Hi4CSR project: interim report 2nd TPM (Transnational project meeting) July 5th 2017, London

PROJECT’S ACTIVITIES All project activities planned in the initial stage of the project have been achieved so far: one TPM, two Learning Activities, a number of local events (workshops, conferences and others) and dissemination activities. First TPM (M1) took place in Ljubljana on the 14th of October 2016, and its participants were representatives of the following project partners: RRiF-plus d.o.o., IDOP, Ekvilib, Global Impact Grid, LUM University, Pontis Foundation and ABIS. First Learning Activity (C1) took place in Zagreb from 30th of January until 3rd of February 2017 with project partners RRiF, IDOP, Ekvilib, Global Impact Grid, LUM University, Pontis Foundation, ABIS and Trucost. Second Learning Activity (C2) took place in Berlin from 15th to 19th of May 2017 with project partners RRiF, IDOP, Ekvilib, Global Impact Grid, LUM University, Pontis Foundation, ABIS and Bridging to the Future. Each Learning Activity had a number of partners' presentations on implementation of selected EU CSR Directives into national legal frameworks, good practice examples from partners' countries and organizations, presentations by enterprise representatives and decision makers from the field of CSR, discussions between partners, decision makers and enterprises, as well as interactive workshops.

Different local events, also used for the dissemination of the project, took place, such as: RRiF has published three articles about the project in its monthly magazine (leading finance and accounting magazine in Croatia) and has registered to participate at the International conference "Accounting and management" which will take place in Croatia in September with two papers covering topics from the project (Directive EU2014/95 and VAT Directive 2006/112/EC) IDOP has presented at annual conference „Corporate Social Responsibilty” which took place in Croatia in December of 2016 with a paper on food donation. It has also held educational programs such as '' Empowering local communities through communication and cooperation with CSR companies'' in November 2016, as well as two workshops: "Educational services on CSR communications" in November of 2016 and "Issues of food donation system in Croatia" in February of 2017. Ekvilib has hosted an annual conference "Trends in Corporate Social Responsibility" which took place on 30th of May in Slovenia. Pontis has participated in the annual CSR Summit "Slovak Compliance Days" which took place on 8th and 9th of November in Slovakia.

In other dissemination activities, project has so far achieved and surpassed all initial objectives: The project has an official Hi4CSR.com website and project's social media channels and is regularly publishing content: new blog posts by project partners are published every month, as well as all updates about project activities The project is also using its official social media channels to share blog posts, news about project activities, events and updates, news from the field of CSR and sustainability in general and also to connect with as much organizations and individuals as possible, either working in the field, interested in any of the topics, or the general public. The project also has a monthly newsletter, which is sent to 900 e-mails, and a monthly PR release, which is regularly published by the local media Initial objective written in the application stated that approximately 7000 people will benefit indirectly from or will be target of the activities organized by the project, and so far the project has cumulatively reached more than 40.000 individuals across EU in just its first quarter. Through learning activities, dissemination process (preparations, presentations, researching the Directives, writing blog posts, sharing project news and updates) and all other activities project partners have so far partially reached three main objectives of the project: the exchange of good practices, the process of establishing a permanent network between enterprises, society and decision makers and creation of the CSR guide.

INCLUDING OTHER ORGANIZATIONS Hi4CSR project has included other organisations in the form of decision makers and companies representatives: At the first Learning Activity in Zagreb, there were three company representatives and one decision maker representative involved in the sharing good practice examples: Day 3: Polona Ajdnik Benić (Mercator IP, d.o.o.) – company’s representative Day 4: Natalija Knežević (Ministry of Agriculture) – decision maker representative, Elena Wolsperger, Kristina Klarić Rubčić (Dukat d.d.) - companies representatives Day 5: Sanja Radović Josić (Ministry of Environment) - decision maker representative, Valentina Keblar (Unija Nova d.o.o.) - company’s representative Decision makers and company representatives had 20 – 30 minutes presentations after which was a discussion where all project partners shared best practices from their country.

At the second Learning Activity in Berlin, there were four company representatives and one project initiator involved in the sharing good practice examples: Day 3: Malgorzata Olesiewicz (Green City Solutions) – company's representative, Julia Marczi (InfraLab Berlin) – company's representative, Simone Kellerhoff (Material Mafia) – company's representative Day 4: Dario Adamic (Homeless Veggie Dinner) – project initiator, dr. Robert Gerlach (mm1) – company's representative Day 3 included the visit to the EUREF-Campus, a smart urban district and a pilot project serving as a home base for companies, start-ups and initiatives working in the fields of energy, sustainability and networked mobility, where companies mentioned have their headquarters and company's representative held presentations and a tour of the HQ. Day 4 included 30 minute presentations which were held in the offices of Steinbeis University Berlin, Institute Corporate Responsibility Management, and which were followed by round table discussions.

PROJECT’S IMPACT Project impact on participants and participating organizations: Along with organizational, presentation and communication skills, participants in the LAs and project in general have acquired other job-related skills such as understanding issues of harmonization and implementation of EU CSR directives into national legal frameworks of member states and understanding the educational tools for the implementation of CSR objectives in businesses and society which have to be harmonized with national legislation. New skills and competences of participants have been instrumental in achieving easier mobility, greater employability and competitive advantage on the open labour market, while new knowledge and connections has been important in every partner's CSR professional reputation which will in turn benefit its employees, associates and future potential partners. The project has built a unique network of CSR professionals which has proven as a great benefit in developing the opportunities for networking, building connections and creating new businesses and opportunities.

PROJECT’S IMPACT Project impact on target groups and other relevant stakeholders: Adults (from academia, management, HR management, conference attendees, participants of educational workshops or individuals interested in EU CSR legislative framework) have benefited from project and its educative materials. We have received a number of inquiries from different organizations (such as Kaufland Croatia) and individuals (such as students from Steinbeis and Zagreb Universities) asking about the Hi4CSR project and the CSR Guide, looking for more information regarding the EU CSR Framework, so we were able to send them project materials and connect them with relevant organizations they were interested in. Enterprises, European and national decision makers, national agencies have participated in project’s Learning activities, held presentations and discussed topics with project partners and most importantly, shared best practice in implementation of EU CSR legislation into national frameworks. Decision makers which participated in LA in Zagreb were Natalija Knežević from Croatian Ministry of Agriculture, and Sanja Radović Josić from Croatian Ministry of Environment.

PROJECT’S IMPACT Media was being reached through press releases at the national and local level and social media dissemination which also helped to share project activities and results. So far more than 100 articles and PR releases have been published across EU, describing project activities, news and updates and linking them back to the official Hi4CSR website. Local communities and NGOs were being reached by providing a free-access on-line source of project materials such as presentations, learning materials and blogs as well as news, updates and information disseminated through social media. Influential NGOs have had the opportunity to use those tools and know-how in their everyday activities, directly impacting local communities in the process. Those target groups were reached through workshops and educational programs, such as those organized by IDOP: "Empowering local communities through communication and cooperation with CSR companies‘’,"Educational services on CSR communications„ etc.

Thank you for your attention!