Corporate social responsibility allows companies to realize their business goals while at the same time paying attention to social aspects and the environment. In addition to reducing the risks that companies may face due to incompliance, the use of CSR can also bring business benefits to the company.
The incorporation of CSR can improve the company's productivity, competiveness and public image as well as encourage innovation and contribute to the development of new products and services.
Many companies in the world (e.g. Body Shop, Ben&Jerry’s, etc.) have based their businesses from the onset on socially responsible approaches and made it their competitive advantage on the market.
Social responsibility not only brings benefits for the company, but also for the society and the environment. Because of this, through a special program unit, Konekt CSR, we are dedicated to promoting the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Macedonia.
To help promote CSR, we are involved in most of the national initiatives in this field. Konekt is the current Secretariat of the Macedonian Global Compact Network and a deputy member of the National CSR Coordinating Body of the Republic of Macedonia. Our Director was part of the working group which developed the CSR Strategy of the Republic of Macedonia adopted by the Government of RM. We are also part of UNIDO's regional CSR project which is especially focused on promoting CSR in SMEs. For that purpose, UNIDO has developed a specific methodology called REAP (Responsible Entrepreneurship Achievement Programme) which our staff is trained in and authorized to use in its work with SMEs.
We are also a member of the working group created in Macedonia to prepare comments about the draft CSR standard – ISO 26000 which should be passed in the autumn of 2010.
In addition to CSR promotion, at Konekt, we offer direct support to companies in the development of their strategies, approaches and reports in the field of CSR, and help companies include their stakeholders in the process. We are particularly specialized in the development of strategies and projects in the field of community investment, integrating other CSR domains as well as company donations. More details about our services in this field can be found here here.
Specific achievements:
- In 2009, we were part of the working group which developed the concept and organized the 2008 National CSR Awards. Furthermore, we co-funded the awards through the Civil Society Strengthening Project. More information about the awards and the recipients can be found on our web page.
- In cooperation with the The American Chamber of Commerce in Macedonia (AmCham) Konekt initiated the issue of the legal framework for internships in Macedonia. There are ongoing talks with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy about what needs to be done in order for companies to be able to successfully implement internship programs for the unemployed as part of their CSR practices
