(Photo from Co-Op.co.uk)
This from a couple of weeks back, from Amnesty International, criticizing the EU's communication on improving CSR issues in Europe. Safe to say they weren't very pleased with the product:
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and amnesty International today expressed their disappointment regarding the long-awaited Communication of the European Commission entitled "Implementing the partnership for growth and jobs: making Europe a pole of excellence on Corporate Social Responsibility" published on 22 March 2006.
Although the voluntary aspect of CSR is very important, it is a serious omission that the need for a regulatory framework to ensure accountability by all companies is not acknowledged by the present communication.
It is a duty of the European Union and its Member States to ensure that corporate actors respect human rights and labour rights in all circumstances. By failing to do so, the Commission is in effect taking a step backwards in the development by the European Union to promote responsible behaviour by business.
More coverage at Euro-correspondent.com from Stephen Gardner.
Lots of other people were disappointed too, including promotors of other CSR initiatives such as the Global Reporting Initiative who told me the EU’s Alliance for CSR is ‘back to square one’ and essentially adds nothing. It’s unclear what will happen next; it’s also a way for the COmmission to get it off their agenda because they don’t really want to do anything on CSR; business wants to have control of the process so they can limit any cost or regulation it might impose on them.