Goals - Partners

A European Research Project funded within the EU 6th Framework Programme

Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe – Rhetoric and Realities Seven leading research partners from all over Europe took part in a groundbreaking project analysing the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe. Funded within the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (No. CIT2-CT-2004-506043), the three year project aimed at improving the understanding of the effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility as a policy instrument and how it can actually benefit sustainable development in the EU.

Today, societies are facing severe challenges to adopt a more sustainable development approach. Contributions are needed from across all sectors of society including business. In Europe, a growing number of companies are committed to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Businesses are going voluntarily beyond legal obligations in the social and environmental spheres and are using different instruments and measures. For example, businesses are participating in the UN 'Global Compact' by complying voluntarily with ten principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. There have been a range of other initiatives introduced in recent years, often at civil society's instigation and examples include the OECD 'Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises', the 'Global Reporting Initiative' and social and ecological investment funds and stakeholders dialogues. While some CSR instruments relate to the behaviour of the enterprises and their suppliers abroad – particularly in the Global South – others are concerned with activities in home markets. Being voluntary, such initiatives build on the self-interest of companies and a business case, but they only rarely require verification of compliance and by definition are unenforceable. The key questions are: how effective are Corporate Social Responsibility instruments; to what extent are they only rhetoric, and to what extent do they really contribute to sustainable development?

In order to promote effective CSR, a number of European governments are pursuing public policies such as disclosure requirements for investment funds or company reporting obligations. The European Union, too, is presently considering a common CSR strategy: "CSR public policies may help shape globalisation in a positive way by promoting good company practices that complement public efforts for sustainable development… there is a role for Community action to facilitate convergence in the instruments used in the light of the need to ensure a proper functioning of the internal market and the preservation of a level playing field." (COM (2002) 347)

The Project and its Goals

The researchers first looked at the meaning of responsibility as it is used in the notion of Corporate Social Responsibility. Building on this insight, they analysed existing CSR activities of enterprises including some of the activities of their representative associations in three different economic sectors: the oil industry, the banking sector and the fisheries and fish processing industries (see the diagram).

Different instruments of corporate responsibility were included in the research design. By developing and then applying a specific tool – CSR Impact Assessment – the Project head separated the rhetoric from the real impact of CSR in the sectors. The Impact Assessment took into consideration both the micro-level of companies and the macro-level of economic and socio-political effects.

On the socio-political level, where the focus of analysis was put, the team strived to evaluate the contribution of CSR to the achievement of the European Union's policy goals in four areas of sustainable development: environmental protection (climate and chemicals policies), resource management, gender equality and countering bribery. There were three sector surveys using questionnaires that covered some 20 multinationals in each sector. The project added a structural component to the predominantly actor-oriented perspective of current CSR research through considering specific conditions in the different policy fields and economic sectors.

In a further step, in-depth case studies in selected companies served to identify the factors that deliver particularly successful cases of CSR implementation. The project identified through interviews, the driving forces which contribute to the efficacy of CSR instruments within corporations and in their economic and political environment.

Through a complementary SME-study, the project also provided insights into the performance of European small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility. As SMEs tend to lack resources and have a lower public profile and stakeholder accessibility than big corporations, they are frequently less active in beyond-compliance activities. Therefore, the impact and success factors of CSR activities of SMEs were considered in a comparative perspective. Specific evidence was gained by analysing the role of environmental CSR in two SME networks, one in a new and one in an old EU Member State.

The project also tackled political and public policy dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility. Against the backdrop of EU enlargement, the researchers analysed the relevance of CSR activities to the integration of the new Member States into the EU. They also evaluated the contribution of CSR instruments to sustainable development in relation to the problem-solving capacity of public policy instruments. They considered questions such as which policy areas are suitable to be tackled by CSR and whether a political framework – voluntary or mandatory – will be necessary to make CSR an effective instrument. The team, finally, formulated policy recommendations for companies, national governments and the EU, promoting elements of a European approach to CSR.

By gaining interdisciplinary insights into Corporate Social Responsibility and pushing method development among researchers from all over Europe, the project ,made a significant contribution to the European Research Area.

As download there is a selfdescription of the project and it goals available as pdf-file (638 kb)

The findings on CSR and Gender Equality are available for download.

Publications