The recent green paper is a first step towards the creation of ‘an overall European framework’ for corporate social responsibility. EP interviewed the official in Brussels responsible for developing European policy in this area
The publication of a green paper on CSR by the European Commission has added a new dimension to the debate over the social and environmental responsibilities of the business world. It emphasises that these issues, which have developed in an informal and voluntary fashion, are now firmly on the official agenda of European governments.
Dominique Be is the EC official in charge of the development of European policy on CSR. An economist by training, Be, who is 44, first joined the Commission in 1985. He is now deputy head of the Social Development and Adaptation to Change Unit in the Employment and Social Affairs Directorate.
The green paper is a discussion document, and as the box below indicates, the Commission’s thinking is at a very early stage.
In producing it, Be has had to tread a fine line between the desire to retain voluntarism and the need to develop common understanding and practice on CSR throughout the EU.
He is keen to stress that any kind of compulsion or formal harmonization is barely a glimmer in the Commission’s eye.
‘CSR begins when a company decides to go beyond legislation and traditional collective bargaining. The voluntary approach allows pioneering companies to go ahead without being held back by others,’ he says.
The underlying theme of the green paper is that social responsibility is in everyone’s interest, but will be meaningless without rigour and transparency. So companies need to produce reports with sufficiently uniform information to allow comparisons. Also, users of such reports need the assurance of external input and verification to be able to rely on the information presented.
Similarly, consumers who want to buy products which have been produced responsibly need a simple, authoritative labelling system. And investors who want to back responsible companies need clear criteria that can be consistently applied.
Be identifies two key unifying elements in all these strands. The first is transparency, which is stressed repeatedly throughout the consultative document. He says it is the only way that credibility can be established – both by companies and by those assessing them.
‘It is important to improve the quality of information. Companies should consider becoming more transparent and ensure their claims are verified, or they won’t be credible – so they won’t benefit’, he says.
‘But there is also a need for transparency and convergence of “social labels”, such as the Fairtrade Mark. At the moment it is difficult to make comparisons. If social labelling becomes a significant minority in the market there will be some expectation that their claims will be verified.’
Dialogue is the other key element identified by Be, who predicts it will be difficult for some employers, especially on the continent, to broaden the dialogue beyond their traditional ‘social partners’ – trade unions. But he insists it is essential.
‘Social responsibility is not just about employees. It is about the relationships between the company and different stakeholders. Ten years ago this was not something one could envisage. But now other groups are going to sit at the table. It is no longer just the social partners.
‘Companies are also going to have dialogue with non-governmental organizations. That is a fact of life which is driving companies to enter dialogue – to address the concerns of citizens, organised as NGOs.’
Be insists the only way forward is for all parties to talk to each other. ‘The green paper says there is a need for dialogue rather than each group sitting down on its own.’ He accepts that would not be easy, but with the resignation of one used to such difficulties he comments: ‘That is the way it is.’