Skim through the annual report or website of any major Australian company and you will be sure to find entire sections about its commitment to corporate social responsibility - donations to charities, environment and sustainability projects, and employee payroll giving programs.

So how can we reconcile the growing number of corporate social responsibility programs with the rise in corporate scandals and misbehaviour?

The RTBU has prepared a discussion paper in an effort to provide some answers.

The discussion paper does four things:

• Firstly, it provides a brief survey of recent examples of corporate misconduct and misbehaviour in Australia.
• Secondly, it outlines the historical basis that underpins corporations’ responsibilities to the public interest and societal expectations.
• Thirdly, it explains how the existing laws have moved away from the traditional purpose of corporations, to the detriment of workers, the community and the environment – and to corporations themselves.
• Finally, the report makes recommendations for government policy to address these problems.