An overview of Corporate Social Responsibility in Hungary

1
An overview of Corporate Social Responsibility in
Hungary

• Programme GARDE
• Philippe Kalfayan
• F.I.D.H. Secretary General

2
Fact-Finding Mission in Hungary

• Time frame
• Charges de mission
• Methodology
• Local support
• Interviewees
• Documentary sources
• Report publishing

3
CSR imposed process, approximate knowledge and
confused practice

• A recent concept, where history is not neutral,
  and whose actuality is imposed
• Each group of players ignores the CSR globally
  and defends its own vision and interests
• The dynamic role of multinationals is verified
• CSR amalgamation with legal compliance and
  charity
• CSR practices are not yet adapted to local
  context

4
CSR Promotion and Dissemination

• Some targeted governmental texts
• Labour and Employment
• Trade
• ILO Office
• OECD Hungarian NCP
• Institutional business initiatives
• Influence of foreign investment and companies

5
CSR practices in progress

• Development of codes and reporting systems (ex
  Magyar Telecom)
• Normative but limited scope approach in social
  field (March 2006 resolution), ethics and good
  governance (Law on Trade BSE recommendations)
• Influence of foreign parent companies (Tesco,
  Auchan, Magyar Telecom) with policy variants
• Very few cases of alleged violations (Suzuki,
  Visteon, Paks nuclear plant)

6
Limits and threats to good practices

• CSR remains largely driven by communication and
  marketing concerns
• Regulatory framework is weak and incomplete
• Self-regulation is preferred by all players,
  while CSR understanding by corporations is
  compliance with legal norms neutralisation
• NGOs watch-dog mission is challenged by their
  current business activities
• Trade-unions passiveness

7
CSR mere business logic?

• CSR in the hands of corporations communication
  and PR departments
• Limits of codes and monitoring mechanisms
• Business initiatives look at the competitive
  advantage (chambers of commerce and business
  forums)
• A new gold mine for Consultants and more arguably
  for NGOs

8
Conclusions and recommendations for greater
efficiency

• CSR is defined by business players on a voluntary
  basis, and implemented and monitored by business.
  This self-regulation process is barely offset by
  governmental action aiming to promote the
  concept.
• CSR implementation and monitoring need to become
  a localised process where all the stakeholders
  are to be involved
• Government needs to set the tone by providing a
  unified definition and regulatory framework,
  incentives for good practices, and by mobilising
  its constitutional bodies for the protection of
  some basic rights
• NGOs and trade-unions have to play their role of
  watch-dog
• Hungarian corporations should take ownership of
  and adapt the CSR mechanisms and tools to the
  local context and turn CSR into philosophy not
  just a message