ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY- AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT ROMANIAN COMPANIES

Abstract

The environmental impact is one of the most important consequences of a company's economic activity. By their operations, economic entities constantly strain the environment. Because of this significant effect, the environmental component of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is very important. The present study is a historical descriptive-analytic investigation of social responsibility and its environmental component in the case of Romanian companies . The aim of the research is to create a historical analysis of this concept and its environmental aspects at the national level, and also to present the way in which some of the most important Romanian companies have built up the environmental component of their corporate social responsibility policies, as well as the projects that have been undertaken in this area. The selection of the companies was based on their size, as we sought to present major companies that have a high degree of involvement in this field. For each and every company, we analyzed the components of the environmental social responsibility that are created in order to reduce environmental impacts as well as any projects aimed at increasing the general public's involvement in protecting nature. In Romania, the concept of corporate social responsibility did not develop as quickly as it did at an international level. The main cause was the different political regime of Romania compared to the situation found in the countries where CSR emerged. This political situation also led to economic, social and environmental differences. In Romania, after the regime change that occurred in 1989, a period of economic and social opening towards international trends and currents ensued. As social and economic ties with the outside world intensified, the concept of a company's social responsibility appeared in Romania as well. The field of social responsibility in Romania experienced a constant growth over the last years, but this evolution occurred, for the most part, through a series of individual projects (belonging to companies, NGOs and researchers), without a general and unitary view and without a strong cooperation between those involved. An important step for CSR took place in 2015, with the creation of the Global Compact Network Romania, a part of the Global Compact Network under the aegis of the United Nations, the largest social responsibility project to date. Until now, 27 participants have joined the national Global Compact network, including some of the most important companies in Romania. The environmental component of corporate social responsibility policies for Romanian companies is structured in two parts. The first one is concerned with internal policies and actions aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the company’s activities. The second aspect consists of policies regarding the company’s interactions with the external environment and the community where it operates, trying to support its development.