Corporate Social Responsibility in Islamic Culture. Case Study: Islamic Reporting Initiative

The aim of this paper is to explore the state of the art of Corporate Social Responsibility in Islamic culture. This topic is interesting not because CSR is a new concept, but because some corporate sustainability reporting values developed in Western Countries, as GRI Standard, are not focused in Islamic values and beliefs. In fact, Sustainable Development is not a new concept, but it is embedded in the fundamental codes of conduct in Islamic Societies and Laws through Shari’ah. The objectives are: a) a literature review of Islamic CSR b) a qualitative comparative analysis between Islamic CSR (ICSR) and conventional CSR c) a documental analysis of the Islamic network that implements CSR strategies, policies and practices in Islamic Societies (IRI- Islamic Reporting Initiatives) supported by an ad-hoc interview held with an IRI’s Staff member. The conclusion of this research discusses the perspective of Islamic view in sustainability reporting by incorporating the concept of Tawhid which provides a holistic guidance based on Islamic beliefs, values and concepts and, in specific, the main differences between western and Islamic Corporate Sustainability Reporting perspective. The finding of the paper is to be useful to integrate and develop sustainable strategies for Islamic companies.