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24 Ewa Mazur-Wierzbicka b) development of corporate social responsibility tools (ethical code, management standards, product labelling, socially responsible investments); c) initiating the European Multi-stakeholder Forum; d) CSR included in all EU policies – employment policy, economic policy, environmental policy, consumer policy and foreign policy (Rok, 2004). In this case, the model of social responsibility was combined with the Lisbon Strategy which intended growth in European economy until 2010 via, among other things, the improvement in the competitiveness of economy. European Campaign on Corporate Social Responsibility 2005 conducted by CRS Europe is one of effects produced by the Lisbon Strategy. The campaign is aimed at: • disseminating the idea of corporate social responsibility in business circles; • propagating good examples of implementing responsible practices in business; • education of present and future leaders. As CSR is going to be verified in practice, circles interested in this matter have created indicators showing the presence of CSR in particular enterprises. As far as the literature on the subject is concerned, the following indicators are mentioned: • economic – e.g. investment indicator, innovativeness, R&D outlays • environmental – waste disposed, number of times that environmental norms have been broken • employee-related – average female wage/salary, the wage differential, ratio between training budget and operational costs, number of employees participating in training, percentage of employees organized in labour unions, number of new employees • industrial safety – hospitalized accidents/number of employees, sick notes expressed in hours, number of car accidents/hours worked • social involvement – funds for social projects, number of projects received from social organizations, tax rates and local charges • referring to relations with business partners – average time within which invoices are paid, number of suppliers’ jobs supported, number of complaints accepted. Benefits accruing from using CSR Benefits accruing from running responsible business are enjoyed both by firms and society. They depend on obligations taken on by firms to a large extent. However, one should remember that social responsibility begins where the influence of the law ends. Speaking of real CSR, one means making various forms of investments in community or the environment voluntarily. Benefits enjoyed by firms and society depend to a great extent on the level of obligations incurred by firms that implement systems of social responsibility. As far as the model presenting different motivation for assuming such obligations is concerned, it is possible to distinguish three levels though it is not always plausible to determine motivation explicitly (at the second and third levels in particular). The first level of responsibility refers to taking social or environmental actions required by the law. These actions are not programmes in the scope of CSR (in the true sense of the word) but obviously in a social sense and they reflect well on a firm. Examples of such actions are as follows: paying wages/salaries on time, complying with labour legislation, conforming to emission norms. Then, it is an imposed responsibility that results from the necessity to obey legal regulations. The second level refers to all the projects carried out and aimed at reducing the negative effects that the activity of enterprise have on natural environment or social environment both internal as well as external. These projects are not required by the law and
Corporate Social Responsibility as a Valuable Contribution to Improvement ... 25 are managed voluntarily. They are usually a response to pressure from employees, nongovernmental organizations or local authorities. The following actions can be quoted as examples here: organizing a system of employee transport to the place of work, providing workers with soundproof screen even if noise level does not exceed permissible levels, organizing the kindergarten for employees’ children. In this case, it is an imposed responsibility taken on as a result of pressure from society but in the interest of a firm. The third level assumes making various forms of investments in community or the environment voluntarily. These are the programmes initiated by a firm that reflect a long-term concern for social and economic development of a particular region, and improvement in inhabitants’ standard of living. In this case, it is possible to talk about conscious responsibility when enterprise undertakes initiative as a result of its sense of “citizenship” (corporate citizenship). Actions taken by a firm in accordance with social responsibility rules may bring a number of various benefits, namely external (referring to environment of a firm) and internal (referring to relations inside a firm and its employees). Society enjoys certain benefits as well. The scale of these benefits depends on taken within social responsibility and the level of obligations taken on the scope of actions by the management. Social expectations are becoming greater and greater with market development and maturity. The more firms accept conscious responsibility connected with the creation of social value added, the less considerable benefits accrue from assuming only imposed responsibility. Table 1 shows benefits accruing from CSR and enjoyed by firms and society. Table 1. Benefits accruing from running responsible business Benefits Type Description to a firm Growing interest from investors Greater loyalty from consumers and stakeholders Improvement in relations with community and local authorities Firms that take social dimension into account in their strategies can have easier access to financing. Creditors are more interested in the cooperation with firms that, apart from good financial results, are at the same time managed in a transparent way, create their image and relations with environment responsibly, than with the ones which do not do so. For many investors, financial reliability of a firm depends on its social reliability. Greater social awareness of consumers leads to the fact that while making a choice, they are guided by the trust they have in a particular firm and its image. Modern consumer is more and more often an aware consumer. Apart from fair price and good quality, he/she expects a product or service to have positive associations. A larger group of consumers pays attention to the “ecological” values of product or service, if a firm obeys the rules of social responsibility while creating them as well as the general standing of a business. Participation of firm in the life of local community as well as making long-term and notable social investments facilitate its effective and peaceful functioning. Social responsibility enables a firm to become deeply rooted in community and win favour with its members and also local authorities’ trust. Improvement competitiveness in Introduction of responsible business rules is one of advantages thanks to which firms win competitive advantage. For Polish firms, transparent CSR policy may be one of means for establishing their position on world markets where expectations about meeting responsible business standards are much more confident.
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