By Maria Gjølberg
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) “has the hallmark of being a truly global idea,” writes the author of this article in the Scandinavian Journal of Management, but it is one that might not be practised similarly across the globe. This article is thus both an attempt to construct an “index” of CSR performance and a comparison of CSR practices in different countries.
The index is based on ratings based on “socially responsible” investment criteria; membership in CSR communities; the company’s reporting of sustainable practices; and certification which a firm can get to demonstrate its incorporation of sustainable practices. The countries were ranked by a ratio, comparing how many of its firms were present in the nine indicators of the index to the overall number of firms. Of the 20 countries examined, in practice terms Switzerland emerged best, followed by Finland and Sweden; the bottom three were America, Greece, and Austria.
In performance terms Switzerland emerged best again, followed by Norway and Finland, with Greece, Austria and America at the bottom. This index may not catch on, but it demonstrates how difficult it remains to determine whether a firm, let alone a group of firms, is acting “responsibly.”
