University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

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officially implemented in 2001. The convention has the objective of increasing
transparencies in the governmental decision‐making processes, where public rights
regarding access to information, public participation and access to justice are
encouraged for better communication between civil society and governmental
authorities. About 40 countries and the European Community have signed this in
agreement to the Convention’s principles and additionally, it has also been ratified by
another 41 countries (UNECE website). Following to this convention, Denmark, also
signed the Kiev Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers in 2003. This
protocol serves as the first legally binding international agreement in which private
enterprises are obligated to report to the national government on the releases and
transfers of pollutants, relevant to their production emissions, on a yearly basis.
For environmental‐related issues such as climate change, Denmark ratified the Kyoto
Protocol in 2002. Denmark is part of the Annex 1 industrialized countries, which has
the obligation of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% from 2008 to 2012,
using the 1990 levels as the base. However, as a collective decision, the European
Economic Community agreed to reduce emission by 8% instead (The Danish
Ministry of Climate and Energy 2). Following to the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol
in 2012, the COP15 climate conference seeks to renegotiate the targets set on
reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Denmark will be hosting this conference in
December 2009, and it aspires to have all the countries in the world participate in this
climate negotiation. As part of its efforts in mitigating climate change within
Denmark, the Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy contended that it has reduced
CO2 emissions (adjusted for fluctuations in the weather and in cross border exchange
in electricity) by more than 13% even though its economic activity has increased by
45%, from 1990 to 2007 (Ministry of Climate and Energy, 2009). It also expressed
its long term vision for Denmark to be 100 percent independent of fossil fuels.
The importance that the Danish government places on CSR is evident from the fact
that just recently, in December 2008, the Danish Parliament (Folketing) made it
mandatory for 1,100 of Denmark’s largest enterprises to commit to reporting their
CSR actions and policies (Greenbiz News 2009). Although there is some debate as to
why the small‐medium enterprises are directly not included, the perception remains
that the Danish government is viewing the issue of CSR in an increasingly serious
manner, is increasingly relating it to business opportunities and therefore also
encourages CSR to be business driven. The current action plan contains 30 initiatives
that are concentrated in four key action areas:
• propagating business‐driven social responsibility
• promoting business's social responsibility through government activities
• corporate sector climate responsibility
• marketing Denmark as a nation of responsible growth.
Nevertheless, it should not be an indication that Danish corporations are any less
committed to conducting business in a socially responsible manner if government
policies are positioned outside the economic and business driven domains. In fact,
Danish corporations have been pioneering CSR‐related research since the 1990s,
with the earliest being the aforementioned Sparekassen Nordjylland who published
the first ethical accounting. Further testament to this fact is the ranking obtained in
the Responsible Competitiveness Index reports from 2003 and 2005; i.e. at a time