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The European Commission’s big idea on corporate responsibility – the
creation of a Europe-wide federation of companies called the European
Alliance for CSR – has been attacked by members of the European
parliament for being unclear and ill-defined.
The cross-party criticism was made in a parliamentary resolution passed in Strasbourg last month. The resolution, supported by a large majority after two days of debate, said the alliance, which was the only proposal of note in the EC’s second white paper on CSR last year, needs ‘clear objectives’ and a timetable.
The MEPs propose that its objectives include the ‘development of new models of best practice’, and more controversially, the ‘identification and promotion of specific EU regulation to support CSR’. They say one of its programmes of work – setting up ‘CSR laboratories’ that bring business together with stakeholders to consider ‘new options … for improved European policies’ – should be completed in two years. They also call for the alliance to have a ‘single point of co-ordination’. At present it is overseen by several bodies, including CSR Europe and the European employers’ organization Unice.
The resolution says the alliance lacks a ‘strategic vision to inform its work’ and even ‘minimum levels of organization and transparency’.
Richard Howitt, European parliament spokesman on CSR, told EP there was widespread concern among MEPs that the aims of the industry grouping are too vague, and that hardly anyone understands what it does. ‘The alliance is the commission’s major initiative on CSR, yet even businesses are asking what it’s all about, what it does and how they become members,’ he said. ‘Gunter Verheugen [the commission’s vice-president] agrees that the alliance must deliver and sharpen up its act – that it must do more, and do it more quickly.’
Last year’s white paper described the alliance as an ‘umbrella for new or existing CSR initiatives’ with no legal framework, no formal requirements for the companies involved, and no new commission money to support it. More than 50 mainly European companies have shown interest in taking part by sharing ideas and spreading best practice, but many MEPs fear it will become little more than a talking shop. ‘It needs somebody, somewhere who can take charge, say what is going on and oversee things,’ said Howitt.
During the debate, MEPs also drew attention to the commission’s failure to reconvene its multi-stakeholder forum of NGOs, unions and business people, which was set up to develop policy for the second white paper. The forum dissolved in acrimony shortly before the paper was published, mainly because NGOs felt their voices had been over-ridden (EP6, issue 4).
The white paper said the forum would be revived this year, but a dozen key NGOs, including Amnesty International, Oxfam, and Friends of the Earth, have refused to become involved this time round.
The cross-party criticism was made in a parliamentary resolution passed in Strasbourg last month. The resolution, supported by a large majority after two days of debate, said the alliance, which was the only proposal of note in the EC’s second white paper on CSR last year, needs ‘clear objectives’ and a timetable.
The MEPs propose that its objectives include the ‘development of new models of best practice’, and more controversially, the ‘identification and promotion of specific EU regulation to support CSR’. They say one of its programmes of work – setting up ‘CSR laboratories’ that bring business together with stakeholders to consider ‘new options … for improved European policies’ – should be completed in two years. They also call for the alliance to have a ‘single point of co-ordination’. At present it is overseen by several bodies, including CSR Europe and the European employers’ organization Unice.
The resolution says the alliance lacks a ‘strategic vision to inform its work’ and even ‘minimum levels of organization and transparency’.
Richard Howitt, European parliament spokesman on CSR, told EP there was widespread concern among MEPs that the aims of the industry grouping are too vague, and that hardly anyone understands what it does. ‘The alliance is the commission’s major initiative on CSR, yet even businesses are asking what it’s all about, what it does and how they become members,’ he said. ‘Gunter Verheugen [the commission’s vice-president] agrees that the alliance must deliver and sharpen up its act – that it must do more, and do it more quickly.’
Last year’s white paper described the alliance as an ‘umbrella for new or existing CSR initiatives’ with no legal framework, no formal requirements for the companies involved, and no new commission money to support it. More than 50 mainly European companies have shown interest in taking part by sharing ideas and spreading best practice, but many MEPs fear it will become little more than a talking shop. ‘It needs somebody, somewhere who can take charge, say what is going on and oversee things,’ said Howitt.
During the debate, MEPs also drew attention to the commission’s failure to reconvene its multi-stakeholder forum of NGOs, unions and business people, which was set up to develop policy for the second white paper. The forum dissolved in acrimony shortly before the paper was published, mainly because NGOs felt their voices had been over-ridden (EP6, issue 4).
The white paper said the forum would be revived this year, but a dozen key NGOs, including Amnesty International, Oxfam, and Friends of the Earth, have refused to become involved this time round.
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