Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become one of the standard business practices of our time. For companies committed to CSR it means kudos and an enhanced overall reputation – a powerful statement of what they stand for in an often cynical business world.

And yet, despite the positivity and optimism that CSR brings to the corporate table, companies do not always accept their responsibilities in this area in good heart, with a fair number admitting to having adopted CSR mainly as a marketing gimmick. In some cases, firms may have been coerced into adopting CSR and did so with insufficient enthusiasm and vigour, leaving many of them to ponder what they could and should have done differently.

This project is to investigate how the representative companies in the three fields embody CSR then provide development strategies for one of the brands.