Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, and higher education

Abstract

In the last two decades, academic recognition of research and teaching in Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability has been incorporated into university education. The inclusion responds to the growing need to correctly guide the decision-making of future professionals in the current socio-economic context. This article refers to the lines of knowledge that underpin social responsibility, as well as its presence in the undergraduate and postgraduate courses offered by public and private universities in Madrid, proposing the transversality of its teaching in university education. The study includes the analysis of 19 universities in Madrid to find out about the current study plans and training itineraries in each of them. The parameters considered include the type of degree, course, subject classification, and number of credits of subjects related to Corporate Social Responsibility such as Sustainability, Ethics and Deontology. The analysis shows the presence of these subjects in the different curricula and their particularities, and highlights the need to commit to quality university education. In the face of current challenges, a socially responsible approach that promotes the general good, but with respect for the individual freedom of the person, must take precedence.