The winners of the inaugural European Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award Scheme today celebrated their achievements at a special ceremony in Brussels.

The new Guide, produced by the European Commission, is a very concrete tool to help public authorities to buy goods and services in a socially responsible way in line with EU rules. It also highlights the contribution public procurement can make to stimulate greater social inclusion.

US companies are "scratching the surface" of corporate responsibility, as a whole concentrating on communication more than performance, according to a global survey by KPMG.

I met Shajjad about one year ago. I was surprised to see the amount of passion he puts in what he does and of  his determination to produce a change in the Romanian society. In an interview for CSR Romania, he talks about his work with the volunteers of Little People Romania, but also about the experience he gained in the relationship company-NGO. (Rebeca Pop)

James Osborne, Head of CSR Communications at the consultancy firm Lundquist, talks in an interview for CSR Romania about the CSR communication and about the changes that will take place in the near future from this perspective.

It was completely accidental that I wound up in Bacau.  But once I arrived there as a Peace Corps volunteer, I was drawn to the issue because I care deeply about giving children the opportunities to reach their potential as human beings.  To my mind, there is nothing sadder than a person who has not been able to reach their full potential.

The pharmaceutical sector is unfortunately not driven by a community spirit as it should be, but rather the “crazy” (and billionaire) competitiveness and the search for market share and profits seems to be the only reason animating this sector.

CSR, Sustainability, Environmental, green, ethical, social, dialoguing, cooperation, engagement, commitment. Should we look for some “tags” related to the matter, these are some of  the keywords, till the next “innovator” will find and/or invent the next “cool word”, that gives Corporations an excuse to proceed on the way of appearing sustainable and acting as ever instead.

When the study first began in the US in 2006, 58% of Americans indicated they did not care about green. Four years later, the tide has changed, and 75% of consumers in the US believe it is somewhat or very important for a company to be green.

 

CSR will become a risk discipline which quantifies the true financial value of reputation.
This, I believe, will be driven by the capital markets and other market place stakeholders as they seek to differentiate between sustainable companies and those which are not sustainable.