CSR in Austria

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CSR in Austria

• Recent developments, challenges and projects
• Birgit Müllegger
• b.muellegger_at_respact.at www.respact.at

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Content

• Success with responsible action
• What is Corporate Social Responsibility CSR
• 2. CSR in Austria respACT austria
• 3. CSR for SMEs

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Why should companies care about CSR?
Why should companies care about their social and
environmental responsibilities? We believes that
companies have both moral and financial reasons
to practice CSR. The moral ones tend to be quite
clear, while the financial ones are still more
difficult to measure. They are usually referred
to as the business case for CSR. The business
case for CSR argues that a responsible attitude
towards society and the environment can make a
business more competitive, more resilient to
shocks, and more likely to attract and hold both
consumers and the best employees. (CSR Europe)
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Definitions of CSR

• European Commission
• A concept whereby companies integrate social and
  environmental concerns in their business
  operations and in their interaction with their
  stakeholders on a voluntary basis.  (Commission
  Green Paper 2001, COM(2001)366 Final)
• Economic Success. Responsible Action.
• As a management approach, CSR integrates all
  fields of sustainability into corporate
  strategies. In order to be viable, the principles
  of social responsibility has to be adapted to the
  specific situation of individual companies. In
  this way they will be able to face the challenge
  of globalisation and social change. (respACT
  Austria, 2006)

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The triple-bottom-line
Economic success is the basis of social cohesion
and also a desirable environment
Responsible companies observe the polluter-pays
principles and regard it as a central part of
their business activities.
Social compatibility and therewith the balance
between north and south, poor and rich is the
goal to reach if economic growth and the basis
of the human existence is secured
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Approaches to implement CSR
How can a company implement CSR in its strategy?
passive
reactive
active
proactive
Nach Reporting about Sustainability, Wien 2003
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CSR in companies
INTERNAL
EXTERNAL
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respACT austria - CSR in Austria
With the establishment of respACT austria in June
2005 an association was founded to act as
platform of, for and with business in the
promotion of CSR in the economic sector as well
as in the public eye. Currently respACT austria
counts about 70 member companies.
The membership consists of businesses who pay
high respect to the Austrian Economic Sectors
guiding Vision for Corporate Social
Responsibility.
The guiding vision was established 2003 together
with Austrian companies, NGOs, social partners
and the government
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The guiding vision and Best-practices

• successful economic action
• gugler media cross invests in an integrated CSR
  strategy and is one of the most successful
  Austrian printing companies
• involving others
• SKF Österreich AG Project Basky - involving
  young people with mental handicaps in their
  company and helps them to finish their
  apprenticeship
• orientation towards the environment and the
  future
• Packaging Center Graz creation of two new
  packaging materials made of natural fiber
• a commited implementation effort
• Generali adopts in every directorate general a
• SOS Kinderdorf, a home for orphans

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respACT austria

• We are
• Platform contact to all stakeholders
• Link committed and competent link between the
  economy and the civil society
• Expertise solutions and models about CSR,
  sustainability and business ethics
• Exchange Exchange of experience and advanced
  trainings
• Communication one voice in the public
• We offer
• electronic CSR Newsletter monthly
• printed CSR-Newsletter quarterly
• Workshops
• fee reduction of training courses
• implementation of projects

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CSR in SMEs

• Development of a special CSR guide for small and
  medium sized enterprises differentiated according
  to ten business sectors.

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Initial challenges

• Type of activity awareness raising and
  competence building
• A lot of Austrian big companies as well as SMEs
  act according to CSR principles. The main
  difference is that big companies mostly know how
  to integrate it in their companies strategy (and
  communicate this) and a lot of SMEs dont. In
  Austria 99,6 of all businesses are SMEs.
  Consequently there cant be a successful CSR
  strategy in Austria without them. Corporate
  Social Responsibility generates economic success
  and the challenge is to communicate this to SMEs.
  
• So far all CSR tools in Austria are produced for
  big companies. The following tool is a specific
  guide for SMEs. It gives them concrete ideas how
  to implement CSR in their
• enterprises.
• The key to awake this potential lies
• in providing the information what CSR is.

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Tool box

• The tool box is streamlined for the special
  requirements for companies of ten business
  sector
• Teaser letter a letter with best-practise
  examples to get
  companies interested in the topic
• CSR-guide a guide about CSR written in simple
  language
• Self-test a quick self test for SMEs to
  evaluate their status quo
• Best-Practise database
• Do-it-yourself guide a simple guide to
  implement the
  main features of CSR in companies

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CSR-Guide for SMEs

• v

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Project implementation

• Coordination and implementation respACT austria
• The guide will be developed with members of the
  respective companies in order to use their
  language. The tool box will be distributed in
  two phases First a tease letter, second phase
  the CSR-Guide and the Self-test. Additionally
  companies can order the do-it-yourself guide.
• The tool box will be developed for the following
  sectors
• Wood
• Metal
• Paper
• Transport
• Tourism  

• Food
• Chemicals and waste management
• Textile
• personal services
• building sector

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Strengths and weaknesses

• Due to the cooperation with the Austrian Federal
  Chamber of Commerce the tool box will be
  distributed to about 150.000 companies which is
  about half of all Austrian companies.
• To explain the win-win situation created by
  implementing CSR in companies to SMEs is much
  more difficult then to explain it to big
  companies. The challenge of implementing this
  project is to point out this advantages to SMEs.
  

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More information news

• respACT austria
• Herrengasse 6-8/6/1/3, 1010 Wien
• Tel [phone]E-mail office_at_respact.at