CSR at government level in Denmark Rune Gottlieb Skovgaard Chief Adviser Danish Business Authority
Agenda Organisation History revisited Current Danish Action Plan for CSR Selected initiatives
Danish Ministry of Business and Growth
CSR in the Danish Ministry of Business and Growth Danish Council for CSR Ministry of Business and Growth Danish Business Authority Danish OECD Contact Point Division for Business Control and Legislation: CSR team
Inter-ministerial working group on CSR Ministry of Business and Growth Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry of Finance Ministry of Employment Ministry of Environment
What we are doing Coordination of governmental initiatives Secretariat for Danish Council for CSR (as of 2009) National OECD Contact Point (as of 1 November 2012) Promoting CSR (tools, guidelines, conferences, campaigns etc.) Dialogue with stakeholders (EU, companies, organisations) Preparation of bills for Parliament
Milestones (selected) CSR Compass: IT tool (2003-05) People and Profit: Awareness raising and training project for SMEs (2005-07) First Danish Action Plan for CSR, 2008-10 Danish Council for CSR (2009-) Mandatory reporting on CSR (2009) New Danish Action Plan for CSR, 2012-15: Responsible Growth
08-11-2013 8 1. Danish Council for Corporate Responsibility Established in 2009 by the government to advise and make recommendations on CSR. Represents the most important players in Danish society: authorities, private companies, trade unions and NGOs.
History revisited 2008-2013 First Danish Action Plan for CSR launched in 2008 Focus: Strategic/businessdriven CSR and international principles
Three stages of CSR Innovation Sustainable Business Models CSR as Value Creation Business-driven/strategic CSR Fundamental Strategic and Operational Impact Compliance CSR as Risk Management Medium to High Strategic and Operational Impact Provide funding and skills CSR as Corporate Philanthropy Little Strategic or Operational Impact 10 10
Second Action Plan for CSR Launched March 2012 Focus: Creation of shared value for businesses and society through innovative partnerships between private sector, public sector, and civil society
Responsible growth shared value for both company and society Social and environmental value creation Investments for social and environmental purposes, e.g. good working conditions, access to education, a good environment and measures to prevent pollution. Shared value Investments that create value for the company and contribute to social and environmental objectives. Business value Creation Investments to improve short and long-term competitiveness
Focus areas in the 2012 Action Plan 1. Respect for international principles 2. Responsible growth through partnerships 3. Increased transparency 4. Using the public sector to promote a good framework for responsible growth
1. Respect for international principles (selected initiatives) International conference on Business and Human Rights Principles to practice (May 7th- 8th, 2012) Courses and guidance on responsible business conduct e.g. on due diligence Strengthened OECD National Contact Point Nordic Strategy for CSR
Tools: The CSR Compass
Tools: The Climate Compass
Tools: The Ideas Compass
New Danish OECD Contact Point
Nordic Strategy for CSR 2012-2014
2. Responsible growth through partnerships (selected initiatives) Partnerships for responsible growth Responsbile growth in developing countries New green business models
Selected initiatives of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Promotion of responsible growth through Danish business activities in developing countries Training and guidance in responsible business conduct
3. Increased transparency (selected initiatives) Extending the Danish law on CSR-reporting to human rights and climate Reporting at EU level
The issue of CSR reporting: Why is it important why regulate? Mandatory sustainability reporting laws support companies attention to sustainable development, ethical practices, and good corporate governance etc. (HBS 2012) Companies embracing a sustainable business culture over many years significantly outperform their counterparts over the long-term in terms of stock market and accounting performance (HBS 2013) Financial indicators only account for part of the market value of a company. CSR reporting reveals hidden business risks as well as business opportunities. According to new UN and OECD guidelines reporting is necessary to show that a company respects human rights and other internationally recognized principles for responsible business conduct.
Section ( ) 99 a of the Danish Financial Statements Act: Who: Large companies Total assets/liabilities > 19 million Euro; revenue > 38 million Euros; Employees > 250. (Approximately 1100 companies). Where: Management review; supplementary review to the annual report or business web site; individual report; UN GC COP or PRI report. What: If the companies have CSR policies, they must report: 1) Contents of CSR policies. 2) Implementation and 3) Results (self-evaluation). Subsidiaries can refer to the parent company, if it reports on CSR. Companies that are members of the UN Global Compact can refer to their COP (Communication on Progress) 24
Key results of CSR reporting after 3 years Significant mobilisation of companies
Key results of CSR reporting after 3 years CSR high on the agenda of management International principles increasingly applied Continued improvement in majority of companies Main objective has been accomplished: Communication on CSR has increased to around 90% of large companies
Group of Friends of Paragraph 47 Corporate Social Responsibility received high attention at Paragraph 47 of the Outcome Document, The Future We Want, acknowledges importance of corporate sustainability reporting (SR) 27
4. Using the public sector to promote good framework conditions for responsible growth (selected initiatives) Guidelines for responsible public procurement Guidelines for how authorities an avoid breaching international guidelines Strategy for intelligent public procurement
Branding: DanishResponsibility.dk
Thank you for your time Info and tools: www.danishreponsibility.dk and www.csrgov.dk Contact: samfundsansvar@erst.dk