Evidence of growing support for CSR among consumers and new tools for companies to measure their performance are the key outcomes of the first major European business convention on corporate social responsibility, held in Brussels on November 9-10. Organised by CSR Europe (formerly the European Business Network for Social Cohesion), the conference saw the launch of a five-year campaign for ‘sustainable growth and human progress’, answering the call at the Lisbon Summit for business to get involved in combating social imbalances, investing in people and sharing good practices. The plan is to boost corporate social innovation, improve stakeholder dialogue and mobilise 500,000 people across Europe in promoting CSR.
Key initiatives launched at the conference included:
• a MORI survey of 12,000 consumers across 12 European countries: almost three-quarters (70%) think a company s commitment to social responsibility matters when buying a product or service; four in ten say they will pay more for a socially or environmentally responsible product; commitment is highest in Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium and lowest in France, Portugal and Italy;
• an on-line matrix on corporate communication and CSR reporting: 45 companies are compared, and new voluntary guidelines issued to promote best practice and encourage adoption of performance indicators;
• initial evaluation of 46 companies’ social performance, with qualitative and quantitative indicators, a step towards a European Social Index for use by the financial services sector, promoting socially responsible investment.
Among other resources launched at the conference were a new guide to employee community involvement, a database of business ethics courses, a ‘how to’ guide on cause-related marketing, a diversity diagnostic tool and guidelines on CSR in central and eastern Europe. Contact Catelijne Wessels, CSR Europe, on 00 32 2 502 83 54 (http://www.csreurope.org)
Danes form network and publish reports
At the start of October, The Copenhagen Centre convened a meeting of ministers and civil servants from the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland to set up a government network committed to corporate social responsibility. The centre, funded by the Danish government, has now commissioned a comparative study of public/private partnerships in seven countries. It is also conducting ‘action research’ over two years of six specific community partnerships involving companies in Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.
During November, the centre published a new report, The New Economy of Corporate Citizenship, which offers a conceptual framework and overview of key issues, linking social and environmental challenges with the emergence of the ‘new’ economy. Contact Jens Erik Lund, TCC, on 00 45 33 92 94 43 (http://www.copenhagencentre.org)
SRI poised for rapid growth in France
Terra Nova Conseil , a French management consulting firm, has helped set up a social investment forum in France, reflecting the growth in socially responsible investment. In the past two years, French financial groups have introduced 20 socially-screened mutual funds managing over £600 million. The market is poised to grow still further, with the announcement in October of new legislation by the French government to create long-term savings opportunities for employees akin to pension funds, worth up to $4.5 billion in annual investments. Contact Benjamin Beth, Terra Nova Conseil, on 00 33 156 337 500 (http://www.terra-nova.fr)
news in brief
• The employment record ofAdidasin Indonesia andNestlé ‘s marketing of baby milk in Pakistan were put under the spotlight in the European Parliament on November 22, in the first public hearings arising from the adoption of a report on the standards of European enterprises operating in developing countries. Contact Richard Howitt MEP on 00 32 22 84 5477.
• Companies need to change their attitudes to the employment of older workers, if the targets on over 55 working set by the Lisbon Summit are to be met by 2010, theEuropean Economic and Social Committeedecided on October 19. The Committee, a consultative body of 222 members drawn from business, trade unions and civil society organisations, wants the Commission to start an awareness-raising campaign. Contact Nick Foster, ESC, on 00 32 2 546 9207 (http://www.esc.eu.int)
• On November 15, theOECDheld a round table in Paris for business and political leaders entitled ‘towards a new approach to corporate social responsibility’, with support from the Philip Morris Institute, discussing how to stimulate public/private partnerships and to work with non-profit groups. Contact Forum Europe on 00 32 2 736 1430 (http://www.forum-europe.com)
Comment
We have highlighted before the gathering momentum among continental companies who are taking corporate social responsibility seriously. The CSR Europe convention in November was a truly remarkable gathering of big name players from business and the Commission, confirming, if confirmation is still needed outside the UK, that major European companies are developing a wider vision of their role in society.
Of course there remain plenty of people on the continent who see this as a plot to introduce Anglo-Saxon rapacious capitalism by the back door, cutting back the role of government and benefiting global shareholders at the expense of local stakeholders. Equally there are some in the UK who see the exact reverse – a plot by the Eurocrats to force sluggish social market capitalism on dynamic British business. On the whole, we tend to the former view – reinforced by events at the Nice Summit just weeks later.
There, the big issue facing Europe was enlargement. Ostensibly, the debate is about the protection of antiquated agricultural sectors, but today the economies of central and eastern Europe tend towards a free market model of capitalism, not the continental Rheinland model. With the fall of communism, their welfare states collapsed. The dynamic and growing sections of society are private enterprise and the NGO sector, not the government.
Business, western multinationals to the fore, have embraced the need to play an active social role, whether investing in schools, supporting youth enterprise support or tackling environmental concerns. Calls to leave it up to government raise a hollow laugh. As these nations start joining the EU, the momentum for this partnership view of business and society can only grow stronger.
The long run trend to a free, responsible and socially active model for business is clear.
We have highlighted before the gathering momentum among continental companies who are taking corporate social responsibility seriously. The CSR Europe convention in November was a truly remarkable gathering of big name players from business and the Commission, confirming, if confirmation is still needed outside the UK, that major European companies are developing a wider vision of their role in society.
Of course there remain plenty of people on the continent who see this as a plot to introduce Anglo-Saxon rapacious capitalism by the back door, cutting back the role of government and benefiting global shareholders at the expense of local stakeholders. Equally there are some in the UK who see the exact reverse – a plot by the Eurocrats to force sluggish social market capitalism on dynamic British business. On the whole, we tend to the former view – reinforced by events at the Nice Summit just weeks later.
There, the big issue facing Europe was enlargement. Ostensibly, the debate is about the protection of antiquated agricultural sectors, but today the economies of central and eastern Europe tend towards a free market model of capitalism, not the continental Rheinland model. With the fall of communism, their welfare states collapsed. The dynamic and growing sections of society are private enterprise and the NGO sector, not the government.
Business, western multinationals to the fore, have embraced the need to play an active social role, whether investing in schools, supporting youth enterprise support or tackling environmental concerns. Calls to leave it up to government raise a hollow laugh. As these nations start joining the EU, the momentum for this partnership view of business and society can only grow stronger.
The long run trend to a free, responsible and socially active model for business is clear.
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