Conference reports

CSR now firmly on the European business agenda

Celia Moore
1 March 2001
Alliance magazine

Attending the first European convention on corporate social responsibility (CSR) made me aware how quickly CSR has moved on to the agenda in Europe and how fast it is being assimilated into European business practice. This historic event was attended by over 500 business people, including a high proportion of CEOs and representing all branches of industry. The presence of high-level politicians emphasized the growing importance attached to CSR throughout Europe.

The Convention received an enormous amount of positive feedback from participants as it successfully placed the spotlight on four important aspects of CSR in a European context:

  • the coming together of representatives from all over Europe;
  • the results of the first European-wide survey of consumer attitudes to CSR;
  • the growing importance to the business sector of transparency and communication;
  • socially responsible investment.

The event also saw the launch of the European Campaign 2005 for Sustainable Growth and Human Progress, which has as its goal to widen the involvement of businesses in CSR and address the issue of social cohesion in Europe. As announced by European Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou, the Campaign will culminate in a European Year on CSR. The conference clearly recognized that business leaders will need to invest in building the competencies of Europe’s future managers if this shift to CSR is to be achieved.

Following a live link-up to the BSR (Business for Social Responsibility) annual conference, the event ended with a clear challenge: to spread and mainstream CSR through improved stakeholder dialogue between businesses, investors, civil society and governments. Europe needs not only to capitalize on the wealth of best practice in CSR that already exists but also to respond to new expectations. The change of name from EBNSC to CSR Europe symbolizes the determination of European business to do just that.

Event European Business Convention on Building Corporate Social Responsibility
Date 9-10 November 2000
Venue Brussels
Organizers CSR Europe (formerly European Business Network for Social Cohesion)

Celia Moore is Manager, Corporate Community Relations, Europe, Middle East & Africa. She can be contacted by email at celia_moore@uk.ibm.com