University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

Report on CSR in
the forestry
industry
(Ptichnikov and
Park, 2006)
among the people.
532
3. Prevention of the negative environmental consequences
of the economic activity, accounting for future
environmental impacts.
4. Rejection of economic and other projects with an impact
on environmental systems if the impacts are
unpredictable or if their forecasts are unreliable.
5. End of free use of natural resources, and the
reimbursement of damages to local communities and
environment
6. Openness of environmental information
7. Participation of the civil society, local governments and
business circles in preparation, discussion and realisation
of decisions in the area of environmental protection and
rational use of natural resources.
CSR is defined as ‘the continuing commitment by business to
behave ethically and contribute to economic development while
improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families
as well as of the local community and society at large.’ Absence
of ‘inherent contradiction between strong business ethics and
effective capitalism’ is emphasized.
The closest Russia has come to the development of an official CSR policy document
is the “Ecological Doctrine of the Russian Federation” (2003). The Doctrine sets out
recommendations on the conservation of the natural environment. The second
document of any importance is the report on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in
modern Russia: Theory and practice’ (Federal Council 2005). It provides a review of
basic CSR theory and uses case studies to demonstrate good practice.
As can be seen from Table 3, the Russian federal CSR orientation is rather practical
and focused on the immediate business functions such as providing workplaces,
caring for the employees and fulfilling tax obligations. Engagement with civil society
is relegated towards the end of lists and is planned for the long term.
The role of international markets in driving the CSR agenda in Russia emerges as
crucial. In addition to being cited in the Federal Council hearings, it was the key
motivation for an investigation into market-based CSR and CSR-certification in the
forestry industry commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Development and
Trade and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology (Ptichnikov & Park 2006):
Wood products distributors on the international markets are increasingly demanding
CSR certification of forestry products. The representatives of the Canadian company
SNC-Lavalin interviewed by us also suggested that Rosneft/Vankorneft’s visible
commitment to CSR was due to international market pressures.