Proponents of social contract theory suggest that corporations are given a “license to operate” by society in exchange for good behaviour, (read judicious utilisation of resources) and as such the corporations should be accountable to society for their performance. 29.
The contribution of corporate accountability theory to corporate sustainability is that it helps define the nature of the relationship between corporate managers and the rest of society. It also sets out the arguments as to why companies should report on their environmental, social, and economic performance, not just financial performance.