Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility – CSR for short – is difficult to grasp, however, as it is neither a specific concept or model nor a specific theory (although this does not mean that CSR has to be theory-free).

Perhaps the growing CSR discussions and activities would be best summarised as a kind of socio-political movement. Here only weakly coordinated actions bring about a political and social upheaval. Those actions are not as violent and spontaneous as a revolution. But they nevertheless gain more and more supporters over time and develop an increasingly binding claim.

Example

Such an understanding of CSR activities could then be compared to movements in climate protection or sustainability, for example, which have an influence on people's thoughts and actions and thus gradually bring about social change.

The call for and commitment to CSR could also be understood as a new way of looking at companies. A perspective that no longer focuses solely on the economic factors of corporate management, but also on social and ecological ones. How and in what relationship these different factors relate to each other is (so far) completely open. Perhaps the charm and strength of CSR lies precisely in its openness, under whose umbrella numerous actors and focal points can be found. What characterises all approaches, however, is the question of corporate responsibility; a responsibility that goes beyond the traditional corporate responsibility for the economic success of the company. This shifts the perception of companies as fulfilment agents of the primarily monetary interests of their shareholders towards a network of multidimensional interests of their plural stakeholder groups.

The European Commission understands CSR as "the responsibility of companies for their impact on society" [European Commission (2011: 6)]. With its claim, it formulated a comprehensive modern understanding of corporate social responsibility in 2011, which can be used to outline the broad spectrum of CSR: "To fully meet their corporate social responsibility, enterprises should have in place a process to integrate social, environmental, ethical, human rights and consumer concerns into their business operations and core strategy in close collaboration with their stakeholders“. [European Commission (2011: 6)] This expands and modernises its definition from 2001, which delineates CSR "a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis" [European Commission (2011: 3) respectively EU COM (2001)366]. In just ten years, the CSR movement has become much more recognised and binding, clearly demonstrating its influence on the economic, social and political spheres.

Web­source

Communication: A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for corporate social responsibility (CSR). COM 681 final.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION, October 25, 2011 (Brussels)
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