Plans to create a Europe-wide federation of companies on corporate
responsibility have been outlined in the European Commission’s
long-awaited second CSR white paper, published at the end of last month.
The ‘European Alliance for CSR’ will bring together companies of all sizes to share ideas and spread best practice.
The
alliance will have no legal framework, no formal requirements for the
companies involved, and, crucially, no new EC money to support it. The
Commission hopes it will act as an ‘umbrella’ for companies in ‘joint
operational projects’ on supply chain management, diversity, labour
standards and stakeholder dialogue. At least one company, the German
chemicals multinational BASF, has already said that it will become
involved. The Commission envisages partnerships between companies,
non-governmental organizations and trade unions. Such joint working
arrangements are already practised by organizations in several European
countries, among them the UK’s Ethical Trading Initiative.
Other new commitments are to:
create a pilot project for indicators of ‘decent work’ conditionssupport further research on corporate responsibilityencourage business schools to include CSR topics in their coursesraise social and environmental issues in international trade negotiationsencourage respect for workplace standards through trade incentives.
To
the dismay of some NGOs, the white paper comes down, firmly and
finally, in favour of a voluntary approach to CSR. Friends of the Earth
Europe noted the absence of measures on mandatory social and
environmental reporting and on requiring companies to observe
International Labour Organization and other CSR-related standards.
The
white paper is also silent on socially responsible investment. Stephen
Hine, head of international relations at Ethical Investment Research
Services, the SRI data provider, said: ‘ The lack of reference to the
interests of investors is surprising, given that they are now seeking
more detailed information on environmental, social and governance risks
and greater clarity on reporting in these areas.’
The document,
officially known as a ‘communication’, has been published more than a
year later than envisaged and has been the subject of intense
behind-the-scenes politicking in recent months as the EC’s vice
president, Guenter Verheugen, has taken a hands-on role in drafting the
document. In a related move, Dominique Be, director general of
employment and social affairs at the EC, has been relieved of his
responsibility for CSR. No details of who will take on the brief were
available as we went to press.
The Commission says it intends to review progress at the end of this year.
