Companies produce goods (= « des biens ») and services, thereby creating wealth (= « de la richesse »). To achieve this goal, they need to hire (= « recruter ») people and buy equipment but also to raise capital (= « lever des capitaux »). To grow, companies have to resist competition while meeting the demands of their customers.
Stakeholders (= « parties prenantes ») are people that have an interest in how a business is run (employees, customers, shareholders, etc.). Shareholders (= « actionnaires ») are the people who have invested in a company and own shares. One of the goals of a company is to maximize profits (= « les bénéfices ») for its shareholders.
However a company is also accountable to (= « redevable à ») society. « CSR » (Corporate Social Responsibility) is a company’s efforts to take into account its effects on the environment and society. In today's world consumers are increasing concerned with their impact on the environment and society. CSR takes into account sustainable development and also has an impact on social and economic factors.
