Abstract:
The shift from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to corporate sustainability has reshaped how organisations relate to the communities in which they operate. While conceptual frameworks such as CSR, ESG, and responsible business conduct have been extensively examined, less attention has been paid to the communicative practices through which organisations build and sustain legitimacy at the local level. This paper examines the case of Heidelberg Materials Romania, which has developed two structured community dialogue mechanisms – Sfatul Bătrânilor (Elders’ Council) and Sfatul Jurnaliştilor (Journalists’ Council) – since 2011. Drawing on document analysis of sustainability reports (2011–2022) and corporate communication materials, the paper traces how these mechanisms evolved from CSR-era initiatives into embedded governance practices. The analysis shows that consistency, recurrence, and transparency are key communicative conditions for organisational legitimacy in industrial contexts.
