Corporate social responsibility and safety and health at work

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) was defined by the European Commission as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. To be socially responsible means going beyond fulfilling the legal expectations, by also investing ‘more’ into human capital, the environment and the relations with stakeholders. A distinction is often made between three aspects of the social dimension of corporate social responsibility: 1. Internal aspects: human resource management, health and safety at work (OSH), business ethics, adaptation to change, and organisational learning ; 2. External local: local corporate citizenship; 3. External worldwide: human rights, global environmental concerns, safety and health in supply companies, corporate citizenship worldwide. This report explores the interactions between CSR and safety and health at work both at company and policy level. Eleven company cases from six EU countries (Germany, UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Finland) are presented as inspiring examples