Instructors:
Dott. Ric. Cristina Landis –
Universität Regensburg
Prof. Dr. Maristela Mercedes Bauer -University
of Feevale, Brazil
Time and
Location:
The course
starts on 14.10. 2024 and ends approximately on 22.01.2025.
Monday 10.00-12.00 (Room W115)
Wednesday 12.00 -14.00 (Room W115)
Dates and
Exam: Detailed information
will follow soon.
Credits: 6 ECTS
Teaching
Content
Background:
Last decades have witnessed a significant increase in the debate on the role of
the companies within society and in the attention for the social and
environmental effects of their operations. Companies are expected to contribute
to a sustainable global economy by combining long-term corporate profitability
with social justice and environmental protection. This idea of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) or corporate sustainability has enormous implications for
corporate management, planning, control and reporting. Indeed, companies need
to incorporate this goal into their business operations. At the same time, they
are expected to disclose information on their economic, social and environmental
performance in a so-called CSR report. With this respect, a multitude of
national and international bodies and initiatives emerged with the aim to
provide guidance for the implementation in business practice and, more
specifically, for reporting on CSR issues. In this context, a new concept of
corporate reporting i.e., integrated reporting (IR) was developed and gained
particular importance. What begun and mostly developed as a voluntary practice
has become particularly in Europe and in Brazil (respectively CSR reporting and
IR) object of specific regulations and mandatory standards which are
challenging the corporate world. The growing prominence of CSR and IR is
reflected in the extensive and still increasing number of studies investigating
the implemented practices, the motivations and implications of sustainability
management and reporting.
Course
content: The course deals with the above mentioned developments focusing on the
implications for corporate reporting. It shows CSR and IR theoretical and
conceptual foundations, their practical implementation and challenges. It
presents and compares different international standards and regulations with a
particular focus on the European regulation and the European Sustainability
Reporting Standards (ESRS).
At the end
of the course, students are able to both specify and describe the concepts of
CSR and CSR reporting, IR and their components as well as the existing international
norms, and European regulation and standards. Further, they are able to analyze
and critically assess CSR and integrated reports. Finally, they can depict and
interpret the major research findings concerning the reasons for, implications
of, and future challenges of both integrating sustainability in business
management and reporting.