Polish companies become more responsible – Press Release

More and more companies implement socially and environmentally responsible practices to its core business. There is an increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises among them, and a growing number of companies implement long-term CSR strategies. Most of the responsible practices introduced by companies are connected with social commitment and local community development. Apparently, the key challenges which the companies will have to face in the nearest future are responsible investing, ethical behaviours in the chain of supply and social communication, as shown by the main findings of the regular “Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practice” report issued by Responsible Business Forum (FOB).

This year’s edition of the report “Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices” published by Responsible Business Forum presents 262 practices submitted by 106 companies; 19 of those companies are SMEs. The best CSR practices presented in the report, which include tested activities, programmes or projects undertaken by companies, were broken down into 7 areas that are the core subjects of ISO 26000, such as Organisational Governance, Human Rights, Labour Practices, Environment, Fair Operating Practices, Consumer Issues, and Local Community Involvement and Development.

Most of the submitted practices were related to local community involvement and development, and included aspects such as preventive care, creation of employment and education of young people and children, charity or supporting development of science. As many as 60 practices related to workplace were submitted; the most frequent ones were related to employee orientation and integration, volunteer work, family-friendly practices of companies, flexible employment forms and the increasingly popular issue of work-life balance.

Practices from the environment area included eco-efficiency, environmental education, sustainable transport, recycling or pro-environmental programmes. The most popular solutions continued to be those that translate into concrete savings. The organisational governance practices covered social reporting, dialogue with stakeholders and ethics. Availability of products and services, consumer education, eco-labelling and facilities for customers were the main practices in the consumer issues category. Fair operating practices covered market education and relations with suppliers as well as stakeholder dialogue and consultations. Practices from the human rights area, as in previous years, were related to diversity management and education programmes.

According to Responsible Business Forum’s experts, one of the trends visible in the report is acknowledgement of the impact that a company has on the environment and climate. Poland is becoming a home to a growing number of investment projects, including projects in the manufacturing or natural resource exploitation sectors. Also, more and more programmes are devoted to education and raising consumers’ awareness of their rights; the need for such programmes are especially visible in the financial services sector. Large companies, including companies listed in the stock exchange, are becoming more and more aware of the impact of their activities on their attractive potential for investors, and the question of responsible investing is becoming increasingly popular.

“The report shows that the CSR concept gets wider recognition and better understanding, but skepticism about activities of businesses, including CSR activities, remains high. Polish company owners should engage in a dialogue with stakeholders and consumers, and financial institutions should start promoting the idea of responsible investing. Universities and academic circles should ask themselves whether the time has come to stop teaching business, management and economics as something outside the realm of ethics or responsibility. Finally, the regulators should find a way to support responsible business. Social responsibility is everyone’s responsibility,” points out Mirella Panek-Owsiańska, President of the Responsible Business Forum.

The comprehensive report “Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices” has been regularly published by Responsible Business Forum since 2002. It is the only such study that presents a summary of the most important issues related to responsible business in our country in a given year. It also includes a review of activities of companies which reported their CSR activities, and provides a summary of the most important CSR issues in Poland in a given year. The introduction includes articles and expert comments. A permanent feature of the report is a review of selected press articles and a timeline of CSR events. The report is also available in electronic form on www.odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl in PDF, MOBI and EPUB formats.

During presentation of the report “Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices”, the winners of the European CSR Award Scheme were announced. The initiative was held in Poland for the first time.

The award in the Small and Medium Enterprises category went to Horus Innowacyjne Materiały Przemysłowe Sp. z o.o. for the visibility on roads project (“Be Visible – Be Safe”) implemented with Bydgoszcz city authorities and other social partners. The company was appreciated for grassroots employee practice implemented in the local community and involving a number of sectors and partners, and very clearly connected with the company’s main line of business. Horus was also recognised for its fresh outlook on CSR and excellent execution of the project.

Orange Poland was the winner in the Large Enterprises category for the safe web project (“Safety on the Internet”) run in collaboration with Dzieci Niczyje Foundation. The project touched upon an important social problem and was a challenge for the industry. The award recognised the trust manifested by Orange Poland towards the Foundation, which facilitated excellent cooperation between the business and the social partner.

The European CSR Award Scheme for Partnerships, Innovation and Impact was established to award partnerships between businesses and at least one non-business stakeholder. The scheme is funded by the European Commission and coordinated on a European level by a consortium of 29 national CSR organisations, co-led by CSR Europe and Business in the Community. In Poland, the Responsible Business Forum is the project coordinator.

Source: Press release