About: CSR standards

Crisis has hit companies’ social responsibility, poll suggests

Many Europeans appear to have lost trust in the corporate world, with a significant proportion believing that companies are paying less attention to their impact on society and the environment than they were 10 years ago, says a Eurobarometer poll.

Not only one approach to corporate responsibility, says MEP

The debate on voluntary versus mandatory reporting is dead and the EU proposal on Corporate Social Responsibility, to be unveiled today by the European Commission after years of deadlock, goes in the right direction, said MEP Richard Howitt in charge of the dossier for the European Parliament in an interview with EURACTIV.

Howitt: Not only one approach to corporate responsibility

The debate on voluntary versus mandatory reporting is dead and the EU proposal on Corporate Social Responsibility to be unveiled today by the European Commission, after years of deadlock, goes in the right direction, said MEP Richard Howitt in charge of the dossier for the European Parliament in an interview with EURACTIV.

Parliament criticises Commission on CSR

A Parliament report on the Commission's Communication on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), adopted on 9 March 2007, is critical of the Commission's approach of letting companies decide how to incorporate social and environmental concerns into business practices.

CSR initiative provokes NGO protests

A new proposal for an alliance on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) about to be launched by the Commission has been received with anger by NGOs and trade unions, who fear they will be excluded from the body. The proposed alliance will bring together mainly the Commission and enterprise.

The Myth of CSR

As nice as it is to think that modern corporations can do well while also doing good, there are serious limitations that the market imposes on their CSR initiatives, says Deborah Doane  in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Mrs Doane is chair of the CORE (Corporate Responsibility) Coalition of over 130 NGOs, organizations, and individuals in the U.K., which is campaigning for reform of the corporation to consider social and environmental issues. The question is, she says, whether or not CSR has been promoting a strategy more likely to lead to business as usual than to tackling the fundamental problems of our time.

EU steps up auditing rules of listed companies

Euro MPs have backed a proposal aimed at guaranteeing the independence of auditors against the management of major listed companies in a bid to prevent further Parmalat and Ahold scandals.

Study: Corporations primarily seek well-enforced CSR laws when considering new investments

Besides rigorously enforced local laws, the adherence to CSR standards (ISO 1400, ILO conventions, etc) has emerged as an important requirement in the investment decisions of multinational corporations.

CSR study: time to move beyond the “voluntary vs mandatory” debate

A new study explores how well companies understand the economic impacts of their activities on poor communities, and what actions businesses take to manage those to achieve the desired outcomes.