University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

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Also, a series of initiatives singly conducted by the enterprises is reflected in the
indicator 8.2 "Environmental strategy report with the community". These initiatives
aim to improve the productive structures with the purpose of assuring a smaller
environmental impact and avoiding important relapses in terms of occupation and
promotion of the territory. Some firms, in alignment with the agricultural vocation of
the area in which they are located, have long pursued a program of functional
business modernisation to adopt high standards of quality and safety of the product
and the process of production, consistent with the objectives of the Program of
regional rural development.
Such interventions have included entire surface irrigation, completion of
mechanisation, technological innovation and the restructuring and construction of the
productive structures. Such interventions are essential to guarantee the
competitiveness of firms and great quality and food safety of products. The
investments by firms have guaranteed that important relapses in terms of occupation
and promotion of the territory are avoided. In some cases, the aforementioned
investments have been valued at a regional level, judged as consistent with the
objectives of the Program of regional rural development.
The sensibility of the enterprise to the theme of the social responsibility can be also
assessed through indicator 3.5, "produced / services with ethical-environmental
connotation", in the extent to which modernisations produce products with high
standards of quality and safety. This one orientation is followed by all of the
investigated enterprises. The research has shown that the promoting enterprises are
almost all characterised by a young ownership age (under 45 years for 80% of the
enterprises) and, as the enterprises consist mainly of family farms, a long business
history (to exclusion of only case, above the 20 years for 80% of the enterprises). Of
the firms investigated, none has introduced the classical tools of CSR: social budget,
environmental budget, ethical codes, or SA8000.
Table 3 Indicators of CSR in the interviewed firms
Characteristics
of the
enterprise and
the ownership
Age of owners
under 45 years
(80% of firms)
Age of firm:
more than 20
years (80% of
firms
Consumers Local community Environment
3.5.Products / services
with ethicalenvironmental
connotation
(100% of firms)
7.3 Communication
and involvement of
the community
(stakeholder
engagement)
(100% of firms)
7.4 Relationship
with the means of
communication
(100% of firms)
8.2.Environmental
strategy and
relationship with
the community
(100% of firms)