This article deals with the political discourse on corporate social responsibility in Austria and presents two organisations that represent social partner organisations and NGOs promoting CSR, although they focus on different topics and elements of CSR. Standardisation, transparency and credibility are important aspects in a broad range of CSR initiatives. Codes of corporate governance are cited as an example of the problems faced when introducing voluntary instruments in the CSR context. Although many different organisations are participating in the CSR debate and have launched various initiatives, companies have not implemented holistic CSR measures aiming at sustainable development to a significant degree.