My 2005 IPF Fellowship Research Topic is 

Corporate Social Responsibility in the Romanian Higher Education 
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About CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a rather new concept striving to achieve a widely agreed definition. The underlying principle of CSR is the giving back strategy, meaning that socially responsible companies should voluntarily get involved at community level to contribute to returning value to the community they do business in through diverse proactive approaches. There are various ways for companies to get involved at the local level and the CSR concept has proved to be a comprehensive umbrella for such ways of implication.   

“CSR is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis.” (EU COM (2002) 347 final: 3) 

“The central leadership challenge for business is to demonstrate that delivering shareholder value, wider societal value and increased accountability and transparency can all be achieved together. Demonstrating that these goals are not mutually exclusive and can in fact be mutually beneficial lies at the heart of the growing corporate responsibility movement.” (Nelson 2002: 16)

“In this kind of environment, a business strives to re-invent itself on a planned basis – new products are developed, existing products are refined, and obsolete products are dropped. The not-for-profit community is a leader in the role of change. They adapt on almost daily basis to community needs, funding availability, and people requirements. Volunteering can provide a wonderful learning experience for individuals who wish to experience the art of risk taking. Most of the functions within the average not-for-profit have an element of risk.” (Pidgeon 1998: 150)

“…Helping to achieve the MDGs is not only a matter of corporate social responsibility, embedded in compliance, risk management, and philanthropy, but also a matter of corporate social opportunity embedded in innovation, value creation and competitiveness.” (Nelson and Prescott 2003)

The Commission proposes to set up a EU Multi-Stakeholder Forum on CSR (CSR EMS Forum) with the aim of promoting transparency and convergence of CSR practices and instruments, through: * Exchange of experience and good practice between actors at EU level; * Bringing together existing initiatives within EU, and seeking to establish common EU approach and guiding principles, including as a basis for dialogue in international organizations and with third countries; * Identifying and exploring areas where additional action is needed at European level. (EU COM (2002) 347 final: 17)

References:

European Union. 2002. Communication from the Commission concerning Corporate Social Responsibility: A Business Contribution to Sustainable Development. Brussels: EU COM (2002) 347 final 

Nelson, Jane and Dave Prescott. 2003. Business and the Millennium Development Goals: A Framework for Action. London: The International Business Leaders Forum 

Nelson, Jane. 2002. “From the margins to the mainstream: Corporate social responsibility in the global economy” in Niels Hojensgärd (ed.) It simply works better! Campaign Report on European CSR Excellence 2002-2003. Copenhagen: The Copenhagen Center 

Pidgeon, Walter P. Jr. 1998. The Universal Benefits of Volunteering – A Practical Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Volunteers, and Corporations. New York NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Note: Excerpts from Nicolescu, C. 2002. Corporate Volunteerism as a Community Development Tool. Unpublished MA Thesis. Cluj Napoca: Babes-Bolyai University