CSR

• What is CSR?
  CSR is the acronym for Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR can be defined as the integration on a voluntary basis of the environmental and social considerations into business operations, over and above legal requirements and contractual obligations, in relations with all the interested parties”.

• Why do we use the conceipt of voluntariness?
  There is no kind of restraint that requires companies to adopt policies and strategies for social responsibility. The company is committed voluntarily to go beyond the limits of the law because it believes that CSR practices are in line with its own philosophy and business purposes.

• What do we mean by social and environmental demands?
  These are the demands to the company about the side effects that business operations have on society or the hardships that the community, the company is operating in, may suffer as a result of the taken business actions.

• What do we mean by business?
  These are the demands to the company about the side effects that business operations have on society or the hardships that the community, the company is operating in, may suffer as a result of the taken business actions.

• What are the stakeholders?
  The Stakeholders are all those subjects, who for different reasons, are involved in the business activity, in other words they are the recipients of the business activities and their interlocutors.

• Why should we worry about social responsibility?
  Because the attention of the operators, the public and all stakeholders is now focused on the integrity of businesses and attitudes of these commitments, not only to the shareholders but also to the society at large. To fully embrace this challenge it becomes important to invest more in human capital, in the environment and in Stakeholders’ relationships.

• Who does CSR refer to?
  This culture refers primarily to businesses: to those firms that already adopt, perhaps unconsciously, responsible behaviours, encouraging a more coherent and structured approach, and to those businesses that do not know this culture, proposing a new way of thinking their business.

• What are the strategy for?
  The organizations that decide to confront themselves with the social responsibility can choose to: do less than the stakeholders require (responsive strategies); admit the existence of an internal/external conflict trying to oppose it (defensive strategies); adapt to the demands of the stakeholders (adaptation strategies), for example, with the publication of a social report as a result of the requests of a non-governmental organization, anticipating its demands ( proactive strategies).

• Does CSR fit only for big companies?
  No, it does not; what characterizes the CSR approach is the integration of the socially responsible themes in the strategic polices, in big multinational companies, as well as in medium-sized enterprises, and in small or micro businesses.

• Does CSR fit only for business?
  No, it does not; the associations, the foundations and all the organizations, through their daily action can work as catalyst and vehicle of information, having the chance to spread far CSR practices to their members.
  Any person, organization, institution, with an interest into the business activity, can be considered as the ultimate beneficiary of CSR polices, because through a structured approach to it all stakeholders’ expectations can be met.

• What are the CSR management dimensions?
  They are divided first of all into an internal dimension that covers the human resources, and health and safety management, the adaptation to the business changes, the natural resources and environmental effects management. Secondly, they go beyond the business perimeter reaching the local communities, business partners, suppliers, customers, consumers, human rights throughout the supply chain and the environmental worldwide issues.

• What are the best practices that can be coherent with the CSR principles for human resources?
  The actions supporting the human resources may include: political support to persons with disabilities, minorities, life-long training, benefits for the employees ( fringe benefit) etc.. A practical example can be the development of information activities for the prevention of diseases to which the employees are invited during the working hours.

• And for the Members/Shareholders?
  We can mention some examples such as: the communication actions in the composition of the social capital, the Shareholders’ involvement in the training activities together with the employees, suppliers and trade unions; the clear communication of the results and possible future risks. Towards the members and shareholders the implementation of transparent and shared governance procedures can be particularly interesting.

• And what about customers?
  For the customers we can mention: advanced CRM systems (Customer Relationship Management), periodic customer satisfaction analysis etc. An important example can be the customers’ involvement in the fight against the discriminations creating products that can be used also by the disadvantaged people.

• And for suppliers?
  Definition of policies for the selection of suppliers, ensuring the compliance with laws and international conventions, the request for certifications, verification of the compliance with the conventions and laws, etc.. Characteristic examples are: the control of sector certifications and the introduction of awards for the socially responsible suppliers.

• And for financial partners?
  The implementation of policies regarding the disclosure and communication to the stakeholders of those financial information enabling the correct financial choices. An example can be the establishment of regular meetings with the financial partners to openly communicate the results and areas of improvement.

• Is it also possible to meet the expectations of the State, Local Government and Public Administration?
  Yes, it is. Some examples can be the signing of agreements and / or memorandum of understanding with public institutions; the participation in strategic tables for local development and so on. An example of good practice can be considered the adoption of codes of conduct (code of ethics) and internal control systems ensuring the compliance with the law.

• And what about communities?
  We can mention among the others: the opening of the firm to the local community, to the Universities for partnerships and research projects; international cooperation and corporate giving programs; cooperation with associations of social support. An example in this sense can be the free supply to associations or hospital bodies of children’s materials (high chairs, beds and baby changing-tables) and toys.

• And for the environment?
  Among the different practices in favour of the environment we can mention: the policies for reducing the energy consumption and the pollutants; ad hoc training for recycling and for reducing consumptions both inside the company and outside. An important example is the adoption of policies for reforestation on the basis of the company’s carbon dioxide emissions.