Prof. Mark Anthony Camilleri has recently coauthored another timely publication, that links the corporate social responsibility (CSR) paradigm with corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. His coauthor, Professor Emeritus, Archie B. Carroll, is well known in academic circles, for his groundbreaking work in this field of study.

Their recent contribution provides a comprehensive and timely definition of CSR. It discusses business ethics concepts, value-based theories and notions as well as on the companies’ strategic motivations for CSR. It identifies international institutions and organisations that are promoting ethical behaviors and/or raising awareness about the business case for CSR. Afterwards, it elaborates about the rationale for corporate ESG initiatives and proposes a new model that clearly illustrates the ESG dimensions of CSR.

This research postulates that there is scope for the businesses to communicate about their ESG performance to improve their image and reputation among stakeholders. It indicates that report preparers may avail themselves of extant frameworks like the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), among others, to publish reliable, dependable and comparable ESG disclosures. It commends that such corporate reports ought to provide relevant details about the companies’ ESG performance for assurance exercises by independent auditors. In conclusion, it implies that companies are expected to be accountable and transparent about their organisations’ environmentally sustainable activities, stakeholder engagement credentials and adherence to corporate governance codes of conduct, to prove their social licence to operate their business.

The publication is available through Elsevier, ResearchGate and from the University of Malta's Open Access Repository (OAR).