Denmark inclusive labour market strategies

Abstract

Although issues of ethics and social responsibility have been on the agenda among Danish managers in private as well as in public organisations for a number of years, today these issues seem to appear with more urgency than before. While Danish companies since the 1980s have been exposed to strong environmental regulation, and as such have integrated environmental concerns into their business strategies for a number of years, many Danish managers also claim that ethics and social responsibility always have been an inherent way of doing business. Often the social initiatives were implemented in an informal and even implicit way as a response to current local expectations and demands. Lately the CSR discussions in Danish companies are engaging a new tone of international concern and calling for a systematic corporate commitment as Danish companies experience the consequences of globalisation. This chapter will explore the societal and cultural drivers for the Danish perspective on CSR and in particular highlight the interplay between state and companies in "social partnerships" for setting the Danish national CSR agenda, which is the inclusive labour market. Finally, the future challenges for CSR in Denmark are discussed.