What does CSR mean?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) means that a company takes responsibility for the effects of its operational activities on people and the environment. The company makes conscious choices in order to achieve a balance between people, planet and profit (the triple bottom line). Companies can go a step further themselves and open up new market opportunities, growth and innovation that will be of benefit to people, the organisation, society and the environment, both now and in the future. "This is the definition provided by MVO Nederland".

CSR is the standard for businesses in the 21st century. Its underlying principles are as follows:

• CSR is an integrated vision of entrepreneurship in which the company and its activities create value in economic (Profit), ecologic (Planet) and social (People) terms. In this way the company contributes to the
  well-being of society in the long term.      
• CSR is anchored in all company processes. Each company decision is a trade-off made between various
  stakeholder interests: the interests of the persons involved, companies and organisations. Maintaining a relationship with various stakeholders on the basis of transparency and dialogue, thereby responding to legitimate questions that exist within society.
• CSR is made-to-measure. CSR activities take a different form in each company and this depends on the size of the company, the sector, the culture of the business and the company strategy.
• CSR is a means and not an end. The aims it sets out to achieve will change over time and with each operational decision. The company itself sets out to identify attainable steps that will enable it to put its
  social responsibility into practice.