La dimensione socio-ambientale nelle PMI: luci ed ombre

The traditional business view – which assumes that the main contribution of companies to society is the creation of economic value – is being surpassed by a growing awareness of other values, including social and environmental ones. The recent diffusion of CSR derives from the Triple Bottom Line Approach, based on economic, environmental and social performances. Most of the existing key concepts and tools addressing CSR issues have been developed by, and in, the context of large enterprises. The multitude of EU SMEs remain at an early stage of environmental and social management, limited in most cases to local activities, characterized by an occasional approach and unrelated to the business strategy. But, due to increased pressure from stakeholders, environmental and social concern is gradually growing in SMEs as well. Nevertheless, CSR initiatives developed by large companies frequently fail when they are adopted by SMEs. The aim of this paper is to delineate efficient ways of promoting CSR, considering SMEs’ specific profiles and needs. The state of the art of CSR in Italian SMEs is also described, including an outline of the main drivers and barriers to be implemented