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Description
The project aims to motivate and encourage businesses to behave responsibly towards the environment, move away from a growth alone perspective and to make sustainable development part of businesses’ core policy. This implies focusing both on economic and financial factors, as well as on environmental and social dimensions, thus contributing also to achieving the Global Sustainability Goals. The project will seek to enhance knowledge about and capabilities of businesses to adopt Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles and encourage them to adopt, in a structured manner, a CSR Strategy including measures reducing their negative impact on environment and society. In addition, it will also aim at increasing awareness of CSR among various stakeholders (consumers, investors, potential clients and the general public).
Main activities shall include:
- development of the Subsidising Scheme for the enterprises /organisations interested to adopt the Specification Tool (Corporate Sustainability Label);
- informative/training sessions on the benefits of CSR and the availability and the use of the Subsidising Scheme and Tool;
- awareness-raising campaign on CSR;
- issuance of CSR certificates to the businesses and organisations that have successfully met the Specification’s criteria and development of the registry of certified enterprises.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to raise awareness among businesses and develop a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) management system that adopts the National CSR Specification issued by the Authority for Cooperative Societies, as the competent Authority, among others, and for CSR. The project''s main goal was for businesses to understand that operating responsibly contributes significantly to creating a framework where economic growth,social welfare, environmental protection, and the sustainability of the businesses coexist and support each other.
Project outputs:(a) design and the development of a computerized CSR Registry for enterprises;(b) conduct of an informative campaign to raise awareness for CSR; and(c) organization of informative and educational workshops in all cities, regarding the concept of CSR and its benefits, the adoption of the national CSR specification by enterprises and the process of enterprises’ registration in the State CSR Registry.
The final result of the Project is the contribution to the development of a Corporate Sustainability Supporting Framework in Cyprus. Within the framework of the project the design and development of a computerized CSR Registry was implemented. Through an informative campaign, which was carried out in collaboration with the Press and Information Office and the CSR Cyprus network, interested parties were informed about the actions and objectives of the project. In addition, information/educational workshops were held in five districts of Cyprus. A total number of 119 business representatives mainly from large companies, participated to information/educational workshops.