CSR Europe is the leading European business network for corporate social responsibility with around 70 multinational corporations and 27 national partner organisations as members.
CSR Europe is a platform for:
- Connecting companies to share and develop best practice on CSR
- Innovating collaborative projects between companies and stakeholders
- Shaping business and policy dialogue on sustainability and competitiveness
The organisation was founded in 1995 by senior European business leaders in response to an appeal by the European Commission President Jacques Delors. It has since grown to become an inspiring network of business people working at the forefront of CSR across Europe and globally.

In 2010 CSR Europe's network of national partner organisations has updated the document "A Guide to CSR in Europe" (published in 2009), providing insight into the state of CSR and current trends and priorities in different European countries. Topics covered include national CSR policies and legislation, key drivers of CSR, main organisational actors, and recent developments in various thematic areas including environment, supply chain, human rights, equal opportunities, community engagement, and sustainable products and  services.

The EU 2020 Agenda on sustainable growth and jobs promotes the renewal of corporate social responsibility. In its recent communication on industrial policy, the Commission announced its intention to put forward a new policy initiative in the field of CSR.
The Services of DG MARKT are therefore consulting with a view to improving existing policy on disclosure of corporate social and environmental information, and respect for human rights, including possible proposals for new initiatives and/or revised legislative measures.

In April 2011, the European Commission issued a summary report on the 259 stakeholder organisations (24% companies; 26% users; 28% NGOs 9% authorities & standards setters; 9% academics 8% accountants & auditors) which responded to this EU consultation.

The Commission, with the support of CSR Europe, has published a new Compendium of corporate social responsibility (CSR) public policies in the EU, by way of update on the last one that was written in 2007. Whereas the 2007 compendium had a country by country focus, this one has a thematic focus. The themes covered reflect the breadth of CSR issues today: human rights, reporting and disclosure, climate change, SME issues, socially-responsible investment, education, and public procurement all receive specific attention in this document.

The Commission launched this study, "The state of play in sustainability reporting in the European Union", following a series of interactive workshops on Corporate Social Responsibility transparency and disclosure in 2009-10 by DG Enterprise.
The Commission's aim in undertaking the study was to illustrate how companies deal with CSR reporting in practice. Companies reporting on CSR act as a lever for more CSR to be undertaken.
The study looks at:
- how companies report and the challenges in reporting,
- the extent to which companies' reporting practices and readers' needs match, and
- what public policy instruments are available to stimulate reporting. The study notes the extent to which CSR reporting has increased in recent years – although it clarifies that there is still a lot to do.
The study shows that companies report because it enhances reputation, even though for some it is costly. Companies face challenges in selecting what to report on, in how sensitive different data is, in organising content, and in correctly pitching quality.
The research reveals that readers of CSR reporting look for a genuine attempt by companies to honestly and realistically portray their CSR activities, in a way that is a useful contribution to readers' assessment of the sustainability of companies' activities.
Where the study matches companies and readers' perspectives, it finds that regulation of reporting, CSR reporting integrated with financial reporting, and stronger stakeholder engagement are key influences in the face of certain unmet needs of readers.