Corporate social responsibility in the EU

Europe wants faster growth. But it also wants social fairness and a healthy environment. This is why companies in the EU are under growing pressure to broaden their focus from pure profits to policies of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This report argues that the EU can and should play an important role in promoting CSR. But it also warns that such steps should be a supplement, not a substitute, for traditional forms of regulation. EU attempts to encourage CSR are still in their infancy. Both enterprises and trade unions are sceptical whether the EU should intervene in this area. Business leaders suspect that the European Commission will use CSR as an excuse to introduce more red tape.
Alasdair Murray was deputy director of the CER (2000-2005).