Research Guides: SOC 3316: Business, Civil Society, and the Environment: Corporate Governance & CSR

CSR Databases

Top databases for business ethics, corporate environmental and social responsibility and governance.

Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Covers most business areas: management, marketing, economics, finance, accounting, & international business. Includes company reports, SWOT analyses, working papers, country reports, industry reports, case studies, etc.
Conference Board This link opens in a new window
Economic data and business management research and trends. Consumer Confidence Index; macroeconomic time series on global output, input, and productivity; annual reports on executive compensation and corporate giving.
Foundation Directory Online This link opens in a new window
Information on grantmakers and grants. Database of foundations, corporate giving programs, grantmaking public charities, sponsoring companies, recently awarded grants, and recently-filed IRS Forms 990 and 990-PF.
Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) This link opens in a new window
News and newspaper stories, federal and state court cases, US law reviews and journals, company profiles and directories. Company Dossier; data on public figures.
Access Note: Personal account required for some functionality.

ProQuest
A multi-disciplinary database with full text availability for nearly 2,000 journals in all academic fields. It includes same-day, full-text coverage of the Wall Street Journal.
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All current Vanderbilt University students, faculty, and staff have access, both on and off campus.

Tips for Using a Company Website to Research CSR

The investor relations page of a public company website provides access to company reports, including annual (10-K) and quarterly (10-Q) filings. A company's most recent 10-K can provide insight and information into a company's current perspecitve on corporate social responsibility.

Company websites and 10-Ks can highlight efforts towards climate change, board diversity, sustainability, social fundraising, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Companies may also report on specific campaigns and efforts in periodic ESG reports that address their progress and commitment, in relation to their business strategy and goals.

A simple Google search for the company name + "investor relations" can help you locate these resources on a company website.

Tips for Searching the 10-K (use ctrl+f to locate specific phrases within the report):

Company statements related to social and environmental efforts often appear under "Part 1, Item 1: Business," section of the 10-K, which addresses the company's operations.
Social and governance efforts may appear under headings such as "Human Capital Management," "Cuture," 'Diversity, Equity and Inclusion," or "Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion."
Statements and updates related to the company's environmental consciousness may appear under headings such as "Sustainability" or "Environmental Matters."
Words and phrases for searching environmental efforts and issues withi an 10-K include: "environmental," "polution", "emissions," "energy," "sustainability," "recycling."
Words and phrases for searching social efforts and issues include: "equity," "equality," "diversity," "inclusion," "social justice," "gender," "race" "DE&I," EED&I".

Websites for Corporate Governance Best Practices

Websites on best practices in corporate governance.

BC Center for Corporate Citizenship
Membership-based knowledge center. Must register for premium content, including "How to Read a Corporate Social Responsibility Report: A user’s guide"
Corporate Governance & Capital Markets
From the IFC - International Finance Corporation/World Bank
Deloitte Corporate Governance & Accountability
Includes the Center for Corporate Governance, Board Governance Benchmarking and other resources.
Ernst & Young Corporate Governance:
Includes resources like the Board Matters Quarterly, and Emerging Trends.
European Corporate Governance Institute
PWC Corporate Governance Publications
Perspective on CSR issues.
Global Reporting
Assistance with GRI reporting guidelines.
Society of Corporate Governance
CSR professional association.

Websites for Corporate Social Responsibility & Governance

The following websites have been selected by the librarians at Walker Management Library as being choice sources of corporate social responsibility information on the World Wide Web.

50 Largest Corporate Foundations by Total Giving
AFL-CIO Corporate Watch
Executive pay and accountability and suggestions for additional resources for research.
American Customer Satisfaction Index - University of Michigan
A resource for corporate reputation research. The ACSI is the only measure of the quality of economic output nationwide. Research is showing the ACSI to be a leading economic indicator & a predictor of financial performance at the firm level.
As You Sow
In 1997, As You Sow launched the Corporate Social Responsibility Program (CSRP) to use shareholder advocacy and the financial markets to catalyze positive change within public held companies.
Beyond Grey Pinstripes
Stated goal is to ensure that MBAs are prepared for social and environmental stewardship. To that end, they rank business schools on their ability to prepare students and give awards to “Faculty Pioneers.”
Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship
Works with global corporations to help them define, plan and operationalize corporate citizenship. Its goal is to help business leverage its social, economic and human assets to ensure both its success and a more just and sustainable world.
Business & Human Rights Resource Center
News and reports about companies’ human rights impacts worldwide – positive and negative. Topics include discrimination, environment, poverty & development, labor, access to medicines, health & safety, security, trade.
Business for Social Responsibility
Founded in 1992 as an association of 50+ companies, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) goal is to help companies of all sizes & sectors achieve success in ways that demonstrate respect for ethical values, people, communities & the environment.
Caux Round Table
An international network of business leaders working to promote “moral capitalism.” Web site includes a list of affiliated organizations as well lists of names and affiliations of business leaders serving on its various governing and advisory boards.
Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog
Corporate Rap Sheet
Corporate Rap Sheets are dossiers summarizing significant crimes, violations and other questionable activities of the world’s largest and most controversial companies.
Corporate Responsibility Magazines "Black List"
Companies on the “Black List” represent the least-transparent companies in the Russell 1000.
CSRwire
Online source of corporate social responsibility and sustainability news, reports and information.
Duke CFO Global Business Outlook
Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation
ISS (Institutional Shareholder Services) White Papers
A selection of ISS research on a variety of topics, ranging from trends in securities class action filings and executive compensation, to board diversity and global regulatory developments.
Net Impact
An international nonprofit organization whose mission is to make a positive impact on society by growing and strengthening a community of new leaders who use business to improve the world.
OECD - Corporate Governance
Data and research on corporate governance including guidelines for multinational enterprises (MNEs) and state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
oekom Corporate Responsibility Studies
Includes annual reports on sustainability in corporate management.
Reputation Institute
An international organization devoted to advancing knowledge about corporate reputations and to providing professional assistance to companies interested in measuring and managing their reputations proactively.
Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance
Joint initiative of Stanford Law School and the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. The Center was created to advance the understanding and practice of corporate governance in a cross-disciplinary environment.
Sustainability Disclosure Database
Thousands of reports and reporting organizations. Partnership of the Global Reporting Initiative and KPMG.

CSR Company Reports & Rankings

Websites with CSR company information.

Corporate Rap Sheet
Dossiers summarizing significant violations and other questionable activities of the largest and most controversial companies.
Corporate Register
Companies CSR reports. Free resource, but must sign-up.
Global Reporting
Company CSR reports.
100 Most Just Companies in America
via Forbes magazine.
They Rule
Map relationships between institutions, directors and companies.
Transparency International
Corporate corruption index.