Corporate social responsibility and sustainability are popular concepts, but they are often misconstrued and poorly implemented.
Business and human rights (BHR) discourse emerged as a regulatory critique to corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Against the backdrop of the increasing power, influence and control of businesses globally, but especially in developing economies such as in Africa, this course blends theory and practical insights with an understanding of the complementary concepts of CSR, BHR and sustainability.
It provides an integrated study of CSR and BHR in African context and an excellent opportunity for participants to understand how these constructs are operationalised within African countries and in major international regulatory dialogues across the world.
Participants will gain a better understanding of the nuances concerning these concepts, and will not only appreciate the extent of their rights and responsibilities in CSR-related and BHR-inspired legislations in South Africa and beyond, but will also be better able to comply with such CSR and BHR requirements within the jurisdiction.
Join us for a ten-hour course, held over five days.
When and where?
31 August to 4 September 2026, 14:00 to 16:00 SAST
This course will be held remotely, most likely on Zoom - exact details will be sent to registered participants a few days before the course.
Course outline
The following topics will be covered:
- Introduction to CSR, BHR and sustainability
- Terminologies: conceptual clarifications
- The influence of the Stakeholder Theory in the 21st century
- Corporate accountability in society
- The South African approach to CSR, BHR and sustainability
- Key roles for government to promote CSR
- An international perspective on CSR, BHR and sustainability
- CSR and BHR in practice: stakeholder engagement and risk management
Who will benefit from this course?
The course will not only appeal to academics, researchers and policy-makers, but will also be applicable to corporate managers, executives and directors, attorneys, legal consultants, compliance officers, and company secretaries, among others.
Presenter
Tanaka Mparutsa is a PhD Candidate in Commercial Law at the University of Cape Town. Her research interests are predominantly in the areas of contract law, public procurement law, company law, corporate governance and corporate compliance. Ms Mparutsa obtained the degrees LLB (University of Fort Hare), LLM in Commercial Law (University of Cape Town), LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice (University of Edinburgh in Scotland). Through her two LLMs she attained expertise in, inter alia, Advanced Contract Law in South Africa, Contract Law in Europe, Legal Aspects of Corporate Finance, Regional and International Corporate Governance, and Competition Law in Europe. She also practiced predominantly in the areas of government contracts, public procurement law and commercial law in general at Clark Laing Incorporated.
How much?
R5,500 per person
Certificate
A digital certificate of attendance from UCT will be issued to those who attend the full course.
Please note that the digital certificate can only be viewed on a secure portal. It cannot be downloaded or printed. You will have the option of ordering a hard copy of the certificate at your own cost, including the cost of the courier fee. More information is available here.
No certificate will be issued without the full course fee having been received. Please allow up to three weeks after the end of the course for certificates to be processed.
How to sign up
Complete and submit the registration form. You will then be given the payment information. Please note that registrations will not be accepted until payment has been made.
One or two days before the course, we will send you the Zoom link. You will need to register and use a password to enter the virtual classroom.
Registrations close three days before the course starts.
Download the brochure.