Traduction de «Social and environmental rating » (Anglais → Français) :

2. Believes that while co-regulation and self-regulation cannot be substitutes for appropriate sectoral regulation where such is needed, for instance with regard to social and environmental requirements, labour and employment practices, human rights, or in any of the areas covered by CSR, it could underpin existing private and voluntary CSR initiatives by establishing minimum principles, thereby ensuring consistency, materiality, multi-stakeholder input and transparency, and by facilitating the creation of environmental and social rating ...[+++] agencies specialised in CSR; stresses that any form of CSR based on self-regulation and self-organisation of the market must include provision for ‘access to remedy’ in line with ‘pillar three’ of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; notes, at the same time, that public administrations should provide support by creating appropriate conditions – and providing appropriate tools and instruments, such as an incentive system – for CSR cooperation; believes that the philanthropic activities of businesses should, as a matter of principle, be voluntary;

(Return tabled) Question No. 418 Mrs. Anne-Marie Day: With regard to social and environmental security in the Canadian Arctic and following such environmental disasters as the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska and the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig: (a) how many emergency response or contingency plans are currently in effect, (i) which departments are responsible for these plans, (ii) in the event that several depar ...[+++]tments are responsible for certain plans, what coordination measures have been introduced to implement them, (iii) have these plans been adapted to meet the conditions in the Canadian Arctic; (b) what is the total amount spent by the government on social and environmental security in the Canadian Arctic from 2004-2005 up to and including the current fiscal year; (c) what facilities exist and are currently available in Canada to deal with an environmental catastrophe such as an Arctic oil spill; (d) how many infrastructures such as roadways, airfields, staging areas, supply areas, medical facilities, ships, aircraft and kilometres of booms are currently available and ready for use in Canada; (e) what are the estimated response times for oil spills in the Canadian Arctic given the geographic isolation of the area; and (f) what is the total labour force that Canada can call on to take action in this region in the event of a disaster like an oil spill, (i) how many people in Canada are currently trained for this type of response and where is this training offered, (ii) how many search and rescue personnel are currently north of the 60th parallel?

The report has been adopted by a large majority and contains proposals to require imported goods to comply with the same social and environmental standards as European products. It also suggests that it should be possible to refer cases of social or environmental dumping to either the ILO or a World Environmental Organisation, which needs to be created with all possible speed.

This is understandable, because trade agreements concern legal rules that are binding among the States, whereas corporate social responsibility concerns voluntary commitments by undertakings. At the same time, however, it is paradoxical, because CSR and the social and environmental clauses pull in the same direction, namely, towards globalisation which is more respectful of human rights and the environment and which is conducive to sustainable development.

o These developments can be financed by: introducing subsidies for the development of innovative and sustainable technologies and enabling businesses and individuals to access financing for energy saving measures; prioritising climate change in the forthcoming budget reform; linking the EU Structural Funds with social and environmental conditions; offering preferential rates to finance projects with a high social and environmental value through the E ...[+++]IB; and the Commission should issue green bonds with Member States guarantees in order to finance green investments.

39. Restates that major efforts should be undertaken by the Commission and Member State governments at national, regional and local level to use the opportunities provided by the revision of the public procurement Directives in 2004 to support CSR by promoting social and environmental criteria amongst potential suppliers, while recognising the need to avoid imposing additional administrative burdens on small enterprises, which might dissuade them from tendering, and to disqualify companies where necessary including in instances of corruption; calls on the Commission, the European Investment ...[+++]Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to apply strict social and environmental criteria to all grants and loans allocated to private sector companies, backed by clear complaints mechanisms, building on the example linking public procurement and compliance with the ILO Core Conventions and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in the Netherlands and with the SA8000 CSR standard by several Italian provinces; recalls that Member States should take steps to ensure that any export credit guarantees comply with the highest environmental and social criteria and should not be used for projects that run counter to agreed EU policy goals concerning, for example, energy or armaments;