Impact Measurement and Performance Analysis of CSR (IMPACT)
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) assumes greater practical significance and political relevance in the EU. A central concern is the extent to which CSR delivers benefits for economies, societies and the environment, providing a business contribution to the EU’s policies for growth, competitiveness, better jobs (Lisbon Strategy) and sustainable development (Gothenburg Strategy). By contrast there is little empirical evidence on the impacts of CSR practices on company performance and the wider economy, or the social and environmental fabric of Europe, its nation and regions. There are no widely applied tools and methods that provide valid and representative assessments of the impacts of CSR.
The FP7 European funded IMPACT project addresses these gaps in knowledge. The project uses a common conceptual framework to develop and apply tools that enable assessment and comparison of CSR impacts – at micro (company), meso (sectoral and regional) and macro levels (nations states and EU). Indicators will be developed to assess the contribution of CSR impacts on EU policy objectives, for growth, competitiveness (including innovation), quality of jobs and environmental sustainability. A large-scale inter- and transdisciplinary empirical investigation will be carried out using four complementary methods: econometric analysis, company case studies, an analysis of different company and industrial networks and a Delphi study. All studies focus on five sectors important across the EU-27. The results will synthesise and triangulated with each other. A foresight study will estimate ex ante future impacts of CSR. Recommendations will be addressed to policy makers, especially those dealing with CSR and the Lisbon and Gothenburg Strategies, also business leaders, CSR practitioners, civil society and the research and education community. Outputs include a handbook on CSR impact assessment tools, a comprehensive description of European CSR impacts to date and policy recommendation
This is a collaborative project consisting of nine work packages with the ICCSR being the lead on WP1 and contributor to the other packages. The other consortium members include Öko-Institut e.V., European Academy of Business in Society, Copenhagen Business School, Foundation CentERdata, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Centre for Economics & Ethics, Central European University Business School, Aalto University, IESE University of Navarra, INSEAD, Institute for Social-Ecological Research, Akademie Leona Kozminskiego, MIP Politecnico di Milano, Tilburg University, Vienna University of Economics & Business, Centre for European Economic Research ZEW
The project start date is 1st March 2010 and the end date 28th February 2013.