The significance of business-led corporate responsibility coalitions is indisputable. The WBCSD has 200 member companies with combined annual revenues of US$7 trillion; the UN Global Compact has almost 8,000 corporate members, over two-thirds of them from developing countries. It is estimated that there are more than 110 national and international generalist business-led CR coalitions. But there is now urgent need for informed and balanced analysis of their achievements, their progress and their potential.

Why did these coalitions start and grow? What have been their impacts? Where are they heading now? Where should they be going? What is the future? In a period of austerity, the business and public sector must decide whether funding these coalitions is a priority.

To meet current crises, there will have to be a great deal more business involvement; but efforts of individual corporations will not be sufficient. There is also a need for far more collective action among companies and more collaborative action between different sectors of society. Business-led CR coalitions with their decades of convening experience could play an important role in this process – if they are fit for purpose going forward.

Authors David Grayson and Jane Nelson have been actively involved in such coalitions for decades. In Corporate Responsibility Coalitions they first explore the past, present and future of these coalitions: the emergence of new models of collective corporate action over the past four decades; the current state of play, and the increasing number, diversity and complexity in terms of how they not only network with each other but also engage in a much broader universe of institutions that are promoting responsible business practices. In addition, the book provides in-depth profiles of the most strategic, effective and long-standing coalitions, including: Business for Social Responsibility; Business in the Community; CSR Europe; Instituto Ethos; International Business Leaders Forum; the UN Global Compact; and the WBCSD.

This book will be required reading for key supporters and potential partners of such coalitions in companies, governments, international development agencies, foundations, non-governmental organisations, academic institutions and think-tanks. It also aims to inspire a future generation of leaders to be more aware of the role of business as a partner in driving more inclusive, green and responsible growth, and to help them develop new types of leadership skills so that they can be effective in finding multi-stakeholder solutions to complex and systemic challenges.

This book is an indispensable guide to the role played by business-led coalitions in generating and disseminating socially responsible business practices. Written by two seminal figures in the field, it provides a comprehensive overview of what these coalitions have, and have not, achieved in aligning markets with the broader goals of social and environmental sustainability. It points to what needs to happen next if we are to get from here to there. Highly recommended for all who care about these issues – and everyone should!
John Ruggie, Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

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I learned new things from this interesting and thorough review. Corporate responsibility coalitions are globally important: this book covers comprehensively the past, the present, and the challenges for their future.
Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Chairman, Global Compact Foundation

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Corporate Responsibility Coalitions both captures the richness and diversity of a unique social movement as well as offering an exciting future vision of what more these coalitions could do. Anyone interested in the role that business can play to help tackle global problems will study carefully the agenda for action.
Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO, CBE, Vice President, Business in the Community, UK

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David Grayson and Jane Nelson’s Corporate Responsibility Coalitions lifts up a much-overlooked aspect of business coalitions as a critical feature of the evolving role of business in society. While providing a rich history of the development of these coalitions and in-depth case examples, the book’s real value lies in its analysis of what is driving these coalitions at this point in time, and the potential they have in resetting corporate responsibility in the era ahead. Corporate Responsibility Coalitions opens up some new thinking about the role of business, and coalitions’ collective opportunity to co-create shared innovation just in time to provide the business community with a potent instrument for building sustainable business.
Bradley Googins, Former Director, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship; Senior Visiting Fellow, Deusto University, Business School Bilbao, Spain

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Corporate responsibility coalitions play a vital role in helping businesses like ours accelerate the pace of change and engage our employees in sustainability. Responsible business is not just a moral imperative; it is essential to be a part of the solution, and core business engagement is fundamental to retain our license to operate.
Francesco Vanni d’Archirafi, CEO, Citi Transaction Services

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Corporate Responsibility Coalitions is an important and necessary read for those who lead, practice, teach, and influence corporate behavior. David Grayson and Jane Nelson tell a story that too few know: the story of corporate-led coalitions and the role they played and continue to play in redefining the role of business in society. It is a story of social innovation at its best. Our future depends on understanding the complex relationships and breakthrough interactions that allowed the environmental and social gains over the last 30 years to be realized. Understanding these powerful coalitions and learning as much as we can from them will be essential in creating a more just and sustainable world.
Cheryl Y. Kiser, Executive Director, The Lewis Institute & Babson Social Innovation Lab, Office of the President, Babson College

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Two of the most experienced practitioners in the field have compiled a 40-year survey of business-led coalitions – now numbering some 110 – that promote corporate social responsibility. With a panoramic overview of the field, covering the past, surveying the present, and setting an agenda for the future, this comprehensive volume makes the case for collective business action and a “coalition methodology” as an effective means for tackling some of the world’s most challenging problems. In-depth profiles of 12 of these coalitions document impact and lessons learned as well as potential paths forward. An invaluable resource for anyone interested in the collaborative aspects of CSR.
Steve Lydenberg, Founding Director, Initiative for Responsible Investment, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

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This is a challenging book. It reveals companies voluntarily cooperating to promote sustainability and ethical behavior. It thus throws out a challenge to our simple economic models, which treat companies as myopic profit maximizers. This “counterfactual” study deserves debate amongst economists everywhere.
David Pitt-Watson, Founder and Former Chair, Hermes Equity Ownership Service

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Jane Nelson and David Grayson have been part of the vanguard of corporate social responsibility for decades. In this book they explore collective business action and wrestle with critical questions of leadership, governance, and resource mobilization. We should all applaud their extraordinary thought leadership and contribution to this field.
Michele Kahane, Professor of Professional Practice, Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy

Acknowledgments

PART I. The Past: The emergence of new models of collective business leadership

1. The rise of the corporate responsibility movement
2. The definition of business-led corporate responsibility coalitions
3. The evolution of business-led corporate responsibility coalitions
4. Global trends and motivations driving the growth of corporate responsibility coalitions
5. The leadership role of individual champions, companies and foundations in building the coalitions

PART II. The Present: Assessing the impact of coalitions today

6. The number and diversity of corporate responsibility coalitions
7. Coalitions as part of a broader ecosystem promoting responsible business
8. The key roles of corporate responsibility coalitions
9. How coalitions organize themselves
10. Networking among the coalitions
11. Assessing the impact of coalitions

PART III. The Future: The leadership challenge for corporate responsibility coalitions

12. The need for greater corporate responsibility and collective action
13. An agenda for action for corporate responsibility coalitions
14. Are corporate responsibility coalitions fit for the future?
15. Recommendations and conclusion

PROFILES OF LEADING CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY COALITIONS AND SUI GENERIS ORGANIZATIONS

1. Business for Social Responsibility
2. Business in the Community
3. CSR Europe
4. Instituto Ethos
5. International Business Leaders Forum
6. Maala–Business for Social Responsibility
7. National Business Initiative for Growth, Development and Democracy
8. Philippine Business for Social Progress
9. World Business Council for Sustainable Development
10. World Environment Center
11. United Nations Global Compact
12. World Economic Forum

Appendix 1. Corporate responsibility time-line
Appendix 2. Research methodology
Appendix 3. GlobeScan coalition survey and survey respondents

Endnotes
Index