-
Corporate social responsibility
-
Environment: Action Plan SCP/SIP
-
Sustainable product policy
-
Eco-industries
-
Climate change
-
Environmental management
-
External dimension
-
Enterprise policy integration
Corporate Social Responsibility and Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the predominant form of enterprise in the European Union. If Europe and its enterprises are to reap the full benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), it is vital to make sure that SMEs are fully engaged and that what they do is fully recognised. This is a particular challenge because CSR as a term and as a definable business concept has been created mainly by and for larger companies. The support and encouragement of CSR amongst small businesses is one of the priority areas of the European Commission's policy on CSR.
Small businesses are typically not less responsible than large enterprises. They may not know and use the term "CSR", but their close relations with employees, the local community and business partners often mean they have a naturally responsible approach to business.
Pioneering role of the European Commission
The Commission has played a leading role in thought and action on CSR as it relates to small business. It has co-financed a number of projects 
[105 KB] in this field and has worked with a group of European experts to capture lessons on how best to support and encourage more SMEs to engage in CSR.
The expert group report, published in 2007, is available here:
Newsletter on CSR and SMEs
Subscribe to the European Responsible Entrepreneurship Bulletin, a bi-monthly electronic newsletter on CSR and small businesses, by sending an email with "subscribe" in the subject line to entr-csr@ec.europa.eu.
