CSR - Summary

New interplay between the business community, society and the political arena

Summary of the conference

"CSR is the compact that links government, society, business and NGOs", Bob Geldof summarised the international discussion on CSR. Also Federal Minister Olaf Scholz stressed the significance of this connection: "We need a new partnership between the business community, society and the political arena. Enterprises¿ social responsibility stands for this partnership, and it is an update of the concept of the social market economy. It is a matter of the responsibility of enterprises for society and for the environment in which and with which they do business. It is about responsibility for the whole."

350 interested parties from enterprises, associations, research and the media came together to discuss CSR at the invitation of the Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs and of the Federal Foreign Office. The conference "Corporate Responsibility - A Net Gain for All" in Berlin was a good launching pad - and it is also clear that there must be more dialogue events.

Guest speaker Bob Geldof stressed that it was shown particularly in dealing with workers who shouldered responsibility. This was also discussed in the "Good Work" workshop - and reasons were named for the significance: "Good Work" is not only a social matter and an obligation for the social welfare state, but also a necessity for all of society - for the conservation of the standard of living in the conditions of global competition and demographic development. Designing this "Good Work" is a field of action which is relevant for CSR.

Germany has good, high environmental standards. Areas where responsible action could be taken were therefore especially seen to exist in the workshop in questions of growing mobility, increasing energy demand or demographic growth in some regions. The discussion regarding responsibility has been taking place for several years along the supply chains. Standard initiatives (such as "4C", the "Common Code for the Coffee Community") have proven to be effective tools here. It is now above all a matter of integrating whole business sectors in standard initiatives, of building up capacities and know-how in the enterprises. These are the topical fields of action for CSR in the topical field of globalisation.

Consumers are relevant to all these areas. They can make a vital contribution towards promoting commitment to CSR. The awareness of this is growing. Its basis is information. However, value added chains in globalised business are highly complex. Even open-minded consumers therefore find it difficult to orientate their purchasing conduct in line with CSR criteria. There is a lack of clear information. The large number of existing labels and quality seals does not make it easier. For instance, labels were repeatedly mentioned throughout the whole conference. Not however with a common result: Some ask for an umbrella seal covering all areas. Others are in favour of competition between the seals. Others in turn completely reject labels, fearing excessively strong interference on the part of policy-makers. The important thing is to engage in an open discussion and to balance the arguments. Here too, we will continue the discussion.

In all the workshops, public procurement was discussed as a major field of action for the political arena - and action was called for.

It is a fact that some CSR experts have travelled further in their day-by-day work than the political discussions on CSR. We can see that it is important for policy-makers to formulate a joint understanding of CSR. It is not a matter of building up contrasts between the business community and the political arena where there are none. We will engage in the debates. For the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs it is also a matter of bringing the debates about CSR from the specialist community into the broad public. Creating a stronger awareness than was previously the case and removing the blinkers is the goal.

The results of the conference will be a major step towards for the development of a national strategy. This documentation contributes to this. Our next steps are clear: On www.csr-in-deutschland.de we will be reporting immediately on the activities of the Federal Government. We will seek a direct discourse with enterprises. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is planning to organise several workshops for enterprises in the summer. A platform on the Internet is to enable enterprises to present their CSR commitment - and to publicise it. A joint code on which the enterprises involved agree is to guarantee engagement and create an added value.

The CSR forum will be convened soon. It consists of two areas: The CSR advisory council and the working parties. The CSR advisory council is to make CSR visible in Germany. It will consist of a small number of personalities. Its task is to prioritise and to name topical foci on the basis of the previous discussions and of the CSR conference. These topics will then be discussed with all interested stakeholders in the working parties. A clear work programme and a clear schedule should make the talks concrete and targeted.

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