Publications
R. Sarre, M. Doig and B. Fiedler (2000) "Using the Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility as a Means of Risk Management and Accountability", Working Paper for the Hawke Institute University of South Australia, 2000. Available for viewing here (PDF 68 Kb – download Adobe Acrobat)
'Preventing disaster by building a risk-prevention ethic into corporate governance'
Rick Sarre and Meredith Doig, Australian Journal of Emergency Management, vol 15, no 2, pp 54–57, Winter 2000
The full text is available at the EMA web site (as a PDF 172 Kb – download Adobe Acrobat)
Abstract
The recklessness, or reckless indifference, of corporate entities often causes disasters. It is certainly the case that modern corporations and business enterprises are bound by strict legal responsibilities that require them to operate in a safe fashion. The consequences for those entities whose conduct falls outside of the acceptable parameters of the law, however, are difficult to construct, given that corporate entities are artificial ‘persons’, and given that the required mental element attaching to corporate criminal conduct is difficult to establish let alone prove. The mere setting of legal and administrative rules to control reckless behaviour, either by legislation or by organisational rules and policy, may be necessary, but it is not sufficient, for, as history records, accidents and tragedies still occur. In this paper the authors show how corporate entities can and should employ principles of corporate social responsibility in framing their organisational culture. The task of lessening the risk of corporate irresponsibility may best be achieved, they conclude, in linking social responsibility as a fundamental principle of corporate governance.