1. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Policies on CSR in Europe: A new “Government Contribution to Sustainable Development” Reinhard Steurer RIMAS - Research Institute for Managing Sustainability Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration www.sustainability.eu

2. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Orientation 1.Research behind this presentation Activities of RIMAS 2.CSR and Sustainable Develpoment Conceptual and political clarifications 3.The CSR policy field Instrument and topics 4.A closer look at two topics CSR awareness raising & Sustainable Public Procurement 5.Conclusions EU and Member State policies on CSR and the EU SDS

3. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Orientation 1.Research behind this presentation Activities of RIMAS 2.CSR and Sustainable Develpoment Conceptual and political clarifications 3.The CSR policy field Instruments and topics 4.A closer look at two topics CSR awareness raising & Sustainable Public Procurement 5.Conclusions EU and Member State policies on CSR and the EU SDS

4. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Recent projects on SD “European Environment” special issue on SD Strategies in Europe ESDN (European Sustainable Development Network) Office www.sd-network.eu (financed by 8 European countries) Recent projects on CSR Policies on CSR in Europe (City of Vienna) Corporate Sustainability and CSR in Western and CEE Europe (Austrian National Bank) Analysis of national policies on CSR -- www.sustainability.eu/csr- policies for EU CSR High Level Group (DG Employment)

5. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Orientation 1.Research behind this presentation Activities of RIMAS 2.CSR and Sustainable Develpoment Conceptual and political clarifications 3.The CSR policy field Instruments and topics 4.A closer look at two topics CSR awareness raising & Sustainable Public Procurement 5.Conclusions EU and Member State policies on CSR and the EU SDS

6. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 CSR and SD: Similarities 1.Normative assumptions are at the core of both SD and CSR/stakeholder management 2.Integrating environmental and social aspects into economic policies/strategies is key for SD and CSR (triple bottom line) 3.Participation in the societal context of SD is mirrored by stakeholder management in the context of CSR Source: Steurer, R et al (2005): Corporations, Stakeholders and Sustainable Development: A Theoretical Exploration of Business-Society Relations, in: Journal of Business Ethics, 61/3, 263-281.

7. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 CSR and SD: Differences 1.History SD comes from the environmental, CSR from the social dimension 2.Institutional affiliation SD still located in Environment, CSR in Social Ministries 3.Time horizon SD focuses on future generations, CSR on present stakeholders 4.Scope SD is a societal concept, CSR a management approach Source: Steurer, R et al (2005): Corporations, Stakeholders and Sustainable Development: A Theoretical Exploration of Business-Society Relations, in: Journal of Business Ethics, 61/3, 263-281.

8. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Sustainable Development Corporate Sustainability Environmental dimension Economic dimension Social dimension CSR SRM Societal Concept Management Approach Corporate Concept Management Systems Starting Point of conceptual development Stakeholder Relations Management (SRM) Level of specification SRM ISO … Source: Steurer, R et al (2005), Journal of Business Ethics, 61/3, 263-281.

9. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Preliminary conclusions „CSR is a business contribution to SD” (European Commission 2001) Since CSR re-defines state-business and business- society relations, shaping the concept and respective activities also concerns governments and civil society CSR policies are a new „government contribution to SD“ that complements (or compensates for the lack of) traditional social and environmental policies

10. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Orientation 1.Research behind this presentation Activities of RIMAS 2.CSR and Sustainable Develpoment Conceptual and political clarifications 3.The CSR policy field Instrument and topics 4.A closer look at two topics CSR awareness raising & Sustainable Public Procurement 5.Conclusions EU and Member State policies on CSR and the EU SDS

11. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 CSR policy instruments 1.Informational or endorsing instruments: Campaigns, guidelines, trainings 2.Partnering instruments: Agreements, networks, PPPs, dialogues 3.Financial or economic instruments: Subsidies, grants, prices/awards 4.Legal (mandating) instruments: Laws, regulations, decrees 5.„Hybrid instruments“ Strategies, action plans, platforms, centres Source: Fox T, Ward H, Howard B. 2002; World Bank; http://www.iied.org/pubs /pdf/full/16014IIED.pdf CSR policies study on awareness raising, see www.sustinability.eu/cs r-policies

12. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Character of policy instruments in general 1.Informational or endorsing instruments: Campaigns, guidelines, trainings 2.Partnering instruments: Agreements, networks, PPPs, dialogues 3.Financial or economic instruments: Subsidies, grants, prices/awards 4.Legal (mandating) instruments: Laws, regulations, decrees 5.„Hybrid instruments“ Strategies, action plans, platforms, centres New governance and “soft-law approach” Regulatory approach

13. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Character of CSR policy instruments 1.Informational or endorsing instruments: Campaigns, guidelines, trainings 2.Partnering instruments: Agreements, networks, PPPs, dialogues 3.Financial or economic instruments: Subsidies, grants, prices/awards 4.Legal (mandating) instruments: Laws, regulations, decrees 5.„Hybrid instruments“ Strategies, action plans, platforms, centres New governance and “soft-law approach”

14. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Orientation 1.Research behind this presentation Activities of RIMAS 2.CSR and Sustainable Develpoment Conceptual and political clarifications 3.The CSR policy field Instrument and topics 4.A closer look at two topics CSR awareness raising & Sustainable Public Procurement 5.Conclusions EU and Member State policies on CSR and the EU SDS

15. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Not traditional social and environmental regulations, but  Raise awareness for CSR  Increase disclosure & transparency  Foster Socially Responsible Investment  Make Public Procurement sustainable  Help develop management and audit tools Key topics of CSR policies

16. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 1.Raise awareness for CSR 2.Increase disclosure & transparency 3.Foster Socially Responsible Investment 4.Make Public Procurement sustainable 5.Help develop management and audit tools Topics covered in study for DG Employment

17. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Orientation 1.Research behind this presentation Activities of RIMAS 2.CSR and Sustainable Develpoment Conceptual and political clarifications 3.The CSR policy field Topics and policy tools 4.A closer look at two topics CSR awareness raising & Sustainable Public Procurement 5.Conclusions EU and Member State policies on CSR and the EU SDS

18. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 CSR awareness raising initiatives in Europe 1.Rationale Because CSR activities require awareness among businesses and stakeholders, promoting CSR is key to its success 2.Research method 24 telephone interviews, 20 EU Member States covered 3. Number of initiatives surveyed 85 from 4 out of 5 categories

19. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Overview of CSR awareness raising instruments Education activities, e.g. conferences, seminars, trainings; 17.7% Government-sponsored guidelines; 10.6% Information resources, e.g. website, studies, reports etc.; 10.6% Information/awareness raising campaigns; 9.4% Networks/partnerships/ agreements; 10.6% Multi-stakeholder fora; 4.8% Prices and awards (CSR audits/labels); 8.2% Economic incentives (loans, grants, subsidies); 3.5% Action plans/ programmes/strategy for CSR; 9.4% Institutions: platforms/ centres; 8.2% Others; 7.0% Informational or endorsing instruments Partnering instruments Financial or economic instruments Hybrid tools and others

20. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Target groups of CSR awareness raising Companies; 40.3% Young people; 1.6% Business/industry sectors; 1.6% Universities/schools; 6.2% Consumers/consumer organizations/general public; 7% Ministries/governmental officials; 7.6% Trade unions/social partners; 8.5% NGOs; 10.1% SMEs; 12.4% Employees; 1.6% Others; 3.1%

21. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Target groups of CSR awareness raising Companies; 40.3% Consumers/consumer organizations/general public; 7% Ministries/governmental officials; 7.6% Trade unions/social partners; 8.5% NGOs; 10.1% SMEs; 12.4% Few initiatives focus exclusively on SMEs (no prices/awards) --- generally regarded as most important target group

22. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Target groups of CSR awareness raising Companies; 40.3% Consumers/consumer organizations/general public; 7% Ministries/governmental officials; 7.6% Trade unions/social partners; 8.5% NGOs; 10.1% SMEs; 12.4% Social partners rarely mentioned as target group (even not in networks, multi- stakeholder fora etc.)

23. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Target groups of CSR awareness raising Companies; 40.3% Trade unions/social partners; 8.5% NGOs; 10.1% SMEs; 12.4% Consumers and the media hardly mentioned Consumers/consumer organizations/general public; 7% Ministries/governmental officials; 7.6%

24. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Three case studies on CSR awareness raising Sweden: “Globalt Ansvar” Partnership for global responsibility Government invites companies to join the partnership by adopting the OECD guidelines and the UN Global Compact Sweden: “Globalt Ansvar” Partnership for global responsibility Government invites companies to join the partnership by adopting the OECD guidelines and the UN Global Compact Netherlands: “Knowledge and Information Centre” on CSR since 2004 Disseminate knowledge and good practices Promote stakeholder dialogues Foster partnerships Netherlands: “Knowledge and Information Centre” on CSR since 2004 Disseminate knowledge and good practices Promote stakeholder dialogues Foster partnerships Denmark: “People & Profit” Programme initiated in 2004 Activities: research, training, dissemination of information Goal: enhance competitiveness (foster CSR as a business case) Denmark: “People & Profit” Programme initiated in 2004 Activities: research, training, dissemination of information Goal: enhance competitiveness (foster CSR as a business case)

25. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Orientation 1.Research behind this presentation Activities of RIMAS 2.CSR and Sustainable Develpoment Conceptual and political clarifications 3.The CSR policy field Topics and policy tools 4.A closer look at two topics CSR awareness raising & Sustainable Public Procurement 5.Conclusions EU and Member State policies on CSR and the EU SDS

26. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Sustainable Public Procurement 1.Rationale By making public procurement sustainable, governments lead by example and provide economic incentives for CSR 2.Research method 74 contacts, 24 interviews, 7 times (additional) written information, 26 EU Member States covered

27. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Countries covered in the SPP survey Green: survey Orange: other studies Grey: not covered

28. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Sustainable Public Procurement 1.Rationale By making public procurement sustainable, governments lead by example and provide economic incentives for CSR 2.Research method 74 contacts, 24 interviews, 7 times (additional) written information, 26 EU Member States covered 3.Number of initiatives 103, mostly from 3 out of 5 categories

29. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Overview of SPP initiatives Educational activities, e.g. conferences, seminars, trainings; 3.9% Government-sponsored guidelines; 13.6% Information resources, e.g. websites, studies, reports, etc.; 11.7% Information/awareness raising campaigns; 1.9% Networks/partnerships/ agreements; 1.0% Decrees, resolutions; 4.9% Circulars; 4.9% Action plans/ programmes/strategies for CSR; 27.2% Platforms/centres/ institutions; 5.8% Informational instruments Partnering instruments Legal instruments Hybrid instruments Laws; 25.2% 1/3

30. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 EU Directives* on PP: Status of implementation 19: implemented 2 (Es, Lux): in preparation 1: not implemented 5: status unclear * „Procurement directive“ 2004/18/EC „Utilities directive“ 2004/17/EC

31. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Overview of SPP initiatives Educational activities, e.g. conferences, seminars, trainings; 3.9% Government-sponsored guidelines; 13.6% Information resources, e.g. websites, studies, reports, etc.; 11.7% Information/awareness raising campaigns; 1.9% Networks/partnerships/ agreements; 1.0% Decrees, resolutions; 4.9% Circulars; 4.9% Action plans/ programmes/strategies for CSR; 27.2% Platforms/centres/ institutions; 5.8% Informational instruments Partnering instruments Legal instruments Hybrid instruments Laws; 25.2% 1/3

32. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Member States with National Action Plans (NAPs) on SPP/GPP 9: NAP adopted 7: NAP in preparation/ drafted 3: No (draft) NAP 8: Status unclear

33. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Overview of SPP initiatives Educational activities, e.g. conferences, seminars, trainings; 3.9% Government-sponsored guidelines; 13.6% Information resources, e.g. websites, studies, reports, etc.; 11.7% Information/awareness raising campaigns; 1.9% Networks/partnerships/ agreements; 1.0% Decrees, resolutions; 4.9% Circulars; 4.9% Action plans/ programmes/strategies for CSR; 27.2% Platforms/centres/ institutions; 5.8% Informational instruments Partnering instruments Legal instruments Hybrid instruments Laws; 25.2% Economic/financial instruments are missing, but…

34. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Overview of SPP initiatives Educational activities, e.g. conferences, seminars, trainings; 3.9% Government-sponsored guidelines; 13.6% Information resources, e.g. websites, studies, reports, etc.; 11.7% Information/awareness raising campaigns; 1.9% Networks/partnerships/ agreements; 1.0% Decrees, resolutions; 4.9% Circulars; 4.9% Action plans/ programmes/strategies for CSR; 27.2% Platforms/centres/ institutions; 5.8% Informational instruments Partnering instruments Legal instruments Hybrid instruments Laws; 25.2% Indirectly: All SPP initiatives foster CSR by providing economic/ financial incentives

35. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Target groups of SPP initiatives Public sector in general; 66.0% Business; 10.7% Regional and/or local level; 6.8% National/federal level; 19.4% not identified; 8.7% Others; 1.9% „Direct“ target group: 92.2% public sector „Indirect“ target group 100% businesses „Direct“ target group: 92.2% public sector „Indirect“ target group 100% businesses

36. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Orientation 1.Research behind this presentation Activities of RIMAS 2.CSR and Sustainable Develpoment Conceptual and political clarifications 3.The CSR policy field Topics and policy tools 4.A closer look at two topics CSR awareness raising & Sustainable Public Procurement 5.Conclusions EU and Member State policies on CSR and the EU SDS

37. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 Conclusions on CSR policies in Europe 1.CSR policies are a policy field like many others in terms of its political scope: progressive versus passive approaches (change of course in European Commission!) 2.CSR policies are different to traditional policy fields because they rely more on new governance and soft-law 3.CSR policies complement but cannot replace traditional (social, environmental and trade) policies 4.The contribution of CSR (policies) to the EU SDS is relative: it could be significant because government actions are weak 5.CSR policies as indications for a neoliberal or a new „relational state“ (Midttun) – time will tell

38. Policies on CSR in Europe CORE Conference in Milan, 15 June 2007 THANK YOU! Reinhard Steurer reinhard.steurer@wu-wien.ac.at RIMAS – Research Institute for Managing Sustainability Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration Vienna, Austria www.sustainability.eu www.sustainability.eu/csr-policies www.sd-network.eu