Business Sustainability, CSR, and ESG; What’s the difference?

They're all buzzwords, but do you know exactly what they are and how to use them?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), business sustainability, and the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) framework are all buzzwords in the business world. More than a fad, they became part of most companies’ strategic vision. A lot of times, they are used synonymously. In reality, though, the semantics are frequently evolving to produce different meanings in the business world.

From CSR to business sustainability

A CSR program is rooted in corporate philanthropy. It’s based on the notion that business is an integral part of society. A company must, then, contribute to and not only take from it. In a way, CSR acts as a form of self-regulation and holds a company accountable for its social impact. It was the beginning of business sustainability, the process of incorporating pro-social practices into a business’ processes.

CSR was all the rage by the end of the last century. An economist by the name of Roward Bowen coined the term in 1953. His newly published book on business ethics called for corporations to become more socially responsible. But it wasn’t until the late 1970s that CSR…