Germany: federal government launches “national action plan for corporate social responsibility”

Make CSR a characteristic of the German economy.  “Successful companies don’t grow on trees.  In the network world of the 21st century, businesses can no longer afford short-term strategies.  Clients and investors are increasingly attentive to social and environmental aspects. I want corporate social responsibility to become one of the key assets of the German economy” declared Ursula von der Leyen when presenting her national program for the development of CSR in German businesses.  Meanwhile, Christina Schröder presented her national strategy for citizen commitment. The two Ministers see these two topics as two different entries of the same issue, namely improving the social fabric and voluntary commitment, the bases for a free and united society, necessary for an effective economy.  These strategies were developed after the proposals made at the “CSR Forum,” a college with 44 experts from the economic, union, scientific and NGO worlds, created by the Labor Minister in early 2009.