1.1.3.2 The European Alliance for CSR

Apart from the legislative advancements, in March 2006 the EU launched the European Alliance for CSR.1 On the second communication on CSR in 2006 (point 5), the European Commission supported the launch of the European Alliance for CSR and defined it as “…a political umbrella for new or existing CSR initiatives by large companies, SMEs and their stakeholders.” The European Commission included in this document an annex titled “Making Europe a pole of excellence on corporate social responsibility: the European Alliance for CSR”, containing a detailed explanation of this initiative’s aims. It was created as a partnership between the European Commission with members of the business community and support from business organizations such as BusinessEurope, The European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME - Union Européenne de l’Artisanat et des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises) and CSR Europe, to promote CSR and assist with the implementation of ESG considerations in the core business of organizations.2 The alliance has set itself three areas of activity: raising awareness and improving knowledge of CSR, mainstreaming and developing open coalitions of cooperation and creating a good quality environment for CSR.3