Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract

This chapter outlines some trends in corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Germany. It does so by first of all offering an overview of the subject of CSR as it is perceived in Germany, followed by a description of trends relating to the scope of CSR and analyzing it from a perspective of German companies. Finally, we provide some examples of CSR initiatives being pursued by a sample of German companies and outline some possible future CSR frameworks. 3.1 Sustainability in German Companies: The Changing Role of Business in Society For many years, the prevailing outlook on the role of business in society could be summarized with the following words of Milton Friedman: “there is one and only one social responsibility of business – (. . . ) to increase its profits” (Friedman 1970). At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the main objective of an enterprise still revolves around the bottom line. There are, however, broader aspects that businesses now have to consider. The changing context within which companies operate, shaped by environmental and globalization forces, affects the way that the role of business is perceived. Multinational companies are expected to conduct business ethically, no matter where they operate. The pressure to clean up the corporate act is largely amplified by the fast-growing socially responsible investment (SRI) movement that raises the importance of good social and environmental performance. Scrutiny of the public opinion, enhanced by ubiquitous media, forces companies to acknowledge the growing expectations that government activists, NGOs, consumers, and many other stakeholders have of them. Therefore, companies are confronted with the challenge to recognize and fulfil their environmental and social responsibilities. At the heart of this challenge lie the notions of corporate sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR) – which has already been extensively discussed S. O. Idowu and W. L. Filho (eds.), Global Practices of Corporate Social Responsibility 61 c © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009 62 Walter Leal Filho and Paulina S. Pawlak elsewhere on this book – and corporate citizenship (CC), to name a few. Although all these concepts refer to the role of business in society, they differ significantly in their scope, which gives rise to confusion. This becomes apparent when studying corporate reports on the topic. Companies communicate their commitment to sustainable development, CSR, CC, social responsibility and many more, often confusing the reader with the abundance of terms. Ambiguity pertains with regard to boundaries and relationships between the terms. In order to gain more clarity, this chapter will also look at some of the influential political actors (mostly from Germany and the European Union (EU)), which shape the way companies understand their responsibilities with regard to environment and society. Further to that, this chapter will analyze how companies perceive their responsibilities from a German