A sustainability management system that meets the main international standards in this area was developed in the “Promotion of Sustainability Management in Latin America” project.

More information on the seperate webpage for the project…

Más información en la página web del proyecto…

Some of the main reasons for the 2008 financial and economic crisis are shortcomings and failures in risk management. Criticism especially relates to the focus on a limited set of technical indicators, which led to neglecting relevant risks. This criticism coincides with the current practice regarding the consideration of ecological megatrends such as climate change and the shortage of natural resources in corporate risk management and in the financial markets. Business risks resulting from these trends find little attention.

In the project “CSR and Risk Management” the relationship between CSR and risk management is systematically analysed. The research design consists of a literature study, an analysis of annual reports of German and international companies, interviews with German and international experts and an expert workshop.

The project was funded by German Environmental Ministry.

project data

Projectpartners: future e.V., Institute 4 Sustainability, Borderstep
Researcher: Sabine Braun, Thomas Loew, Jens Clausen
Funding: German Federal Environmental Ministry
November 2009 – Oktober 2010

Publications

Loew T, Clausen J, Rohde F (2011)

CSR und Risikomanagement: Gesetzliches und freiwilliges Risikomanagement und die Rolle von Corporate Social Responsibility

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The questions how to organise CR systematically and how relates CR to environmental management have been asked frequently in the recent years. On behalf of PwC the autors developed a model which describes organisational structure, responsibilities, needs for coordination and integration. The brochure covers all relevant issues to manage CR systematically.

Publications

PricewaterhouseCoopers (2009)
Unternehmerische Verantwortung praktisch umsetzen: Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement, Frankfurt (Authors: Sabine Braun, Dieter Horst, Thomas Loew Ulf Doerner)

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With growing environmental problems and increasing scarcity of resources, we must think about technological progress in a new way. One challenge facing the business world is the need to bring innovation policies into line with ever-acuter ecologic and social trends, while still strengthening one’s ability to compete in the global economy. The project analyses the role that CSR plays for corporations’ ability to innovate, addressing whether CSR has a positive impact on innovative leadership, or provides an impetus to environmental innovation. The research design consists of a literature study, a survey and case studies conducted in the U.S. and in Germany. The project was funded by the German Federal Environmental Ministry.

Publications

Bundesumweltministerium (Hrsg.) (2009)
Innovation durch CSR. Die Zukunft Nachhaltig gestalten

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Clausen J, Loew T (2009)
CSR und Innovation: Literaturstudie und Befragung Berlin, München 2009

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Clausen J, Loew T, Hall M, Loft L, Braun S (2009)
Casestudies on CSR and Innovation: Company Cases from Germany and the USA.

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Since 2004 a series of workshops on CSR is carried out. Up to now the workshops focussed on

• CSR and innovation (2008)
• The role of sustainability megatrends for corporate strategy (2007)
• Management of CSR (2006)
• CSR in the supply chain (2005)
• Verifcation of CSR reports (2005)
• CSR: requirements for business (2004)

For each workshop a research study was prepared. Detailled information and english presentations are available at the project page of the German CSR Workshops on this website.

Publications

German Federal Ministry for the Environment (Ed.) (2006)
Corporate Social Responsibility: An Introduction from the Environmental PerspectiveBundesumweltministerium (2006)

Loew T, Braun S (2006)
Organising CSR: From Environmental Management to Sustainable Corporate Governance? (German with English summary)

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Loew T (2006)
CSR in the Supply Chain: Challenges and Starting Points for Companies (German with English abstract)

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Loew T. (2005)
Comments on the Results of the European Multistakeholder Forum on CSR, Berlin

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The large number of different approaches and requirements for the implementation of a corporate sustainability strategy is leading to uncertainty not only in companies but also amongst stakeholders and policy makers. Questions centre on the significance of environmental protection and product orientation within the framework of the various approaches. Are environmental issues losing ground while social requirements gain more importance?

In addition, there is a profusion of terms and definitions, encompassing everything from corporate social responsibility (CSR) through corporate citizenship (CC) to sustainability. Furthermore, the terms are defined differently at international, European and national levels.

The study provides the political community, industry associations and companies with a classification of the approaches and a clear set of terms and definitions.

The second part of the study analyses the business requirements within the context of the EU strategy on CSR, and against the background of the sustainability debate taking place within Germany. International SRI-experts and representatives from German stakeholder groups were consulted when the framework of sustainability requirements to companies was developed.

project data

Project by future e.V. in co-operation with IÖW
Researchers: Thomas Loew (project manager), Sabine Braun, Kathrin Ankele, Jens Clausen
Sponsored by: Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Safety
Project period: 2003-2004

Publications

Loew T, Ankele K, Braun S, Clausen J (2004)
Significance of the CSR Debate for Sustainability and the Requirements for Companies, Berlin, Münster

English Summary