CSR platform

What is corporate social responsibility (CSR)?

CSR is a voluntary philosophy that confirms business values to society, shaping relations among businesspeople, companies and target audiences to be influenced, including sustainable development and the preservation of resources for future generations.

The CSR platform is the main CSR expert forum. Its most important function is to facilitate the exchange of expert experiences and to stimulate a consolidated position among employers in terms of CSR, making reference to the CSR memorandum and producing recommendations to public sector organisations based on an evaluation of the best CSR practices. The platform ensures the introduction of CSR policies at the local, regional, national and international level.

What is the CSR memorandum?

The memorandum explains the definition and principles of corporate social responsibility, describes the largest corporate target audiences, and sets out future CSR-related challenges in Latvia. Examples include increasing the number of companies which report on their best practice at the national level by using the corporate Sustainability Index or at the international level by, for instance, joining in the UN Global Compact initiative so as to confirm corporate sustainability.

CSR principles in Latvia

Observing legal acts, satisfying legal requirements pertaining to entrepreneurial activity in areas such as taxation, labour relations, environmental protection, human rights and other aspects of the law.

• Creating appropriate jobs by investing in manufacturing, services and human resource development.
• Offering high-quality products and services to customers in accordance with their needs.
• Integrated and harmonised relations with all target audiences.
• Efficient business activities to create added economic value and to improve national competitiveness for the benefit of target audiences and society at large.
• Including public requirements and universally accepted business and individual ethics in business practices.
• Involvement in sector-based, regional or national social dialogue, conducted by organisations of employees and employers and social partners in partnership with state and local government institutions.
• Facilitating the development of the civil society by engaging in projects in partnership with target audiences.
• Reducing and eliminating the risk of corruption by drafting joint business ethics standards at the level of sectors and then implementing them in day-to-day practices.

CSR platform operations in 2014 – plans and priorities

• Increasing the number of member organisations that join the Memorandum of CSR principles in Latvia.
• Increasing the number of state and local government-owned enterprises in the Sustainability Index.
• In cooperation with partners, commenting on CSR support policies for developing a national strategy.
• Educating businesspeople and the public on CSR issues.
• Facilitating the introduction of CSR principles at Latvian companies, including state and local government-owned enterprises.