the importance of governance questions, focusing on the substantive Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), for example, to the neglect of SDGs 16 and 17 which address ‘strong institutions’ and ‘partnerships for the goals’.

The module investigates corporate ‘making, taking and breaking’ of sustainability governance in order to reveal some positive contributions as well as some activities which raise questions about corporations’ contributions to sustainability and about the corporations' citizenship.  This includes investigation of corporate roles and relationships in, for example: climate change regulation, supply chain governance, community responsibility, humanitarian aid, environmental and human rights regulation.

The course includes practitioner presentations on different aspects of corporations' governance roles related to sustainability topics. 

Whilst it focuses on the governance roles of corporations with homes in democratic systems, the course includes attention to their activities in other places.  It is designed to be of particular interest to students with interests in CSR, sustainability, and business and politics.