News From the European Union
Entirely submitted by Daniel Schaubacher
European award for responsible entrepreneurship: apply now
Applications are now open for the 2008 European Enterprise Awards. As in previous years, there is a Responsible Entrepreneurship Award to honour actions that promote CSR and sustainable business. Last year’s winner was Fabrica Etica (http://www2.fabricaethica.it/), the responsible business programme supported by the region of Tuscany. Info : ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/smes/awards/index_en.htm
The impact of corruption on poverty in the global economy
A focus of Caux ‘trust and integrity’ conference
From July 11 through 16, I was invited by Caux Business Initiatives, of Initiatives of Change International www.iofc.org (formerly Moral Rearmament) to participate in the Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy Conference, and speak in a plenary on Purpose Beyond Profit : Spiritual Values and a New Work Ethic, and run a workshop on Values-driven Leadership. Held in the former Caux Palace now called Mountain House, overlooking scenic Lake Geneva, the conference gathered business people and concerned citizens from all continents, and was host to a global farmers’ dialogue which dealt with the present food crisis. The venue and informal conference atmosphere provided many opportunities to network with participants who share EBBF and Baha’i values.
Brussels, June 20, 2008 : EIB President Announces New Initiatives to Finance Startups and Small and Medium-Size Business in Europe.
At a breakfast meeting organized by the European Policy Centre, Philippe Maystadt, President of the European Investment Bank, described new EIB programs aimed at financing SME’s, innovative new firms and startups. EIB has concluded a survey of the financing needs and expectations of SME’s in 27 EU member states, which will enable it and its partner commercial banks to target its products to the SME sector. Under the European Commission’s Competitiveness and Innovation Program, EIB will allocate € 6 bn in agreements with commercial banks, € 1 bn for venture capital funds, and through the EIB European Investment Fund € 4.2 bn to some 300 funds representing guarantees for bank portfolios. Maystadt said that SME’s – with 23 million enterprises, 99 percent of firms and 100 million jobs created represent the backbone of Europe’s economy; they are the accelerators of growth. The EIB funding initiatives aimed at SME’s are a component of the “Small Business Act” which the European Commission is about to announce under the incumbent French EU Presidency. Info : www.epc.eu and
EIB Infodesk info@eib.org www.eib.org T + 352 43 79 62000.
EBBF participated in the European Commission Responsible Entrepreneurship Conference, May 3 in Brussels. It was a good opportunity for George Starcher, EBBF President and Daniel Schaubacher to network with dozens of actors in the European Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability scene. George raised the gender issue in a plenary debate, suggesting that women perform as catalysts of change in enterprise. The evening before, George spoke on work ethics and the role of women in business at Concetta and Dale Emerson's home to some twenty business people, students and European commission civil servants. Here is the EC report on the successful May 3 Responsible Entrepreneurship Exchange staged by the Directorate General Enterprise of the European Commission
Brussels, 3rd May 2007
Responsible entrepreneurship: Small enterprises, big values, tomorrow's competitiveness
It is not often that teenagers from Estonia address major European events on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Looking at the link between entrepreneurship, values, and responsibility, the Responsible Entrepreneurship Exchange broke new ground in exploring the natural synergies between responsible business behaviour on the one hand and the dynamic world of entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises on the other. The tone was set by the managers of Volli, an Estonian student company that makes wallets from recycled fruit cartons and won the 2006 HP Responsible Business Award for young people. The event provides a platform for the launch of an important new European report entitled “Opportunity and Responsibility: how to get more small businesses to integrate social and environmental issues into what they do.”
Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen pointed out: “CSR is about opportunity and new ideas. It helps to build trust between enterprises and citizens and so contribute to a more business friendly environment. This is for their own benefit and for the wider benefit of society as a whole. Therefore, responsible behaviour by enterprises is an important part of the recipe for growth and jobs in Europe.”
CSR is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations on a voluntary basis. The term itself tends to be associated with large companies, but some of the most innovative and inspiring examples of CSR are to be found amongst smaller businesses. The report argues for improvements in the quality and quantity of initiatives to support the concept of responsible entrepreneurship amongst small and medium-sized enterprises.
Attended by some 450 persons, the Responsible Entrepreneurship Exchange provides a unique opportunity to learn from some 30 organisations that have successfully worked with small businesses to help to get the most out of CSR. Amongst them was the Municipality of Rome, which in 2006 won the Responsible Entrepreneurship category of the inaugural European Enterprise Awards. Advising start-ups and micro enterprises on how to take account of social and environmental questions, the programme has contributed to local development and helped to create 3000 new jobs. Also presented was an EU-funded initiative by the University of Girona (Spain) which is developing a model to capture the links between innovation and social responsibility in small and medium-sized enterprises.
Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen opened the event together with MEP Thomas Mann, Hans-Werner Müller, Secretary-General of UEAPME, and Arnaldo Abruzzini, Secretary-General of EUROCHAMBRES. They were joined by entrepreneurs, academics, business advisors and representatives from organisations such as the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and Junior Achievement-Young Enterprise.
The report “Opportunity and Responsibility: how to get more small businesses to integrate social and environmental issues into what they do” is the work of the European Expert Group on Corporate Social Responsibility and SMEs. It is a significant new contribution to the European debate on CSR, and should lead to more and better support for entrepreneurs and SMEs in the field of responsible entrepreneurship.
More information
The April issue of the JADE newsletter includes an article on EBBF values on page 9 entitled “Leaders : Values and Responsibilities – Dilemmas in the Knowledge Society” which I was asked to contribute for that issue. Two years ago, EBBF was featured in the same newsletter.
Starting on page 5, the April edition of the JADE newsletter reports on the Junior Enterprises Meeting, on which I sent the story below. p.5 also includes a photograph of the 130 junior entrepreneurs assembled in Brussels for that meeting (I am the exception : the grandpa standing at the far left, first rank).
See also on p. 10 the article in the JADE newsletter titled “Trust and Integrity as Business Values” contributed by the Caux Business Roundtable, www.cauxbusiness.net which announces its July 11-16 conference in Caux/Montreux, Switzerland on “Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy”. I have been introduced to Maarten de Pous of the Caux Initiatives for Business, through my JADE contacts. Maarten has invited me to address the plenary of the Caux conference on behalf of EBBF.
Note : JADE is a student-run, pan-European network representing more than 20.000 young entrepreneurs in 225 local non-profit organisations, called Junior Enterprises (see mail below). JADE reportedly will welcome news and articles for publication in its Newsletters. Contact JADE at address given at end of this mail.
April 25, 2008, Brussels : EU Employability/Entrepreneurship Conference Highlights Pan-European Programs
Under the title of “Harnessing an Entrepreneurial Spirit for Inclusive Local Employment Development”, the European Commission Directorate General’s for Employment and Social Affairs organized a successful conference at the Charlemagne building in Brussels which highlighted the role of innovation, life-long learning, entrepreneurship, mobility, and of public/private partnerships (e.g. initiatives by Microsoft, by the Grtr Halifax region, or the Sophia Antipolis research and industrial incubator park). Insightful papers were presented. Excellent for networking. Attached is a detailed conference report and summary of papers presented. Info : Ivana.Benetti@ec.europa.eu
EBBF at JADE, Jr Enterprise European eXcellence Awards Meeting
Brussels, 28 February - 2 March 2008. EBBF was invited to address the JADE/European Junior Enterprise Spring Meeting gathering 130 Junior Entrepreneurs from all over Europe. At the Opening Ceremony taking place in the beautiful auditorium of ING, Hans Martens, the CEO of the European Policy Centre (a think tank of which EBBF is a an active member) spoke on “new frontiers”, globalization and challenges facing the younger generation. At an ensuing Gala Dinner, which provided a good opportunity to network with many motivated student entrepreneurs from Europe and overseas, awards were presented to The Most Engaged Junior Entrepreneur : Themis Papadimopoulos, JADE Hellas; The Most Entrepreneurial Junior Enterprise : Conquest Consulting, Poland; The Most International Junior Enterprise : Marketing Mediterranée, France; The Most Innovative Project : JuniFEUP, Portugal & Know & How, Austria. I was honoured to function as chairman of the external jury. An Oracle Human Resource specialist, a Belgian director of KPMG, representatives of the Munich TMU College and many young student entrepreneurs spontaneously told me that they share the EBBF values and “words of wisdom” I briefly enunciated in the closing speech of the award ceremony.
