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Kernaghan Webb

Dr. Kernaghan Webb

Director, Ryerson Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibility | Associate Professor
DepartmentLaw and Business
EducationLLB., LLM., LLD (PhD in law)
Phone416-979-5000, ext. 552478

Overview

Dr. Kernaghan Webb is an Associate Professor in the Law and Business department. He teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels on law and business issues, including corporate social responsibility and consumer protection. He is also the Director of the 吃瓜直播 Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibility. He holds Bachelors, Masters, and PhD degrees in law. Dr. Webb鈥檚 teaching, research and action has focused on innovative approaches to regulation, including the role of market-based non-coercive instruments (codes, standards, certification, voluntary approaches) in support of conventional state-based regulatory approaches (at the national and international level), and the regulation of the voluntary sector. The intersection of corporate social responsibility and the law is of particular interest, both in his research and teaching.

Dr. Webb has published extensively on regulatory and CSR issues, and his work on regulatory offences has been cited and followed by the Supreme Court of Canada. Dr. Webb has written on consumer protection/Competition Act issues. He has extensive background and experience in public policy, law, and regulation. 

Research Interests

Law, regulation, compliance, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, standards, and voluntary codes.

  • Research
  • Tovilla, E. & Webb, K. (Summer 2026). , Influents Magazine, pp. 12 - 15.
  • Webb, K. (2026).  Centre for International Governance Innovation, August, 2026, pp. 1 鈥� 5.
  • Dashwood, H. S., Idemudia, U., Puplampu, B. B. and Webb, K.. (2025). . Africa Journal of Management, 1鈥�22.
  • Kalash, Y. and Webb, K. (2025).  Centre for International Governance Innovation, December, 2025, pp. 1 鈥� 5.
  • Sherman, III, J., Freeman, B., Mendes and Webb, K. (2025). . International Bar Association Business and Human Rights Committee, November, 2025, pp. 1 鈥� 10.
  • Dashwood, H., U. Idemuda, B. Puplampu and Webb, K. (2022). 鈥淭he Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and Local Institutions in Ghana: Realizing accountability or missed opportunity?鈥� Development Policy Review, Vol. 40, Issue 5.
  • Dashwood, H., U. Idemuda, B. Puplampu and Webb, K. (2022). 鈥淕hana鈥檚 Adoption of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI): the path from data disclosure to community accountability,鈥� Extractive Industries and Society (accepted for publication, revisions completed).
  • Abreu, M., F. Ara煤jo; J. Cavalcante and Webb, K. (2021). 鈥淔rom 鈥楤usiness as Usual鈥� to Tackling Climate Change: Exploring Factors Affecting Low-Carbon Decision-Making in the Canadian Oil and Gas Sector,鈥� Energy Policy, Vol. 148, Part A, pp. 1 鈥� 10.
  • Martin, M. and Webb, K. (2020). 鈥淲ater Quality Protection of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes: Examining the Emerging State/Non-State Governance Approach,鈥� International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 102-124.
  • Webb, K., (2020).  Policy Options (May 26).
  • Tovilla, E. and Webb, K. (2017). 鈥淓xamining the Emerging Environmental Protection Policy Convergence in the Ontario Municipal Water, Wastewater and Stormwater Sectors,鈥� Water Quality Research Journal, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 209-228.
  • Cruz, R., and P. Walsh and Webb, K. (2017). 鈥淎 Comparative Review of the Role of Markets and Institutions in Sustaining Innovation in Cleantech: A Critical mass Approach,鈥� International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, Vol. 11 No. 2/3, pp. 149-169.
  • Hohn, M. and Webb, K.  (2016). 鈥淢ining Industry-Aboriginal Engagement Pursuant to the New Ontario Mining Act Rules:  A Preliminary Examination of Potential Impacts,鈥� CIM Journal, Vol. 1, No. 6, pp. 33-42.
  • Webb, K., (2015). 鈥淚SO 26000 Social Responsibility Standard as 鈥楶roto Law鈥� and a New Form of Global Custom: Positioning ISO 26000 in the Emerging Transnational Regulatory Governance Rule Instrument Architecture鈥�, Transnational Legal Theory Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 1-35.
  • Helms, W., and Webb, K. (2014). 鈥淧erceived voluntary code legitimacy: Towards a theoretical framework and research agenda.鈥� Journal of Management & Organization, 20, pp 287-312 (25 pages).
  • Webb, K. (2013), 鈥淎ddressing Misleading Advertising in the Canadian Telecommunication Industry: An Evolving Story,鈥� Canadian Competition Law Review (Spring 2013), pp. 78 鈥� 114.
  • Helms, W., Oliver, C. and Webb, K. (2012). Antecedents of settlement on a new institutional practice: Negotiation of the ISO 26000 standard on social responsibility. The Academy of Management Journal, 55(5), 1120鈥�1145.
  • Webb, K. (2012). Multi-level corporate responsibility and the mining sector: The Canadian experience in Latin America. Business and Politics, 14(3), 1鈥�42.
  • Webb, K. (2012). Political risk insurance, CSR and the mining sector: An illustration of the regulatory effects of contracts. International Journal of Law and Management, 54(5), 394鈥�415.
  • Webb, K. (2012). Corporate social responsibility: The Canadian experience. In P. Kissick (Ed.), Business ethics: Concepts, cases and Canadian perspectives (pp. 75鈥�89). Emond Montgomery.
  • Webb, K. (2012). ISO 26000: Bridging the public/private divide in transnational business governance interactions (CLPE Research Paper No. 21/2012). Osgoode Hall Law School, Comparative Research in Law and Political Economy Research Paper Series.
  • Webb, K. (2011). Corporate citizenship and private regulatory regimes: Understanding new governance roles and functions. In I. Pies & P. Koslowski (Eds.), Corporate citizenship and new governance: The political role of corporations (pp. 39鈥�58). Springer.
  • Webb, K. (2011). Corporate social responsibility and the law: Learning from the experience of Canadian mining companies in Latin America. In J. Sagebien & N. Lindsay (Eds.), Governance ecosystems: CSR in the Latin American mining sector (pp. 47鈥�63). Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Professional Contributions

Dr. Webb has been appointed Special Advisor to the UN Global Compact regarding the ISO 26000 social responsibility standard. He is the co-chair of the Centre for Excellence on CSR, one of the four pillars of the federal Extractive Sector CSR Strategy. He has served on the Board of Directors of several different organizations. Dr. Webb regularly provides advice and/or acts as a consultant to governments/inter-governmental bodies, the private sector and civil society on regulatory and CSR issues.  

Dr. Webb played a pivotal role in the development of ISO鈥檚 standard on social responsibility, ISO 26000. Dr. Webb has acted as chair/convenor of several ISO international standard working groups, including ISO 10001 (codes of conduct), ISO 10003 (dispute resolution), and ISO 10008 (business to consumer electronic commerce), and has participated in other international and national standards committees (including mirror committees). Currently he sits on the Mirror Committee concerning the upcoming ISO standard pertaining to anti-bribery management systems and sustainable procurement. In 2012, he was awarded the National Award of Excellence by the Standards Council of Canada for his standards work. Prior to joining Toronto 吃瓜直播 (formerly Ryerson) University, Dr. Webb was a Senior Legal Policy Advisor and Chief of Research for the Office of Consumer Affairs at the federal Department of Industry and before that he was a consultant acting on behalf of the Law Reform Commission of Canada.

Course code Course title
LAW 122 Introduction to Business Law
LAW 525   Law of the Marketplace
LAW 533 Corporate Social Responsibility and the Law
LAW 605 Securities Law
MB 8612   CSR and Mining
CZMM 403 CSR, Sustainability and Mining

Standards Council of Canada, National Award of Excellence, 2012 for standards work.