An investigation of the role of learning and its impact on policy change, as exemplified in European Union climate policy integration. Although learning is often considered an important factor in effective environmental governance, it is not clear to what extent learning affects decision making and policy outcomes. In this book, Katharina Rietig examines the role of learning-understood as additional knowledge or experience that is taken into account by policymakers-in earth system governance and policy change. She does this by examining learning in European Union climate policy integration, looking in detail at the examples of the Renewable Energy Directive, its controversial biofuels component, and the greening measures in the Common Agricultural Policy. To examine how learning occurs in the policy process, how to differentiate aspects of learning, and under what conditions learning matters for policy outcomes, Rietig introduces the Learning in Governance Framework, applying it to analyze the EU examples. She finds that policy outcomes are affected through leadership of policy entrepreneurs, who use previously acquired knowledge and past experience to achieve outcomes aligned with their deeper beliefs and policy objectives. She concludes that learning does matter in governance as an intervening variable and can affect policy outcomes in combination with dedicated leadership by policy entrepreneurs who act as learning brokers. Bargaining dominates the policymaking process among actors who represent the interests of different organizations. Rietig's theoretical framework, empirical studies, and nuanced analysis offer a new perspective on the relevance of learning in earth system governance.

"Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been developed into a crucial corporate and organizational issue around the world. It has been incorporated within various sectors, countries and includes many types of activities and dimensions. It is common ground that organizations are more inclined today to broader their performance focus form short-term oriented goals towards a long-term social, environmental and value-added perspectives. Under the framework of corporate governance, organizations and companies are motivated to promote fairness, transparency, ethics and accountability in their transactions, while concurrently maintaining enhanced standards of governance. This means that organizations and corporations must align their activities with community aspirations which is an issue falling within the sphere of CSR. Increased attention has been exerted on the organizations regarding their approach towards the needs of various stakeholders. However, a crucial issue that this book attempts to address is the association, intersection and the inter-relationship between governance and CSR within the EU region, not adequately established in the existing literature. The book will show that governance and CSR are highly connected. With the purpose to study the association of CSR with legal, managerial and empirical aspects of governance in corporations and not-for-profit organizations, through various sectors of the economy, the book also intends to provide useful policy implications as well as to offer constructive directions for future research. It will be of value to researchers, academics, practitioners, policymakers, and students in the fields of corporate social responsibility and governance, organizational theory, marketing management, business ethics and human resource management"--