| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 6.7.02 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 06/07/2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The European Commission adopted a new strategy on corporate social responsibility on 2 July 2002, aimed at increasing the contribution of European businesses to sustainable development. The Communication [COM(2002)347] follows on from the European Commission's Green Paper, which was presented in July 2001, and it draws on feedback from many organisations around Europe about this consultation document. Background The term corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to the role businesses have to play in contributing to a better society and a cleaner environment beyond their financial and capital commitments. Companies which strive to be socially responsible take into account their impact on the communities and environments in which they operate, as well as on their own employees and consumers, when making decisions thereby balancing the needs of society with their own need to make a profit. The concept has become more popular around the world in the last decade as businesses, governments and civil society recognise its importance and the contribution it has to make to sustainable development. The History of Corporate Social Responsibility in the EU The debate on CSR in Europe dates back to 1995, when a group of European companies and the President of the European Commission, Jacques Delors, launched a Manifesto of Enterprises against Social Exclusion. This led to the creation of a European Business Network promoting the business-to-business dialogue and exchange of best practices on CSR-related issues which became known as CSR Europe. Five years later the issue finally found its way on to the EU's political agenda. At the Lisbon European Council in March 2000, European leaders set the goal of becoming "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010" and called on businesses around Europe to help achieve this goal by becoming more socially responsible. A year later, at the European Council in Stockholm, the issue of corporate social responsibility was a key item on the agenda and European leaders agreed that it offered a way of modernising the European Social model. They welcomed steps taken by business themselves to become more socially responsible and supported the European Commission's efforts to develop new initiatives in this area. Indeed, the European Commission presented a Green Paper entitled "Promoting a European Framework on Corporate Social Responsibility" on 18 July 2002, which was aimed at kick-starting a wide ranging debate on the issue. The European Commission based the paper on a "triple bottom line" method, which combines environmental, social and economic factors and emphasises that all three of these can contribute to a more profitable business. The paper suggests a "holistic approach" with several specific recommendations:
The consultation period on the Green Paper ran until 31 December 2001 during which period the Belgian Presidency hosted a conference on corporate socially responsibility. The conference, which took place in Brussels on 27-28 November 2001, brought together 1,000 people from 42 countries and a range of different organisations to debate the issues of corporate social responsibility and specifically the role of public authorities. According to the European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Anna Diamantopoulou, the conference was ' a major milestone on the way to defining a European framework for the promotion of CSR based on the values of the European Social model'. Soon after the conference, the Council of the European Union adopted a resolution on corporate social responsibility. The agreement, which was reached on 3 December 2001, supported the Green Paper on CSR and called on the European Commission to present a Communication which took stock of the stakeholders' responses and which would help to further develop the principle of CSR in the EU. The European Parliament, following a report on the issue by MEP Richard Howitt, voted on the European Commission's Green Paper in My 2002. MEPs called for the European Commission to take several initiatives including a Directive on social and environmental reporting and the setting up of a multi-stakeholder forum. Communication on Corporate Social Responsibility The European Commission duly adopted a Communication [COM(2002)347] on corporate social responsibility on 2 July 2002 (IP/02/985). The paper brings together the reaction of stakeholders to the European Commission's Green Paper and outlines a new strategy to CSR by the European Commission including several specific recommendations. The strategy, which is the joint work of the DG Enterprise and the DG Employment and Social Affairs, seeks to:
One of the key proposals in the strategy is that of establishing an EU Multi-Stakeholder Forum on CSR. The forum will gather together leading European representative organisations of employers, employees, consumers and civil society as well as business networks with the aim of promoting transparency and convergence of CSR practices and instruments and debating issues such as reporting, assurance and labelling. The European Commission will publish a report on the success of the multi-stakeholder forum in 2004 so that it can decide on its future and consider if any other initiative, involving in particular enterprises and the other stakeholders, is appropriate to further promote CSR. The European Commission also plans to conduct research to help reinforce the business case for CSR and emphasise that issues such as human rights, community relations, environment and health and safety which were once considered "soft" issues by management teams can now be potentially very costly. The European Commission will particularly focus on small and medium sized enterprises since they employ 53% of Europe's workforce and are a major driving force behind Europe's growth and prosperity. Speaking about the Communication, Anna Diamantopoulou said:
Her fellow Commissioner in DG Enterprise, Erkki Liikanen, added:
Reaction to the EU's strategy on corporate social responsibility While there has been little response so far to the latest strategy on CSR proposed by the European Commission, the Green Paper did receive much reaction, much of which is outlined in the July 2002 Communication. The European Commission's special website on corporate social responsibility has also devoted a section to the responses and the position of several key European stakeholders can be found in the further links section of this In Focus. According to the European Commission, there appears to be a general consensus amongst stakeholders on the following issues relating to CSR:
The stakeholders seemed to broadly agree that the EU could help to develop a coherent, balanced and flexible approach to CSR encompassing all the relevant issues as well as acting as a catalyst for awareness raising, exchange of good practices and further research. The stakeholders also suggested that CSR should be a common component of all EU policies and that the EU could help to promote CSR in developing countries. Despite these areas of agreement, businesses and non-governmental organisations did differ over a number of issues related to CSR. Businesses emphasised the need for profitability as a precondition to CSR and promoted voluntary commitments as opposed to imposed harmonisation. Indeed, in a letter to Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, on 4 June 2002, UNICE, the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) and CSR Europe reiterated their belief that CSR is "voluntary and business driven" and called on the European Commission not to develop a European model on CSR, saying:
However, trade unions and NGOs tend to adopt the opposite stance, saying that social and environmental reporting should be mandatory and that CSR practices must not be developed, implemented and evaluated unilaterally by companies if they are to be credible. In one of the few initial reactions to the Communication on CSR, Friends of the Earth Europe, criticised the European's Commission strategy on the basis that it leaves businesses to regulate themselves. Craig Bennett, Corporates Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:
Future of Corporate Social Responsibility in the EU While non-governmental organisations may be keen to make CSR actions mandatory, it remains up to companies to be socially responsible on a voluntary basis while the Communication is subject to stakeholder consultation and the decisions of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. To trace the full progress of the latest proposals through the policy-making process you can use this service.
Further information within European Sources Online:
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions
Further and subsequent information on the subject of this In Focus can be found by an 'Advanced Search' in European Sources Online by inserting 'corporate social responsibility' in the keyword field. Helen Bower The European Commission adopted a new strategy on corporate social responsibility on 2 July 2002, aimed at increasing the contribution of European businesses to sustainable development. |
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| Subject Categories | Business and Industry | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
