Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) means that companies integrate more social, environmental and economic concerns into their activities and interactions with stakeholders on a voluntary basis and often well beyond legal requirements.
Corporate social responsibility is a result of demands from workers, commercial partners, NGOs and public authorities. It is the recognition from businesses of sustainable development principles according to the philosophy, “Think globally, act locally". It is a matter of every company marching in time and according to the philosophy and values of social responsibility. The role of essenscia is to facilitate this process, to accelerate it as much as possible, to encourage its members to commit to corporate social responsibility and to communicate with stakeholders about it.
CSR is often associated with the concept of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), which is essentially the finance version of sustainable development. It is a matter of investing primarily in stocks and businesses that post better economical, social, environmental and ethical performance audited and verified by qualified companies (Ethibel in Belgium, for example). This approach can be adopted by financial institutions such banks and retirement funds as well as by individuals in their savings accounts. Businesses that want to take part must show openness and transparency but also continually show growth in economical, social and environmental performance.
In the chemical and life science sector, corporate social responsibility is expressed with respect to workers in a sector (job quality, decent work conditions, safety and hygiene), consumers (labelling, directions for usage, etc.) and public authorities (information campaigns, partnerships, etc.).
At the federal level, essenscia works with stakeholders within Consumers Council in the area of consultation and cooperation on consumer issues and consumer protection.
For more information on CSR good practices in Wallonia and Flanders.