CSR and Environmental Reporting in the Czech Republic and Romania: Country Comparison of Rules and Practices

This paper focuses on the development of corporate social responsibility, with special emphasis on environmental issues in two countries that have recently joined the EU: the Czech Republic and Romania. The article analyses the short tradition of Corporate Social Responsibility reporting in both countries and the current state of development, as well as its future perspectives. The paper also deals with the recent developments of environmental reporting in the Czech Republic and Romania, and plans to introduce some basics of environmental reporting into compulsory reporting statements in the Czech Republic. This is then compared it with country-specific approach in Romania. On the Czech side, the comparison is drawn from two short case studies of the Czech heavy industry sector. Similarly, in Romania, the approach is documented on companies from the energy sector and a major shipyard, representing the approach of Romanian heavy industry sector. We conclude that the standard of CSR and environmental reporting is based on the same principles in both countries, but the particular approaches differ. Non-prescriptive approach to environmental reporting should be adopted in the Czech Republic, similarly to other developed countries. Furthermore, in our opinion, more systematic regulatory approach may be adopted in Romania.Corporate social responsibility, environmental accounting, sustainable development, Czech Republic, Romania

Environmental information disclosure: a cross-country analysis from European Union public companies

One of the contemporary challenges related to climate change and effectively managing raw materials is to reduce resource consumption and the negative environmental impact while simultaneously increasing the economy’s competitiveness. This requires that business entities change priorities and move to a sustainable relationship focused on ecological, economic and social well-being. Due to the transnational and global nature of the climate and the environment, actions in this area should be carried out at a supranational level. In European Union (EU) countries, successive directives are implemented regarding environmental changes and the taxonomy for non-financial reporting. This forces public companies, as large public interest units, to produce adequate quality data reporting in the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) area, including the environmental (E) indicator and its components. The article’s purpose is to make a comparative assessment of the current situation and to consider the prospects for environmental data disclosure by public companies listed on the regulated markets of the EU, with particular emphasis on energy consumption, water, waste production, and CO2 emissions. The Refinitiv database was used to test the quality of the environmental indicators. Public companies listed on the leading stock markets in the 27 EU Member States were included. The research period covers 2012–2021. We focus on checking how many companies report environmental data in any given year, and those that present them for at least one year, or for three, five, or ten years. The findings support the clear advantage of the quality of environmental data disclosure in the ‘old’ EU Member States (which joined before 2004) compared to the ‘new’ EU Member States. However, reporting on key environmental issues (water and energy consumption, waste production, and carbon dioxide) is very incomplete

International Standards of Corporate Social Responsibility

The article deals with internationally acknowledged standards and norms in the sphere of corporate social responsibility. It introduces the concept of social responsibility, the so-called triple-bottom line, in terms of which the company focuses not only on the economic growth but it also takes into account environmental and social aspects of its business activities. The article presents five norms and standards which stem from the triplebottom line concept. The norms and standards are in the article briefly characterised, which is followed by their comparison based on four previously stated criteria. The results of the comparison show that there is no such norm which would meet current company requirements. This paper resulted from contribution to a research project IGA FEM CULS 201011140057 "Modern Management Approaches in the Field of Higher Education in the Czech Republic"Corporate social responsibility, triple-bottom line, international standards and norms Anotace, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, GA, IN,

Corporate social responsibility and global standardization: sustainable environmental management in the chemical industry

Corporate social responsibility and sustainable development are issues that been in the forefront of corporate strategy for several decades. The increase in the power of environmental groups, the ease of cross border information flow, and the rising concern of the public with regards to global impact of environmental issues are motivating factors resulting in the establishment of environmental management systems. Many multinational chemical companies, threatened with the possibility of the establishment of new, stricter, environmental laws, are actively working to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility while operating in a global market with regards to developing and implementing voluntary programs to handle the increasingly important issues surrounding environmental responsibility and global sustainability. The integration of the environmental management system into the corporate vision, mission and strategic plan is demonstrated with the ultimate goal of changing corporate culture in the companies which have the power to affect international environmental policies.chemical industry, corporate social responsibility, environmental management system, global sustainability.

Indicators to Assess Sustainability of Transport Activities - Part 2: Measurement and Evaluation of Transport Sustainability Performance in the EU27

Inspired by the growing interest of academic and policy environments in the field of transport sustainability, this work focuses on the measurement and assessment of transport activities in the European Union (EU) with the use of transport sustainability indicators. On the basis of major international transport related indicator initiatives a set of 55 transport sustainability indicators has been developed (as defined in the first part of the report by Dobranskyte-Niskota et al., 2007) where due to lack of data 32 indicators have been assessed in quantitative terms and the JRC SusTrans Index has been developed. The Joint Research Centre software tool entitled ¿the Dashboard of Sustainability¿ based on a simple graphic interface has been applied to the JRC SusTrans Index in the assessment of transport sustainability performance in the EU Member States. The Dashboard tool has compared indicator groups using the EWA method and communicated a quick impression by pointing to areas where transport indicators showed particular success or problems. Additionally, the Dashboard tool has been also applied to the Transport and Environment Reporting Mechanism (TERM) indicator set developed by the European Environmental Agency and the TERM Index has been calculated. The TERM Index has been used as a reference point to benchmark transport sustainability performance results of the EU Member States obtained by the SusTrans Index. The outcomes of the two indices (the SusTrans and the TERM) have revealed the highest rank of transport sustainability performance in Germany and Netherlands while the lowest performance ranks - in Greece and Bulgaria. The results of the two indices have revealed many similarities, while some differences in the outcomes observed are due to the variations in the structures of the indices. This in-depth analysis of EU 27 transport activities by the selected sustainability indicators using adequate modelling tools serves as valuable guidelines for forming transport policy strategies and scenarios. These policies aim to reduce negative impacts of transport activities with the final goal of achieving a sustainable transportation system in the European Union.JRC.H.4-Transport and air qualit