German Multistakeholder Workshops on CSR

(downloads see below)

In Germany, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming an ever more important topic, not least as a result of the international and European processes which have found favor here too in recent years. Accordingly, the German Council for Sustainable Development was one body to set up a working group on CSR.

The basis for the implementation of CSR is the interlinking of areas of activity previously considered separately from each other - ranging from environmental protection through personnel management to procurement and the sponsorship of cultural and charitable activities. This applies not only to the specialist departments of commercial companies, but equally to the various government bodies and different social stakeholder groups, ranging from economic and environmental associations and trade unions to human rights initiatives.

Aim of the workshops
In order to provide a forum for the discussion of CSR and approaches to its implementation, at the start of 2004, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) invited interested parties to a multistakeholder workshop. So positive was the response from participants, that a whole series of such workshops has now emerged, serving to forge links between the parties involved and providing a medium for an open exchange of experiences.

The workshops are conducted by the environmental initiative future e.V. and the Institute 4 Sustainability, supported by and on behalf of the Ministry for the Environment (BMU). Participants include leading German companies from the major industrial sectors, the Federal Ministries of the Environment, Development, Labor and Economics, the German Council for Sustainable Development, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the Federation of German Industries (BDI), econsense, trades unions, the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV), the technical cooperation body Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), the scientific community and NGOs (BUND, Germanwatch, oxfam, UPJ).

Workshop 2007- The role of Sustainability Megatrends for corporate Strategy
In 2007 one worksshop dealt with Sustainability Megatrends such as climate change, energy policy, shrinking water ressources, demografic change and how business considers these trends in their corporate strategy. The workshop had presentations from Georg Knoth, CEO General Electric Central Europe
Gerd-Ulrich Spohr, Siemens
Klaus Burmeister, Z_Punkt
and others. The results will be published in a brochure in 2007.

Workshop topics 2005
The 2005 multistakeholder workshops 2005 specifically addressed the environmental dimension of CSR. The aim was to pinpoint the way in which companies' existing environmental management activities could be integrated into their CSR approach, and how to support and strengthen corporate environmental responsibility within the context of the CSR debate.

The workshops in 2005 dealt with:
- verification of sustainability reports
- CSR in the supply chain and
- how to organise CSR in companies.

Publications

German Federal Ministry for the Environment (Ed.) (2006)
Corporate Social Responsibility: An Introduction from the Environmental Perspective, Berlin (download at www.bmu.de / direct download)

Loew T (2006) CSR in der Supply Chain: Herausforderungen und Ansatzpunkte für Unternehmen. <CSR in the Supply Chain: Challenges and Starting-Points for Companies> Berlin. (German with English abstract) Download

Loew T, Braun S (2006)
Organisatorische Umsetzung von CSR: Vom Umweltmanagement zur Sustainable Corporate Governance? <Organising CSR: From Environmental Management to Sustainable Corporate Governance?> Berlin (German with English summary) Download

Clausen J, Loew T (2005)
Mehr Glaubwürdigkeit durch Testate? Evaluation des Nutzens von Testaten in Nachhaltigkeitsberichten, More Credibility with Assurance? Evaluation of the Benefits of Assurance Statements in Sustainability Reports Berlin Kurzfassung (14 Seiten, 0,5 MB) Endbericht (94 Seiten, 1,4 MB)

Overview of the workshops
To date, the following events have taken place in Berlin as part of the series of multistakeholder workshops on CSR:

CSR- and sustainability: requirements for companies, with the focus on reporting, February 12, 2004, Berlin (hosted by Deutsche Telekom)

The recommendations of the European Multistakeholder Forum on CSR and their significance for politics and industry in Germany, September 21, 2004, Berlin (hosted by RWE)

How to promote CSR in Germany? - Report from the UK, results from expert workshops and prospects, December 7, 2004, Berlin (hosted by Axel Springer Verlag)

The benefits of verifying environmental and sustainability reports,
April 22, 2005, Berlin (hosted by the Chamber of Public Accountants)

CSR in the supply chain: A new opportunity for integrated environmental protection?,
September 30, 2005, Berlin (hosted by BASF)

The organizational implementation of CSR within companies: What is the role of environmental management? December 8, 2005, Berlin (hosted by Bertelsmann)

english presentations

Presentation by Thomas Krick, Accountability
Accountability Rating 2005 Download (2,3 MB)

Presentation by Heinz-Dieter Koeppe, BSCI
The Business Social Compliance Initiative Download (0,5 MB)

Präsentation von Dr. Marita Hilgenstock und Anita Longley, RWE
Experience with CR in a Multinational Company (vom 21. September 2004) Download

German Downloads

The German downloads are available at the German page of the Multistakeholderworkshops

Further information on CSR and Corporate Sustainability:

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