Strengthening Europe through collaboration on sustainability
President Van Rompuy, President Barosso and 24 governments meet with business leaders at the first-ever Enterprise 2020 Summit
29 November 2012, Brussels, Belgium – CSR Europe welcomed over 250 high-level business and policy representatives to the first-ever Enterprise 2020 Summit in Brussels. Against the backdrop of the current economic crisis, the Summit served as a platform to highlight how CSR can reduce Europe’s risk by strengthening its competitiveness and leadership through joining forces on tackling sustainability challenges. It also served as the occasion to appraise the achievements of CSR Europe’s Enterprise 2020 initiative, since its initial launch in 2010.
Hosted at The Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR), in the heart of Brussels, this event, sponsored by Hitachi Europe and GDF SUEZ, welcomed rich representation from business, national governments, European institutions, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders from Europe and beyond. With such a high level of participation, in-depth panel discussions, and interactive sessions, the Enterprise 2020 Summit was a unique opportunity to align business and policy objectives on CSR.
As a new member of CSR-Europe, Réseau Alliances – World Forum Lille attended for the first time this exclusive summit.
The underlying message of the day was that given the urgency of Europe’s societal challenges, bringing about real change requires active and constructive cooperation between all societal players. “As the instability in European markets increases, it becomes vital to have a systematic response from governments, business and society together,” said Stefan Crets, Executive Director of CSR Europe, “growth, competitiveness and the need to scale up impactful solutions for sustainability challenges require stronger collaborative platforms. This is exactly what Enterprise 2020 is all about!”
Nevertheless, “in the context of the economic crisis, Enterprise 2020 should put more emphasis on reshaping the conditions that make Europe a good place to invest in - enhancing innovative capabilities and a deepened investment in skills, employability and jobs” said Etienne Davignon, Minister of State and President of CSR Europe, on opening the conference.
It is in this space that CSR Europe aims to support its members and CSR Europe took the occasion to launch a new workprogramme (2013-2015), which will translate this vision into two focus programmes (1) sustainable living in cities and (2) skills for jobs. Next to these two focus programmes, CSR Europe will continue to deliver a number of services to its members that will increase the level of sustainability integration into core business processes and strategies.
Harmony and economic collaboration are not a given in Europe. From a business perspective, these qualities are an essential condition for the further advancement of sustainable growth in Europe and beyond. Through Enterprise 2020, CSR Europe aims to support an economy that delivers the kind of growth we want and need.
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About CSR Europe
CSR Europe is the leading European business network for Corporate Social Responsibility. Representing over 5000 companies, it is a platform for supporting companies to positively contribute to society. In this context, CSR Europe connects companies to share best practice on CSR, innovate new projects between business and stakeholders, and shape the modern day business and political agenda on sustainability and competitiveness. For more information visit www.csreurope.org
About Enterprise 2020
Enterprise 2020 is CSR Europe’s initiative to highlight the need for broad partnerships by engaging all stakeholders in supporting business to play a positive role in society. In this context, Enterprise 2020 offers Europe a platform of over 5,000 companies taking a leading role in gaining new market opportunities through enhanced management processes, collaboration and the development of new products and services that meet the challenges of European societies.
