Commission to favour CSR light touch

15 March 2006

The EU’s desire to boost competitiveness means European Commission corporate social responsibility proposals will not place new obligations on companies when they are made public on March 22, writes Stephen Gardner. The European Commission’s long-promised corporate social responsibility proposals – the follow-up to a communication issued in mid-2002 – are finally scheduled to see the light of day in readiness for the spring European Council on 23 and 24 March. The proposals are unlikely to contain any surprises. There will be perhaps five key messages, with a particular focus on research and education and how, through knowledge-development and management training, companies can contribute to the evolution of corporate social responsibility and demonstrate the seriousness of their intent. In addition, a “European alliance for CSR” will be launched. This will be an initiative for encouraging joint working on new and existing schemes, but will not entail new regulation or voluntary benchmarking. Responsibility-minded companies can therefore expect carrots rather than sticks, with more stringent measures absent from the new proposals. Read the article in full at Ethical Corporation.

 

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