Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2013-02-05-Speech-2-437-000"
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"en.20130205.20.2-437-000"2
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"Mr President, corporate social responsibility has been an ongoing topic for some years in the European institutions and Member States, as well as within business organisations and civil society. These discussions have intensified in recent years following the financial crisis, which reduced the trust which many citizens had in business and led to a call for greater transparency to restore that trust.
The Commission’s call for a renewed European strategy on CSR comes at the right time. I welcome the Commission definition of CSR – the responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society. This new definition is easily understandable and moves CSR from being seen as an add-on to being a way for organisations to incorporate sustainable and responsible practices into their business strategies.
I believe that corporate social responsibility is and should be a voluntary practice, even if in this day and age it has arguably become a business imperative. We must not confuse the respect of law with CSR. Companies have to follow environmental legislation but they are not required to reduce their carbon footprints. CSR is not only the responsibility of businesses: it is important that European institutions and national governments play a role by promoting and monitoring CSR practices. This can be achieved for example by developing guidelines, sharing best practice, and raising awareness. It is also important, when considering the impact of enterprises on society, that we work with the many multi-stakeholder CSR platforms that already exist.
We must ensure the consistency and transparency of information on sustainability provided by businesses, and therefore strongly encourage the use of international standards for this, such as the global reporting initiative. Strong corporate social responsibility can have a key role in improving competitiveness and innovation. It can be part of improving the performance of a company and a way to increase public trust in business.
One point which should be made clear is that any measures that are considered must not in any way burden small and medium-sized enterprises. ‘Think small first’ should be considered."@en1
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