CSR and consumers - a new culture of interaction

State Secretary Dr. Robert Kloos on "Consumer Social Responsibility" and informations provided by the Consumer Protection Ministry, Source: Bundesregierung / Bergmann

But however important economic prosperity and the production and sale of goods is: it takes more than that to live well. To live well, it is absolutely necessary to assume responsibility on the market. Carrying out voluntary work for others and having an ethical commitment to the world and the environment supplement purely economic activities. In Germany this commitment has a long tradition.

With the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach, companies voluntarily assume new responsibility and become actively involved in their business area to contribute to solving economic, environmental or social problems. This also improves the company’s standing and reputation.

But consumers, too, are increasingly showing "Consumer Social Responsibility" for their consumer behaviour and for the conditions under which goods and services are produced and provided. Consumers are much better informed than they used to be and are increasingly taking up the challenge of acting as economic citizens and going beyond pure consumption, using the companies' CSR commitment in the different spheres of public life to assess them positively or to criticize them accordingly. This can definitely influence purchasing decisions.

Nowadays, committed consumers want to know whether companies offer adequate labour conditions and wages at production sites both here and overseas or whether they are indifferent about these issues. They want to know whether coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, flowers and other products are produced under environmentally and socially acceptable conditions and whether they are fair trade products. And they want to know whether companies are taking any action to solve social problems in their own countries, for instance by helping improve the work-family balance, providing better training conditions, facilitating integration, enhancing the range of cultural activities at local level, improving health and encouraging healthy eating. There is consequently an increasing "moralisation of the markets" and "strategic consumption" is becoming increasingly popular. This constitutes the first signs of a move in society towards a culture of sustainability, whereby consumers reward the efforts of companies to meet environmental, animal welfare and social requirements.

Consumers are being supported in their efforts on the one hand by the Federal Government, consumer advice centres and civil society organisations, and on the other by the rapid technological developments. In addition to the traditional media, such as newspapers and television, consumers are now also benefiting from comprehensive internet websites and, lately, from smart phone apps.

Even if the reasons behind purchasing behaviour are complex: sufficient information and comprehensive consumer education constitute the essential basis for the "mature consumer", which is the guiding principle of our social market economy. Inspired by the CSR process at European Union level, and based on the National CSR Strategy of the German Federal Government, the Consumer Protection Ministry has initiated projects which contribute to providing consumers with clearer information and more intensive education in this area.

In addition to general CSR information brochures, this mostly comprises special projects that bring together theory and practice. For instance, the ministry cooperated with education providers to develop CSR teaching units. They have proved very popular, because education has a particularly strong impact if it is used at an early stage. These media packages are called "MitVerantwortung" (co-responsibility) and include didactic texts, worksheets, interactive presentations, overhead transparencies, CSR videos and an internet-based CSR data base with resource material for teachers and young adults/pupils in different school years and types. This comprehensive, multi-unit CSR education project on consumer information won the Comenius EduMedia Award and also an award from the German UNESCO Commission: the CSR "MitVerantwortung" project is consequently an official project of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

Another of the ministry’s CSR projects investigates the establishment and scope of new information channels between companies and consumers. Companies are now beginning to address consumers directly via CSR and supply them with information so that they can assume more individual responsibility in their consumer behaviour. This new CSR communication is reflected in the energy-saving portals of energy utilities or in commercials by car manufacturers that include information on environmentally sound driving. This consumer communication is particularly instrumental in strengthening the credibility and visibility of CSR in the public perception.

Against the backdrop of the European and national CSR strategies, the Federal Ministry has set itself the goal of supporting consumer-oriented CSR communication and other contributions to corporate social responsibility and consumer responsibility. Since the new culture of interaction between companies and consumers in voluntarily taking on new responsibility helps to improve social integration and economic innovation, and consequently quality of life for everyone.