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CSR and Competitiveness - European SMEs’ Good Practice - Consolidated European Report 11
3 CSR – Definitions and Concepts
3.1 Approach to CSR in Europe – A Timeline
The origins of the EU's approach to CSR stem from the Commission's White Paper in 1993 on
growth and employment. In the following years, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) has gained in importance in the EU policy debate, manifested, for example, by the
establishment of a joint declaration against social exclusion (1995) or the launch of the
European Business Network for Social Cohesion (EBNSC) in 1996 (to become CSR Europe in
2000). In March 2000, the Presidency Conclusions of the European Council made for the first
time “a special appeal to companies’ corporate sense of social responsibility”. In 2001, the European
Commission published a Green Paper on “Promoting a European Framework for
Corporate Social Responsibility” on the basis of which a Communication was proposed in 2002,
focusing on increasing knowledge about the positive impact of CSR on business and societies
in Europe and abroad, in particular in developing countries and on the development of the
exchange of experience and Good Practice on CSR between enterprises. In 2002, a Multi-
Stakeholder Forum consisting of companies, business organisations and networks, trade unions
and civil society representatives was established to elaborate an European strategy for CSR
and to encourage greater awareness raising about its implications. 3
Furthermore, the first sustainable development strategy was launched in 2001, based on the
idea that in the long run economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection should
go hand in hand. The latest EU Strategy for Sustainable Development (SDS) of 2006 takes
into account the situation of an enlarged European Union and pinpoints the importance of
creating sustainable communities able to efficiently manage and use resources and to tap the
ecological and social innovation potential of the economy, ensuring prosperity, environmental
protection and social cohesion to improve present and future quality of life. 4 In relation to this
emphasis, the CSR concept is based on a “Triple Bottom Line” approach (also known as
People, Planet, Profit) pinpointing the necessity that for reaching sustainability an organisation
must be financially secure, minimise its negative environmental impacts and act in conformity
with societal expectations (European Communities, 2002).
In March 2006, the Commission published a new communication on CSR entitled “Implementing
the Partnership for Growth and Jobs: Making Europe a Pole of Excellence on CSR”. One of the
main elements emerging from this communication is the creation of a European Alliance for
CSR that acts as a political umbrella for CSR initiatives of companies and their stakeholders. As
to this regard, the Commission will further emphasise the promotion of CSR in eight areas:
awareness raising and best practice exchange, support of multi-stakeholder initiatives, cooperation
with Member States, consumer information and transparency, research, education,
small and medium-sized enterprises as well as considering the international dimension of CSR. 5
The approach to CSR of the European Union is also integrated in the broader context of various
international initiatives related to trade and development co-operation, e. g. the UN Global
Compact (2000), the ILO’s Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises
and Social Policy (1977/2000) or the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
(2000) (European Communities, 2002).
Following the European approach, also at individual Member State level the issue of CSR has
been gaining importance in public and policy debate during the last years or even decades.
However, the time of introducing the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility considerably
3
Source: http://www.nachhaltigkeit.at/reportagen.php3?id=3, Article: Strauss, R. Corporate Social Responsibility - a
view from the European Commission
4
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/sustainable/sds2006/index_en.htm
5 Source: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/csr/policy.htm