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20.01.2009
Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility Set Up!
The German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has appointed about 40 personalities from the business community, civil society, trade unions, academia and policy-making to a forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). A first meeting of the forum took place on Tuesday, 20 January 2009. The CSR forum is meant to contribute towards strengthening and expanding a sustainable corporate responsibility. Both nationally and internationally, CSR is becoming increasingly important. The forum will give advice and support to the German Federal Government in the development of a national CSR strategy.
The current financial crisis with its massive negative repercussions on the real economy and employment shows very drastically, in this case for the banking and financial sector, that transparency and responsible action are indispensable, especially in the age of globalisation. The discussion about sustainable economic action is not a luxury discussion. Economic efficiency on the one hand and social, societal and environmental policy responsibilities on the other rather belong together and cannot be separated from each other.
With its national CSR strategy, the German Federal Government intends to make the subject of Corporate Social Responsibility as a whole, but also ways and forms in which it is exercised, more visible for the general public. For this purpose, an action plan is being developed with all stakeholders which is also meant to raise the German CSR profile in other countries. In , the assumption and exercise of Corporate Social Responsibility has a long tradition. And the number of German companies where social responsibility and voluntary commitment are integral parts of the company strategy is steadily increasing.
One of the intentions of the CSR strategy is to support companies in these efforts. On the one hand, CSR enhances the international competitiveness of companies; on the other hand, it is an important, and ever more important, contribution to the social and ecological dimensions of globalisation.