A new generation of responsible entrepreneurs
The European Commission has launched the "Your World, Your Business" campaign to encourage young people in schools to debate the role of enterprises in helping society and protecting the environment. At a time when economic models are questioned, the campaign, based on a film in which young entrepreneurs show how their firms are helping society, seeks to inspire young people to set up responsible businesses themselves.
Why start a company? Ask young people that question and you will get many answers. Some want to be their own boss, some think they can do better than their old boss, some want to make lots of money… And increasingly, young entrepreneurs are citing social and environmental reasons for starting their firms. They see the power of business to improve society and the environment.
The economic crisis has clearly demonstrated that some models of corporate behaviour are unsustainable. Moreover, the impact of the crisis has lowered citizens' trust in business, leading more and more to question current practices. In many high-profile examples of companies which have focused on short-term profits at the expense of long-term stability, employees have been first to feel the pain, and they continue to do so. Alternative business models, which explicitly set out to help society and/or protect the environment, are therefore becoming more and more relevant.
The European Commission has long sought to encourage business to be more responsible for the social and environmental consequence of their choices and activities. Its corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies have focused on a voluntary approach, providing the evidence to convince stakeholders that CSR is good for business, and that being responsible brings competitive advantages. As business and society across Europe develops responses to the economic crisis, CSR is coming to the fore.
Models for change
"The economic crisis cannot be seen in isolation from the serious environmental crises and persistent social inequalities that affect our planet. While we strive to rebuild our economy, we have to be aware that we cannot and should not simply rebuild it as it was before," according to Françoise Le Bail, the European Commission's Deputy Director-General for Enterprise and Industry. "Corporate social responsibility, because it asks fundamental questions about the role and purpose of business in society, can be one building block of a new economic system that is more sustainable - financially, socially and environmentally."
She was speaking at the launch of Your World, Your Business, which provides teachers working with pupils in the 16-19 age group with a tool to stimulate discussion on entrepreneurship. Based on a film featuring four European companies set up by young people with explicit social and environmental goals, the tool encourages teachers both to reconsider their own views on business and to get their pupils to develop their own responsible business ideas.
The young entrepreneurs explain why they set up their companies and present the products or services they offer. Each shows how their company is not purely about profit, and how it is benefiting society. The different firms presented help to show young people watching the film that the range of business opportunities is enormous.
Your World, Your Business has been successfully advertised by a short video clip on the web, which takes a rather surprising view of responsible entrepreneurship…
Educating entrepreneurs
For the campaign, the European Commission is in partnership with Junior Achievement Young Enterprise Europe. One scenario in which teachers are expected to use the tool is when helping new junior enterprises to get going in their schools; the film and discussion could be used to stimulate ideas for pupils' own companies.
The European Commission has long recognised the need to encourage entrepreneurship education starting in schools, and junior enterprises are significant in introducing young people to business. Europeans start too few new enterprises, and measures of this sort are essential not only to encourage more potential entrepreneurs to take up the challenge of starting a business, but also to change the culture amongst citizens, thus creating a more favourable environment for business.
As citizens' attitudes to business focus more and more on their social and environmental impact, the campaign will demonstrate that businesses can be responsible. And, as Françoise Le Bail underlines, the campaign "is based on the conviction that we can simultaneously inspire more young people to become entrepreneurs and inspire more young people to become responsible entrepreneurs".
Corporate social responsibility
The European Commission's work on CSR has gained greater prominence as stakeholders seek strategies to drive and shape the economic recovery. A meeting of the European Multistakeholder Forum on CSR in February saw widespread agreement to pick up the pace of work, and the Commission is now preparing two initiatives for 2009. A series of workshops will address the issue of company reporting and disclosure on CSR-related performance, from enterprises' own viewpoint as well as from that of investors, trade unions, NGOs and public authorities. In support of the new UN framework on business and human rights, the Commission is also launching a study on the legal framework for human rights and environmental issues applicable to European companies operating outside the EU.
Contact
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CSR Team,
Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry
The text only of the articles can be republished as long as the source of the article is quoted: Enterprise & Industry magazine (http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/magazine/index_en.htm), © European Union, 2008 - 2012
