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EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
We consider Corporate Citizenship
as the contributions of businesses to society
through the combination of core business activities,
social investment and philanthropy, and
participation in the public policy process.
(World Economic Forum, 2002)
The world is facing dramatic challenges ranging from social
inequality and climate change to healthcare systems that
are stretched to the limit. Recognizing these challenges,
the United Nations with their Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) are calling upon all members of society to play
their part.
With their expertise and resources, companies can play a key
role in addressing these societal challenges: the fact that the
revenues of DAX 30 companies alone exceed the GDP of
Canada shows the economic power companies possess.
However, today most are not yet unlocking their full potential
to foster positive societal change.
This is not only because companies are primarily focused on
maximizing their profit. Raising the bar is also a challenge
because Germany has no established standards for good
Corporate Citizenship – unlike the US, where a number of
standards, e.g. the reporting standards from the Committee
Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) exist. Many
people from both the for-profit and non-profit sectors still
argue that companies should focus on their business and
limit their social activities to paying taxes and simply making
donations to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
However, this view is slowly changing in different parts of the
world, with new regulations being put in place to encourage
and enforce a more active role of companies in addressing
societal changes. For example: in India, any company with
annual revenues exceeding ten billion Rupees (~ EUR 142
million) has to donate two percent of its net profit to charitable
organizations (University of Oxford, 2016).
We share this evolving view and believe that Corporate Citizenship
activities should be managed as professionally as a
company’s core business – assuming that Corporate Citizenship
is not misused to “whitewash” any misconduct. In our
view, good Corporate Citizenship should focus on a limited
number of activities linked to the company’s core business
and area of expertise. It should leverage the company’s full
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