1.1.2 The Lisbon Strategy and the development of Corporate Social Responsibility

Europe had concerns about its competitive position globally, in particular when compared with the US. Therefore, new effective measures needed to be created to boost the European economy. It was in this context that the concept of CSR was developed. The generalized concept of CSR, as we are familiar with it today, was developed following the Presidency Conclusions at the Lisbon European Council on the 23rd and 24th of March of 2000.1 The European Council held this special meeting in Lisbon to discuss a new strategy to stimulate and strengthen the EU. The outcome of this meeting was the Lisbon Strategy with specific long-term goals for a period of 10 years (2000-2010). It is to highlight the fact that for the first time the European Council appealed to companies’ corporate sense of social responsibility regarding best practices on lifelong learning, work organization, equal opportunities, social inclusion and sustainable development.2 With this appeal, the European Council aimed at encouraging the companies to include these objectives in their National Reform Programmes, sharing experiences and mainstreaming best practices.

The CSR best practice’ objectives set at the Lisbon European Council became part of the ten year project of the Lisbon Strategy (2000-2010) and therefore, subordinated to the greater targets of the Lisbon Strategy. There were three targets: economic competitiveness and growth, social cohesion; sustainable development was later added as a fourth target, as a consequence of the Strategy for Europe agreed at the Gothenburg European Council, in June 2001.

There is a rising number of authors supporting the idea of the positive effect that a high level of CSR can have to achieve sustainable development, suggesting the development of legal rules to regulate sustainability reporting. Kristina K. Herrmann refers to the potential development of a legal framework for sustainability reporting, Hermann states that “Its creation will require four stages: setting standards; monitoring compliance with standards and exposing abuses; creating binding legal obligations; and enforcing those binding laws.”3