Corporate social responsibility: half of Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises engage in socially beneficial activities, says new Commission report
Half of Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) already engage in socially responsible activities that benefit the local community, such as sponsoring sport, culture, health and welfare, says a new European Commission report published under the “Observatory of European SMEs 2002” (see IP/02/687). This report, the first to give EU-wide comparative data on the social and environmental activities of SMEs, makes an important contribution to a debate that has so far mainly focused on large enterprises. The report’s findings will supplement responses to last year’s Green Paper on CSR and help shape the forthcoming Communication on the subject expected this summer. The findings of the report, based on a survey of over 7,600 small and medium-sized enterprises in 19 European countries, were presented to an audience including national experts, small business organisations, members of EU institutions and other specialists in Brussels on 29 May.
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Sustainable development is too big for companies to handle individually, regardless of their size. By working together in sector projects, companies can achieve more than they would alone, shows a new report released today by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
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Despite voluntary efforts to reduce environmental impacts, semiconductor companies are not adequately grappling with the environmental, health and labor impacts of their production and assembly operations, especially in developing countries and global supply chains, according to a new report released today by the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development.
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In May 2002, the OECD published a report on the implementation of the convention on combating bribery. At the same time, a NGO report shows that bribery is still common in certain countries and for certain sectors.
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-The Sustainability Metrics” the title of a new publication launched this week at the annual Assembly of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. Speaking at the launch, Robert Lowson, DEFRA’s director of environmental strategy, said, -We are very impressed and supportive of this initiative. The Sustainability Metrics is aimed at the process industry and means that engineers now have a quantifiable way of measuring the sustainability performance of their operating units.
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May 2002 update of The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) with the following topics:
* First 33 Members of Stakeholder Council Announced
* Draft Child Labour, Energy, and Water Protocols Available
* Comment Period on Draft 2002 Guidelines Closes 26 May
* Search for Chief Executive Continues
Secretariat Position Openings in Amsterdam
* More Organisations Release Sustainability Reports
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There is a growing gap between the efforts of business and industry to
reduce their impact on the environment and the worsening state of the planet, a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reveals today.
This gap, says UNEP, is due to the fact that in most industry sectors, only a small number of companies are actively striving for sustainability, i.e. actively integrating social and environmental factors into business decisions. And, secondly, because improvements are being overtaken by economic growth and increasing demand for goods and services: a phenomenon known as the -rebound effect.”
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Morley Fund Management (Morley) today releases its first Sustainability Matrix. This Matrix ranks FTSE 100 companies according to social and environmental criteria and provides a new measure of business sustainability. These gradings:
. Encourage companies to improve their Social and Environmental Performance
. Protect and increase Shareholder Value by adding another tool for the analysis of companies
. For the first time provide clear and transparent analysis of companies’ social and environmental policies
. Encourage and stimulate debate and continue raising awareness of Corporate Social Responsibility
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One major company states in its annual report that corporate citizenship is both “a moral responsibility and an economic necessity”. But what is the business case for and against increased corporate citizenship? This is the subject of a recent research paper entitled ‘The Business Case for Corporate Citizenship’ from Arthur D. Little’s Environment & Risk practice. The paper was commissioned by the World Economic Forum for their Global Corporate Citizenship Initiative.
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The International Chamber of Commerce today proposed practical steps for companies in making responsible business conduct a management priority – and said this could be good for business.
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All investors expect companies to report on their financial performance in a transparent way; so too do they expect transparent financial reporting from their mutual funds. Social investors are increasingly calling on companies they invest in to report on their social and environmental performance as well. Now, Norway-based Storebrand Investments is offering a mutual fund that reports on the social and environmental performance of the companies in its portfolio.
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By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
“Sustainability” is a big buzz word these days – for environmental groups, activists, government officials. And now, corporations.
More large companies, from auto giants to airlines, are producing “sustainability reports” in addition to – or as part of – their traditional annual reports. In them, they provide a detailed accounting of the firm’s environmental and social performance. McDonald’s released its first such report last week, and Shell came out with its fifth report a week earlier.
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