Social Audit: Case Study of Sustainable Enterprise Index-ISE Companies

Abstract

Regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR), Brazil started with a strong philanthropic component. In recent years, CSR has become increasingly aligned with a company’s core business, including its marketing strategy. Environmental and social initiatives have started to be selected through strategic analysis of relations not only with traditional shareholders, but also with a network of other stakeholders. This chapter is about this development; it assesses the incorporation of social responsibility into the audits of 38 companies who, in 2013–2014, were comprised in the Sustainable Enterprise Index-ISE. The ISE family tracks the stock performance of the Brazilian leading companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. This assessment suggests that state regulation seems to be effective in terms of CSR. With the new regulation on labor force, after Lula administration, the ISE companies appear to give more attention to internal public, rather than to external public, although business marketing explores the social and environmental responsibility of external public with very few audit practices.