Description
The project offers an 18-month monitoring of CSR activities in 200 largest Polish enterprises. They will be approached to enter into a dialogue with a view to improving the quality of published information and expanding the CSR activities. There will a special focus on companies owned by Government. Three reports will be published covering key CSR-related topics (human rights, dialogue with stakeholders, fighting corruption) and a report on the state-of-play of CSR in Poland in English. Six open debates will be held in several cities, 3 webinars and a conference. Partnership with Norwegian consultancy Det Norske Veritas will help disseminate the outcomes to the business community in Poland and the partnership with Ethical Trading Initiative Norway will help the project understand how Norwegian non-governmental organisations perform in the CSR area.
Summary of project results
"The largest Polish businesses treat Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) superficially. Access to verifiable data on companies' activities in this area is limited. The project contributed to improved quantity and quality of publicly available information and strengthened the position of civil society organisations and trade unions in the discussion about social and environmental business standards, which is currently dominated by large corporations. The monitoring included 227 companies in 16 industries. It was the largest research project of this type, which brought to the attention of businesses that they can be subject to independent evaluation and public pressure. An online tool was created, allowing the public to compare CSR standards of monitored companies. More than 70 businesses initiated direct dialogue about their responsibility. Some of them published civic society reports, ethical codes and information about the protection of human rights or elimination of corruption. As a result, the first CSR activities were undertaken in special economic zones, where working conditions are particularly difficult. Publication of the report “Corporate Social Responsibility in the Polish context. Theory vs. Practice"", was an important event. The report presents a diagnosis of the state of CSR in Poland, discusses the results of the monitoring, contains 26 annotations illustrating social problems caused by companies, such as banks, mining companies, retail businesses and security agencies. The report was quoted by media, and texts from the ngo.pl website provoked discussion about CSR in the Polish third sector. A hundred and fifty people took part in 5 public debates in Warsaw, Poznań, Wrocław, Gorzów and Gdańsk. They were held in the European Solidarity Centre, and during the Urban Movements Congress; they involved environmental NGOs and urban movements in the CSR debate. In partnership with the Ethical Trading Initiative - Norway, a study visit to Oslo was organised for 8 representatives of Polish NGOs. In Warsaw, a workshop was held with participation from activists of the Norwegian Changemaker organisation. Thanks to the support of the DNV GL, the outcomes of the project reached the Polish business sector - 60 people took part in two webinars."
Summary of bilateral results
"Partner in the project was IEH - Ethical Trading Initiative Norway (Initiativ for etisk handel) which is an European leader in promoting of innovative solutions in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility. In the project “Monitoring Corporate Social Responsibility of Major Polish Companies” IEH delivered know-how in the standards of CSR in Norway and good practicies in Norway companies. Very important part was the control of working conditions of workers in the whole supply chain, as this topic is relatively rarely use among companies active in Poland. Materials and information obtained from IEH were used in the report published project: “Corporate Social Responsibility in the Polish Reality. Theory vs. Practice."" Partner also played a crucial role in the study visit organized in November 2015. 8 Polish activists (3 was financed in this project and 5 in the project E1/292) representing different NGO and engaged in work on sustainable development, promotion of CSR and sustainable public procurement held a series of meetings with Norwegian organizations active in this area. Initiativ for Etisk Handel hosted a meeting in Oslo during which organizations shared their knowledge and experiences on CSR practices. During the study tour meetings with: DIFI – Agency for Public Management and eGoverment, Students and Academics International Assistance Fund (SAIH), The Norwegian ForUM for Development and Environment, Sykehuspartner, Changemaker and BI Centre for Corporate Responsibility were organised. Thanks to the contact obtained from IEH and during the study visit in Oslo, visit of representatives of Norway NGO was organised in Poland. Two representatives of campaign organisation Changemaker participated in a seminar organised for representatives of Polish NGO in Warsaw ""Global Education and Advocacy in Poland and Norway."" Cooperation with ETI was very important for the project as this organization delivered necessary knowledge and tools which can be used to promote innovative solutions in the area of CSR in Poland.