European Alliance for CSR

Background

The European Alliance for CSR was set in in 2006 as a joint initiative of the European Commission and the business community. The communication and coordination of the Alliance is in the hands of CSR Europe, Business Europe and UEAPME. According to CSR Europe's website, the 'Alliance marks a new political approach on CSR', based on the commitment of the European Commission to 'strengthen a business friendly environment' and to support the development of CSR as a 'voluntary approach'..

At its inception, it was stated that the 'Alliance builds on the understanding that CSR is a voluntary and business-driven practice...'.

Business Europe describes the Alliance as 'an informal grouping' that 'does not involve specific rules or requirements, a charter, signatures or heavy processes'. The benefits and opportunities of involvement with the Alliance are presented in the form of a diagram which has at its core the benefit of 'higher visibility' of a company's CSR activities. Other benefits are included such as networking & partnerships, sharing ideas and accessing expertise, yet the benefit shown at the top of the diagram is presented as the opportunity for 'high-level dialogue with the European Commission'. It is stated that the European Commission does not directly manage the Alliance but relies on the business community to manage itself with the support of business organisations. According to Business Europe, the Alliance is supported by more than 150 companies.

Biographical information

Current activities

Once a year, the CEOs of the companies supporting the Alliance are invited to meet with the Vice President of the European Commission (Günter Verheugen) and European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (Vladimir Spidla). The aim of these 'High Level Meetings' is described in the Alliance's Annual Review as to review progress and discuss strategic priorities that will impact on the future of business, growth and competitiveness.

Affiliations

In 2009 companies listed as supporting the Alliance are:

ABB | Adelco S.A. | Air France-KLM | Akritas S.A. | Alares | Amgen | Arcelor S.A. | Argon Sette | Atlantis Consulting S.A. | Autogrill | Aviva plc. | Axel Springer AG | B. Braun Melsungen AG | Badacsonyi and Kiraly Ltd | Banca Monte dei Paschi di Sienna | Bancaja | Banco Santander Central Hispano | Banque et Cassie d'Epargne de l'Etat | BASF AG | Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall AG | Bayer AG | BBVA | Bettina S.A. | BMW AG | BNP Paribas | BP | Bracco | British American Tobacco | Bosch | Bosch Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH | BT | Caixa Catalunya | Caixa Galicia | Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo | Caja Castilla La Mancha | [Caja España]] | Caja Extremadura | Caja Granada | Caja Madrid | Caja Navarra | Caja San Fernando | Camst | Cargill | Groupe Casino | Chimar Hellas S.A. | Citigroup | CMB | Coca Cola HBC | Conad | Concretio | Coop Adriatica | Coop Ansaloni | Coop Consumatori NordEst | Cosmote S.A. | Daimler | Danone | Dar Holding NV | Debeka | Degussa AG | Deutsche Bahn AG | Deutsche Bank AG | Deutsche Telekom AG | DHL | Dimiourgiki S.A. | DNB Nor | Edelstahl Witten§Krefeld GmbH | Edison | EFT Hellas A.E. | Eko S.A. | Elbisco S.A. | Elcoteq SE | El Monte | Elefsis Shipbuilding & Industrial Enterprisis S.A. | Enel | ENI | Epson | Esprit | Erste Bank Austria | Eurobank EFG | ExxonMobil | Ford-Werke GmbH | Georgsmarienhütte Holding GmbH | Gildhouse | Gjensidige | Granarolo | Gruppo Falck | HeidelbergCement AG | Hellenic Fabrics SA | Hera S.p.A. | Holcim (Italia) S.p.A. | HP | Ibercaja | IBM | Indesit Company | Infote | Intel | Interbeton S.A. | Intracom S.A. | Intralot S.A. | Invexico | Janssen Pharmaceutica | Johnson & Johnson | KarstadtQuelle AG | Kesko Corporation | KPMG | Kremalis-Law Firm | Kutxa | Groupe La Poste | La Caixa | Lloyds TSB | Manutencoop | Marketing University ICT | Metro Group | Metso Corporation | Microsoft | Mytilineos Holdings SA | Nestlé | Nokia | Nordiconad | Norsk Hydro | Obiettivo Lavoro | OMV AG | Oracle Hellas AEE | OTP Bank plc | Pfizer Ltd | Piacenza | Pirelli | Pireus Bank | Poste Italiane | PWC Business Solutions Hellas S.A. | Rabobank Nederland | RAG AG | Randstad | Rautaruukki Corporation | Red Eléctrica de España | Rede Eléctrica Nacional SA | Repsol YPF | Robert Bosch GmbH | RWE AG | S & B Industrial Minerals S.A. | Scs Azioninnova S.p.A. | Selected German Sparkasse | Semco AS | Skretting Norway | Sodexho | Solvay | Shell Hellas S.A. | Sony | STMicroelectronics | Storebrand ASA | Suez | Symantec | Tapiola Group | Telecom Italia | Telefónica S.A. | The Cotton Group (B&C) | ThyssenKrupp AG | Titan S.A. | Tognum GmbH | Tommy Hilfiger | Total | Toyota Motor Europe | TUI AG | Unión Fenosa S.A. | Valio Ltd | Vetco Aibel AS | Vivartia S.A. | Volkswagen AG | Wärtsilä Corporation

In 2007, Business organisations listed as supporting the Alliance are listed as:

CSR Europe | Business Europe | UEAPME | Eurochambres | Eurocommerce | European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS) | European Confederation of Public Enterprises (CEEP) | European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) | European Round Table of Industrialists | European Savings Banks Group (ESBG) | Foreign Trade Association/Business for Social Compliance Initiative (FTA/BSCI) | Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) | PostEurope | RespACT (Austria) | Industriellenvereinigung (I.V). (Austria) | Business & Society Belgium | Fédération des Entreprises de Belgique – Verbond van Belgische Ondernemingen (Belgium) | Bulgarian Industrial Association | Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP) | Employers & Industrialists Federation Cyprus (OEB) | Czech Business Leaders Forum | Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic (SPCR) | Confederation of Danish Industries (DI) | Confederation of Danish Employers (DA) | Estonian Employers’ Confederation (ETTK) | Finnish Business & Society | Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) | IMS ‐ Entreprendre pour la Cité | Observatoire sur la Responsabilité Sociétale des Entreprises (ORSE) (France) | Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF) | Econsense (Germany) | Verband der Chemischen Industrie (Germany) | Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V. (BDI) (Germany) | Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände e.V. (BDA) (Germany) | Bundesintitiave “Unternehmen: Partner der Jugend“ (UPJ) e.V. (Germany) | Association of Hellenic Plastics Industries (Greece) | Hellenic Network for CSR (Greece) | Federation of Greek Industries (SEV) | Hungarian Association for Environmentally Aware Management (KÖVET) | Confederation of Hungarian Employers and Industrialists (MGYOSZ) | Federation of Icelandic Industries (SI) | Confederation of Icelandic Employers (SA) | Business in the Community Ireland | Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) | Sodalitas (Italy) | Impronta Etica (Italy) | Italian Banking Association (ABI – Associazione Bancaria Italiana) | Confederazione Generale dell’ Industria Italiana – CONFINDUSTRIA | Employers’ Confederation of Latvia (LDDK) | Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists (LPK) | IMS Luxembourg | Fédération des Industriels Luxembourgeois (FEDIL) | Malta Federation of Industry (MFOI) | Samenleving & Bedrijf (Netherlands) | Vereniging VNO‐NCW (Netherlands) | Green Business Network Norway | Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) | Responsible Business Forum (Poland) | Polish Confederation of Private Employers (PKPP Lewiatan) | RSE Portugal | Associaçào Industrial Portuguesa (AIP) | Confederaçao da Industria Portuguesa (CIP) | Alianta Confederatiilor Patronale din Romania (ACPR) | Associazione Nazionale dell’Industria Sammarinese (San Marino) | Scottish Business in the Community | Slovak Business Leaders’ Forum | Republikova Unia Zamestnavatelov (RUZ) (Slovakia) | Slovenia ZDS (Employers’ Association of Slovenia) | Club de Excelencia en Sostenibilidad (Spain) | Forética (Spain) | Confédération des Employeurs Espagnols (CEOE) (Spain) | Confederation of Spanish Savings Banks (CECA) | Swedish Jobs & Society | Philias Foundation (Switzerland) | Fédération des entreprises suisses (economiesuisse) | CSR Association in Turkey | Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TISK) | Turkish Industrialists’ & Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) | Business in the Community (UK) | Confederation of British Industry (CBI) (UK)

Publications, Contact, Resources and Notes

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