Strasbourg, 20/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - Adopting a slightly amended report in Strasbourg on 13 March by Richard Howitt (PES, UK) on corporate social responsibility (CSR), the European Parliament called on the European Commission to 'encourage dissemination of good practice resulting from voluntary CSR initiatives and consider establishing a list of criteria for enterprises to respect if companies claim to be responsible'. The EP urges the EU to adopt a European standard for product labelling where observance of human rights and fundamental workers' rights are part of the labelling scheme and for EU companies with production sites outside the EU to meet 'core ILO standards, social and environmental agreements to achieve world-wide balance between economic growth and environmental standards to meet international social, environmental and working conditions'. The EP also wants small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to be involved in corporate social responsibility with the help of the European Commission.
The European Parliament notes that 'the increase of social and environmental responsibility by businesses, linked to the principle of corporate accountability, represents an essential element of the European Social Model and of Europe's strategy for Sustainable Development'. In a press release, the EP says that it wants a new partnership to be developed and for the Commission, Council, businesses and other stakeholders to redefine CSR aims and methods. 'Agreeing with the Commission on the term, the EP defines CSR as "the voluntary integration of environmental and social considerations into business operations, over and above legal requirements and contractual obligations".' The EP 'recommends that future CSR research goes beyond the simple “business case” for CSR, to focus on the link between competitiveness and sustainable development, at the macro level (the EU and member states), the meso level (industry sectors and supply chains) and the micro level (SMEs), and the interrelationship between them, as well as the impact of current CSR initiatives and possible violations of CSR principles.'
Presenting his report to the plenary, Richard Howitt said that the EU should become a world leader when it comes to exporting CSR standards, along the lines of what Europe has achieved over climate change. Some of the top EU companies are real champions in the world debate on CSR and it is time for the EU to demonstrate its leadership, he added. Maria Panayotopouloous-Cassioutou (EPP-ED, Greece) disagreed with the rapporteur, arguing that the success of CSR at both SME and multinational company level came from its voluntary, un-binding nature and therefore any moves to make CSR compulsory, including the publishing of assessment reports, would be counterproductive and incompatible with the EU's efforts to reduce red tape. She said the suggestion to set up a new European CSR alliance should, however, help boost corporate social, economic and environmental responsibility.
Welcoming the adoption of the report by the EP, Walter Cerfeda, Confederal Secretary at the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), said that the Parliament's vote echoed the demands of European workers for a compulsory framework for transparency in CSR, and for companies assuming responsibility for the consequences of crime or abuse. Cerfeda said the EP vote gave new guidelines for the European Multilateral Forum's work in the future. He urged the European Commission to act in line with the views expressed by the EP, saying it should be the engine of a new partnership under the European Multilateral Forum with an improved agenda where social concerns are given a new impetus. His views on the introduction of a compulsory framework for transparency were echoed by Luxembourg MEP Claude Turmes (Green). The UEAPME (the European Association of Craft, Medium and Small-Sized Enterprises) disagrees. UEAPME General Secretary Hans-Werner Muller said the report was a 'patchwork document' and he was very concerned about the idea of forcing companies to give information about their CSR practices because this would amount to the introduction of extra red tape. (gb)