ISO 26000: Is It a Case of Implementation or Simple Reporting? An Exploration of CSR Standards in Companies in Romania

Abstract

Today, people live in a society that increasingly raises the matter for businesses to get involve in economic and social models of sustainability. The reasons for which the theme of sustainability and sustainable development has become increasingly current are many for instance globalisation, population growth, urbanization and urban pollution, increasing industrialization, which has brought about shortages in a number of essential resources and certain phenomena such as global warming and climate change arising from the increasing levels of pollution. Thus, embedding the concepts of CSR into operational practices has become one of the vehicles organisations could use in obtaining competitive advantages over their rivals. The application of these concepts is based on the use of specific tools, represented by the standards. From these perspectives, research within the chapter seeks, on the one hand to identify those companies in Romania that apply CSR tools and standards (including ISO 26000) and, on the other hand, to determine the manner in which these companies communicate on implementation of these CSR tools and standards. Also, organisational culture focus and its influence on the application of these CSR tools and standards will be analysed and presented.