European CSR InitiativesThe European Union has furthered – and continues to further – certain breakthroughs in sustainable development. In this regard, decision-making bodies of the European Union have made contributions to building a CSR framework. They include:
- European Commission communications
- European Parliament resolutions
European Commission Communications on CSR
European Communication of 25 October 2011
European Communication of 25 Octobe...
Communication européenne du 25 octo...
European Communication of 25 Octobe...
In October 2011 the European Commission published a new policy on corporate social responsibility.
It states that to fully meet their social responsibility, enterprises "should have in place a process to integrate social, environmental, ethical and human rights concerns into their business operations and core strategy in close collaboration with their stakeholders".
The aim is both to enhance positive impacts - for example through the innovation of new products and services that are beneficial to society and enterprises themselves - and to minimise and prevent negative impacts.
It states that to fully meet their social responsibility, enterprises "should have in place a process to integrate social, environmental, ethical and human rights concerns into their business operations and core strategy in close collaboration with their stakeholders".
The aim is both to enhance positive impacts - for example through the innovation of new products and services that are beneficial to society and enterprises themselves - and to minimise and prevent negative impacts.
European Communication of 25 Octobe...
Communication européenne du 25 octo...
European Communication of 25 Octobe...
European Communication of 22 March 2006
In its 2006 Communication, the European Commission called on governments to cooperate on CSR issues and to encourage companies to commit to developing such action. It also urged companies to launch initiatives and communicate them to all their stakeholders in order to improve transparency in this area.
In addition, it identified the advantages for the European Union if it were to become a pole of excellence in CSR, and proposes avenues in which to take practices forward. Among them, it supported the launch of a European Alliance that would promote CSR without creating new legal requirements.
Communication européenne du 22 mars...
In its 2006 Communication, the European Commission called on governments to cooperate on CSR issues and to encourage companies to commit to developing such action. It also urged companies to launch initiatives and communicate them to all their stakeholders in order to improve transparency in this area.
In addition, it identified the advantages for the European Union if it were to become a pole of excellence in CSR, and proposes avenues in which to take practices forward. Among them, it supported the launch of a European Alliance that would promote CSR without creating new legal requirements.
Communication européenne du 22 mars...
European Communication of 2 July 2002
In its 2002 Communication, the European Commission set out its strategy to promote CSR at Community level. It provided a synthesis on the outcome of consultations on the Green Paper. Differences in stakeholders’ opinions emerged. It put forward a European framework for CSR defining this notion and describing the current context. It set out the strategic areas for CSR promotion that were adopted, including the creation of a European multilateral CSR forum.
As regards reporting, it pointed out that “The European Parliament (...) called for a triple bottom line reporting by companies on their social and environmental performance, including the human rights dimension.”
“However a greater consensus on the type of information to be disclosed, the reporting format, the indicators used and the reliability of the evaluation and audit procedure would allow for a more meaningful benchmarking and communication of companies’ performance within particular sectors and for businesses of similar size.”
Communication européenne du 2 juill...
In its 2002 Communication, the European Commission set out its strategy to promote CSR at Community level. It provided a synthesis on the outcome of consultations on the Green Paper. Differences in stakeholders’ opinions emerged. It put forward a European framework for CSR defining this notion and describing the current context. It set out the strategic areas for CSR promotion that were adopted, including the creation of a European multilateral CSR forum.
As regards reporting, it pointed out that “The European Parliament (...) called for a triple bottom line reporting by companies on their social and environmental performance, including the human rights dimension.”
“However a greater consensus on the type of information to be disclosed, the reporting format, the indicators used and the reliability of the evaluation and audit procedure would allow for a more meaningful benchmarking and communication of companies’ performance within particular sectors and for businesses of similar size.”
Communication européenne du 2 juill...
European Communication of 15 May 2001
The Communication of 15 May 2001 sets out the European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development and explained the concrete measures that the Commission would like to introduce. It invited all publicly-quoted companies with at least 500 staff “to publish a ‘triple bottom line’ in their annual reports to shareholders that measures their performance against economic, environmental and social criteria.”
Communication européenne du 15 mai ...
The Communication of 15 May 2001 sets out the European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development and explained the concrete measures that the Commission would like to introduce. It invited all publicly-quoted companies with at least 500 staff “to publish a ‘triple bottom line’ in their annual reports to shareholders that measures their performance against economic, environmental and social criteria.”
Communication européenne du 15 mai ...
European Parliament CSR Resolutions
Résolution du 13 mars 2007
This Resolution reinforced the framework of the Resolution of 13 May 2003 and changed the attitude of the European Parliament. It closely linked corporate social responsibility with “traditional” legal liability. The European Parliament suggested, inter alia, the promotion of an EU regulation to support CSR and the assessment of the impact of such initiatives on the environment and on human and social rights.
Résolution du 13 mars 2007...
This Resolution reinforced the framework of the Resolution of 13 May 2003 and changed the attitude of the European Parliament. It closely linked corporate social responsibility with “traditional” legal liability. The European Parliament suggested, inter alia, the promotion of an EU regulation to support CSR and the assessment of the impact of such initiatives on the environment and on human and social rights.
Résolution du 13 mars 2007...
Resolution of 13 May 2003
The European Parliament gave its opinion concerning corporate social responsibility on 13 May 2003 in its Resolution on the Communication from the Commission. It noted that corporate social responsibility, developed on a voluntary basis (Resolution Points 3, 7, and 8), could contribute to achieving the objectives defined in the European Strategy for Sustainable Development (Point H) and that the role of business in sustainable development should be encouraged more intensely (Resolution Point 15).
Résolution du 13 mai 2003...
The European Parliament gave its opinion concerning corporate social responsibility on 13 May 2003 in its Resolution on the Communication from the Commission. It noted that corporate social responsibility, developed on a voluntary basis (Resolution Points 3, 7, and 8), could contribute to achieving the objectives defined in the European Strategy for Sustainable Development (Point H) and that the role of business in sustainable development should be encouraged more intensely (Resolution Point 15).
Résolution du 13 mai 2003...
Other European Initiatives
European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility
EuropeanMultistakeholderForum_Final...
Link to EU multi stakeholder forum ...
European organizations of representatives of employees, employers, non-governmental organizations and business networks participated in the CSR EMS Forum in 2002 and 2004, with the European Commission acting as moderator. The purpose of these discussions was to promote innovation, convergence and transparency in existing CSR activities and tools.
After sharing best practices, a final report was drafted and published in 2004.
EuropeanMultistakeholderForum_Final...
Link to EU multi stakeholder forum ... 
Green Paper published in 2001
Livre vert de la Commission europée...
The Green Paper published in 2001 defined the notion of corporate social responsibility for the European Commission, and illustrated the different approaches whereby CSR is translated in business, and the potential advantages of each of them.
The European Commission would like for a consensus to be reached at an international level on information to be published in reports and evaluation and audit requirements. It suggested that stakeholders be involved in the reporting process to improve the quality of information communicated.
In addition, it regretted that so few reports address working conditions, human rights and child labour, and only focus on environmental data.
Livre vert de la Commission europée...
DIRECT LINKS
European Communication of 25 October 2011
European Communication of 22 March 2006
European Communication of 2 July 2002
European Communication of 15 May 2001
Résolution du 13 mars 2007
Resolution of 13 May 2003
European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility
Green Paper published in 2001
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European Communication of 25 October 2011 European Communication of 22 March 2006 European Communication of 2 July 2002 European Communication of 15 May 2001 Résolution du 13 mars 2007 Resolution of 13 May 2003 European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility Green Paper published in 2001CART OF ITEMS
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