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Businesses in central and eastern European countries that have recently joined or applied to join the European Union generally practise corporate responsibility on their own initiative, not as a result of pressure from their governments and civil society, a new study has found.
The study, covering Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey, suggests that the biggest influence on national companies in the region has been multinationals that have introduced social and environmental programmes in their local operating units.
Just over a third of the 228 managers interviewed worked for multinationals, which have their own international codes of conduct. The remaining two-thirds worked for local private businesses (48 per cent) and state-owned companies (17 per cent), where social and environmental management is less advanced.
The study of manufacturing and services companies was funded by the United Nations Development Programme and the European Commission and is the first comprehensive study of ‘the private sector’s commitment to corporate social responsibility’ in the region.
The lack of domestic pressure on companies arises partly because civil society is relatively weak in many of the former Soviet bloc countries and generally lacks ‘awareness, ability and organizational power’. The media is ‘failing to hold corporate actors accountable for irresponsible business activities’ and consumer expectations are low.
With the exception of Hungary, where there is a CSR director in the economy and trade ministry, researchers found ‘no specific and transparent government body or individual within government responsible for [such] activities or initiatives’.
Governments should develop national strategies and companies should improve reporting systems, join membership organizations and adopt internationally recognized standards, the study recommends.
The study, covering Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey, suggests that the biggest influence on national companies in the region has been multinationals that have introduced social and environmental programmes in their local operating units.
Just over a third of the 228 managers interviewed worked for multinationals, which have their own international codes of conduct. The remaining two-thirds worked for local private businesses (48 per cent) and state-owned companies (17 per cent), where social and environmental management is less advanced.
The study of manufacturing and services companies was funded by the United Nations Development Programme and the European Commission and is the first comprehensive study of ‘the private sector’s commitment to corporate social responsibility’ in the region.
The lack of domestic pressure on companies arises partly because civil society is relatively weak in many of the former Soviet bloc countries and generally lacks ‘awareness, ability and organizational power’. The media is ‘failing to hold corporate actors accountable for irresponsible business activities’ and consumer expectations are low.
With the exception of Hungary, where there is a CSR director in the economy and trade ministry, researchers found ‘no specific and transparent government body or individual within government responsible for [such] activities or initiatives’.
Governments should develop national strategies and companies should improve reporting systems, join membership organizations and adopt internationally recognized standards, the study recommends.
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