Spain: Csr still green

The UN Global Compact?s director of Local Networks, Manuel Escudero, declared during his recent speech at the 2nd Spanish-Iberoamerican Social Responsibility Conference, held in Madrid on September 20th, that ?corporate social responsibility is a new paradigm that will take another two or three decades to mature?.

?We are still writing the first chapters where society tells companies that work cannot go on as it has always done?, said Escudero, during the conference that was organised by two foundations, Carolina and Euroamérica at the Casa América in Madrid.

According to Escudero csr faces two main challenges, the first is for multinationals to respect the same csr criteria in all the countries they operate in: ?this is a lengthy and time consuming process? said the director of Local Networks. The second is for collective action to let its voice be heard: ?the Global Compact must work to positively change the markets so that they become more sustainable. Environmental, labour and human rights principles are not sufficient? continued Escudero, ?much has been done but much more must be done, especially in terms of coordination ? both within private enterprise and the government?. ?There is no global, strategic vision? he concluded.

Among the other interventions that were heard in Madrid, Antonio Vives, who used to be a manager in the Inter-American Development Bank, affirmed that companies only invest in csr when such an investment benefits their business, as well as society, ?otherwise we would be talking about philanthropy, not business? said Vives. This point was also highlighted by Javier Santiso, chief economist for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) who said that ?a company's first responsibility is economic?.

More info:
www.unglobalcompact.org