Together with representatives from 75 major companies I have been attending this year’s annual assembly meeting from CSR Europe in mid of June in Brussels.

A meeting like this is always a good opportunity to get an overview of the activities of a pretty active enterprise and non-profit organisation (NPO) network organisation and to reflect how this contributes to our own CSR objectives. I believe in 2007, CSR Europe has made great progress in increasing the transparency and awareness of best practices on leading CSR programs. 

Looking at the new website and the increase of monthly site visits by 300 percent on 15,000 or the European Marketplace Event which took place in November with more than 600 participants and nearly 90 CSR solutions that have been presented by companies and NPOs - these are impressive results which clearly show the strong engagement of member companies in many ways. 

Another great achievement has been the launch of 20 laboratories on break-through CSR topics like responsible supply chain management, eSkills and employability or eco efficiency to mention just a few. Companies across industries, NPOs and EU representatives have set joint objectives around these topics and are addressing burning societal needs together. 

The results out of the laboratory work are going to be presented during a major EU event on December 4. At the assembly meeting the enthusiasm around the laboratories became very obvious when the different teams invited the meeting participants to informal discussion rounds where they shared insights into their work. There is still plenty of work to be done but the perspective to address societal needs jointly is of course highly motivating.

Another outcome from a cross-company collaboration which was presented at the assembly meeting is CSR Europe´s first Sustainable Marketing Guide to help all marketeers in the consumer space to communicate more successfully. In addition to the printed guide there is an online game to demonstrate consumers shopping experience and challenges they face in a very lively way. Both the printed guide as well as the online game are available on the CSR Europe website.

Inspired by many best practices and a high interest from meeting participants to learn more about companies’ CSR programs and potentially even collaborate - I can only say I got a lot out of this year’s CSR Europe assembly meeting and I am already looking forward to the next inspiring networking experience. 

Jeannette Weisschuh, Head of Corporate Affairs EMEA, HP