Accelerating CSR
What is Corporate Social Responsibility?
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business strategy and operations and in their interactions with stakeholders on a voluntary basis.
Why is CSR important?
CSR is an important tool for private sector to actively contribute to the sustainable development, which is a long-term goal of the European Union as well as of global community of a wide scale of concerned stakeholders. Environmental and social concerns can not be solved in isolation from private sector, because it is the most powerful and influential player in a market economy driving and shaping the very process of modern globalization. CSR is an important tool that adds value to business competitiveness, unleashes potential to innovate and helps to maintain enduring business relationships with employees, suppliers, clients, state institutions, non-governmental organizations and enhances reputation in society at large.
What main challenge the Project addresses?
More than a decade ago Central Eastern European and the Baltic States (CEEBS) embarked on a road towards a market economy. Despite tremendous achievements in adaptation to market economy, environmental and social concerns received little attention. While Western European business community leaders are talking about ?mainstreaming? CSR and incorporating the principles into core business strategies, in the new EU Member States and candidate countries knowledge on CSR varies: some business leaders are just becoming familiar with the term, while others have started a step-by-step approach to integrating CSR into their business practices. For a vast number of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), CSR is still a very distant challenge, which falls outside their business priorities. The fragmented understanding of the CSR concept is frequently linked to piecemeal philanthropy, rather than to core business or market positioning. This Project addresses the challenge of integrating CSR in business strategy CEEBS countries face and is designed to give a strong impulse in bridging the disparity between the level of CSR practices in old EU countries and new Member States and countries candidates.
What is the main objective of the Project?
The main objective of this Project is to accelerate the implementation of CSR practices in the new EU Member States and candidate countries, namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Slovak Republic and Turkey in order to add value of EU harmonization, competitiveness and social cohesion. This is expected to be achieved by facilitating cross-sectoral cooperation and social dialogue between various stakeholders, building trust, understanding and integration as well as helping to share good CSR practices.
What are the main activities?
The Project activities are designed under three main components:
1. Baseline analysis of CSR status in each Project country.
2. Facilitation of multi-stakeholder dialogue on CSR.
3. Enhancing capacities of existing and future CSR stakeholders to develop and implement CSR agenda in the region.
What are the main events foreseen under the Project and when?
? Presentation of national baseline studies in each country - June, 2007
? Launch of European Synthesis Report in a regional conference in Brussels ? 26 June, 2007
? National and local forums in each country ? September-December, 2007
? Familiarization visit for media representatives to UK ? end of 2007
? Capacity enhancement sessions and three cooperation enhancement visits to UK, Spain and Germany for national CSR champions- end of 2007/beginning of 2008
? Launch of CSR tools database ? end of 2007
What are the main expected Project results?
? A comprehensive baseline analysis of CSR activities and actors in the region, enabling to measure progress in the future.
? Higher awareness about CSR among companies and other stakeholders in the region and more companies integrating CSR.
? Stronger trust (social capital) between various stakeholders and the businesses engaged in CSR.
? Stronger capacity of national/local stakeholders engaged in CSR.
? National CSR Agendas in Project countries.
? Higher level of CSR implementation in the region.