Fabrica Ethica

Fabrica Ethica
Tuscany Region
and Corporate Social
Responsibility
Tuscany Region
Interview with
Regional
Minister Brenna
With 161 ‘SA8000 standard’ certified enterprises
out of 437 Italian companies on the national territory and 1112 companies worldwide, Tuscany
demonstrates its belief in the value of corporate
social responsibility.
What motivated the Tuscany Region to take up
the gauntlet and what strategy is pursued to win
this challenge?
Since the beginning of my mandate, in 2000, I have
supported an economic system that could fine tune
development with the well-being of the territory,
social cohesion and inclusion.
Globalization has strained our economic system of
micro-enterprises that focuses on traditional manufacturing sectors and, accordingly, requires that
new strategies be conceived. ‘Traditional’ does not
mean ‘obsolete’, but if our enterprises want to succeed we must invest in quality, intended in all of its
broad meanings.
Corporate social responsibility blends perfectly
with the economic growth of a society that is increasingly more complex, where several stakeholders playing a fundamental role are intertwined:
workers, associations, consumers, public administration bodies.
Dialogue is the only viable way to bring about new
modus operandi that enable the multiplication of
benefits for all, all the while reducing social costs
that derive from poor management and/or entrepreneurial choices.
Public administration bodies have the task of encouraging enterprises to proceed in this direction:
the latest economic and political evolutions show
that we must compete on the front of quality, and
social quality undoubtedly plays a fundamental
role. Without well-being, no society can make
progress.
This is the background for our strategy, and it
hinges on three pillars: support for enterprise,
information and awareness-raising campaigns,
dialogue with involved stakeholders. Our choices
translated into actions that have led to the financing of social responsibility management systems,
integrated with environmental and quality control
Fabrica Ethica
systems; actions pivoting on information that stem
from the web site www.fabricaethica.it up to the
very many public initiatives underway and a proactive dialogue with stakeholders that, in 2003, led to
the organization of a Regional Ethical Commission:
a forum for open dialogue, exchange and consultation on the topic of corporate social responsibility
across the territory.
How would you summarize the advantages for enterprises that opt for certification?
Advantages can be identified in an abatement of
costs deriving from lack of quality, that is an efficient management of business processes, reduction
of accidents and complaints in the workplace, improved working climate and greater trust expressed
by clients and suppliers, and an increased dialogue
with the territory that surrounds the enterprise.
All of this translates into an all-inclusive corporate
policy that can help lower social security costs. In
the ultimate instance, a socially responsible business achieves a strengthened corporate strategy;
also from a marketing point of view.
And the Tuscany Region maintains that it is not
sufficient that a company declares its pursuit of
corporate social responsibility to turn potential
perspectives into actual advantages. On the contrary, an external audit is required, which could reveal to be quite expensive for the single company;
but that is why the small enterprise that decides to
pursue this strategy will be supported via regional
funds allocated to SA8000 certification and will be
granted 0.50 percent reduction on IRAP (Regional
Tax on Productive Businesses).
Can enterprises and the territory be significantly
bound from the view point of corporate social responsibility? This is the path we must take! Businesses that opt for corporate social responsibility
and that are located in a territory that is not aware of
this concept will not attain the desired results. Vice
versa, a territory needs to be adequately equipped to
welcome, to promote and stimulate its companies on
the path of continued improvement that will bring
about mutual advantages for all parties involved.
In particular, Felafip – Fabrica Ethica LAboratorio
FIliera Pelle (Ethical Workshop for the Leather Industry) – is at the moment the project where enterprises and the surrounding territory share the path
toward certification, whereby numerous information and awareness-raising activities are carried
out, among which training in schools.
What are the next steps that the regional government will take on this front?
Regional Law n° 17 of 2006, “Provisions on the
issue of corporate social responsibility”, strengthens what is already underway, with particular regard for the spreading of integrated management
systems that will also embrace safety and security
systems in the workplace.
We shall establish processes aimed at supporting
social accounting, where existing international
models will be integrated with regional guidelines,
characterized by an active participation of relevant
stakeholders.
Furthermore, we support local development and
social inclusion so as to make microcredit more accessible for compa­nies, as already provided for in
the Memorandum of Understanding entered into
between the Tuscany Region and banks.
Lastly, we are working to set up a national network of public administrations, aimed at building a common platform, beside any individual
instruments that have been pinpointed, and local
initiatives. In the ultimate instance, our efforts are
aimed at building up a similar process at the European level. This is the contribution that public
administration bodies can offer for a competitive
and inclusive Europe, as per the strategic goal set
in Lisbon at the 2000 European Council.
Interview with Regional Minister Brenna
Fabrica Ethica
Tuscany Region
and Corporate
Social Responsibility
Assessorato Artigianato, P.M.I.,
Industria, Promozione e
Internazionalizzazione del Sistema
Produttivo, Cooperazione
Direzione Generale Sviluppo
Economico
Settore Politiche Regionali
dell’Innovazione e della Ricerca
redazione e supervisione
Fabrizia Paloscia, Assessorato
Artigianato, P.M.I., Industria,
Promozione e Internazionalizzazione
del Sistema Produttivo,
Cooperazione
[email protected]
Brochure in inglese
su responsabilità sociale d’impresa
da Regione Toscana n. 6 /2006
Testi di
Maura Isetto, Francesca Parigi Bini
Foto gentilmente concesse:
Cospe (pp.4, 6); Eudania Società
di Ristorazione (p. 20);
Consorzio Centopercento Italiano
(pp. 3, 14, 15, 16, 19);
Delicarta (pp. 9, 13)
Rosss (p. 24)
Realizzazione grafica e stampa
Centro stampa
Giunta Regione Toscana
Tiratura 3000 copie
Distribuzione gratuita
Maggio 2007
Fabrica Ethica
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INTERVIEW WITH REGIONAL MINISTER BRENNA
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AN ETHICAL ECONOMY FOR A FAIR WORLD
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THE ROLE OF EUROPE
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A MAP OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR TUSCAN SMES
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THE TUSCAN GLOBALIZATION CHALLENGE
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A VERY SPECIAL LEATHER
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CREDIT AGAINST TRUST
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REGIONAL LAW N° 17/2006
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24
AN INCREASINGLY CERTIFIED WORLD
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A WORD FROM THE SCHOOL
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INSIDE UNIVERSITY HALLS
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FABRICAETHICA.IT
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I WILL BE THE WORLD WORKSHOP
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FABRICA ETHICA CHRONOLOGY
A WORD FROM THE ENTERPRISE
AN ETHICAL
ECONOMY
FOR A FAIR WORLD
In an increasingly global and competitive market,
enterprises feel the need to demonstrate responsible
behaviour toward consumers, employees, clients
and the entire community with regard to the
aspects affecting the quality of their products.
More precisely, information is requested regarding
a company’s attitude toward its workers, the
impact of production on the environment and
product safety.
In the last fifty years, traditional ‘clients’ have
turned into attentive ‘consumers’.
They have moved away from the mainly
consumption-oriented approach of the ‘60s to the
predilection for proven quality goods of the ‘70s,
up to the demand for environmentally friendly
products of the ‘90s. Today, the market is requesting
a socially responsible behaviour on behalf of
enterprises, in view of a quality development that
respects human rights and dignity, as well as the
ecosystem.
This is what emerges from the latest Eurisko survey
(“CSR Monitor”), published in September 2005.
The survey, carried out on a sample of 21,000
interviews – one thousand people from 21 countries
around the world – highlights that expectations
voiced by consumers are now remarkably higher
when it comes to issues such as compliance with
quality and safety standards, fair treatment of
workers, environmental protection and disease
prevention.
According to the survey, the negative assessment
expressed by consumers translates into behaviours
that penalize producers.
In western industrialized countries, the percentage
of the sample ready to ‘punish’ an irresponsible
corporate behaviour – by not purchasing their
products or by a negative WOM – is comprised
between 30 and 40 percent. In Italy, this percentage
is around 34 percent. Lower percentages – but
destined to grow – are recorded in emerging
countries, resting between 10 and 20 percent.
When asked to list the names of companies that
they would label as ‘socially responsible’, the
majority of the Italians interviewed (74%) is not
able to give an answer; 80 percent of them state that
they want to know more about the topic in order
to better orient their purchases, while 85 percent
are willing to show greater respect for a company
that collaborates with non-profit organizations and
NGOs.
New consumer needs and raised awareness are
also witnessed by an increase of sales in fair and
equitable trade.
A 20 percent rise is recorded compared to 2000,
according to recent estimates published by the
European network of fair trade organizations. And,
indeed, the shelves hosting fair trade products are
on the rise in department stores.
As far as safety in the workplace is concerned, the
latest data released by the International Labour
Organization (ILO) report 250 million accidents;
of these, 335 thousand were fatal. Moreover, 160
million cases of occupational diseases are recorded,
for a total of 1.1 million deaths per year related to
the workplace (2006 data).
In Italy, the latest report published by the National
Institute for Insurance against Industrial Accidents
(INAIL), May 2006, declares that 939 thousand
accidents occurred in the workplace in 2005; of
these, 1,195 were fatal.
But, workers also express more subtle forms of
unease in the workplace; those that affect their
person. Testimony to this is, for instance, the latest
report of the Observatory on the organizational
well-being of CISL (Italian Confederation of Free
Trade Unions): in Europe, 28 percent of workers
suffer from stress, and the consumption of antianxiety and mood altering drugs has doubled over
the last five years.
Mobbing, which translates into forms of
psychological persecution in the workplace, is also
a growing phenomenon.
Another plague affecting the business world is
represented by the exploitation of child labour.
According to researches presented by the National
Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) and the Ministry
of Labour on the occasion of the First World
Day Against Child Labour, nearly 144 thousand
An ethical economy for a fair world
Fabrica Ethica
children in the age bracket between 7 and 14 years
are working; of these, 31 thousand can literally be
defined as exploited.
From a survey carried out in 2004 by the Institute
of Economic and Social Research (IRES) of the
CGIL Trade Union, it emerges that 400 thousand
children of 14 years of age are exploited in the
workplace. These are the children of immigrants
and of nearly 30-35 thousand illegal aliens.
Of these, nearly 70 thousand work four consecutive
hours per day, while 40 thousand spend more than
eight hours in the workplace rather than devoting
themselves to study or leisure activities.
On a worldwide scale, the ILO, in its report entitled
“A Future Without Child Labour”, speaks of 246
million children in the age bracket between 5 and
17 years of age that are forced to work; of these,
179 million carry out tasks that are hazardous for
their physical, moral and psychological health.
Nearly 111 million children are obliged to execute
dangerous work; 59 million teenagers in the age
bracket between 15 and 17 years of age urgently
need protection, and 8.4 million are subject to
slavery, forced labour and prostitution.
These are just some of the most tragic examples
that demonstrate how today’s new raised awareness
has created a real demand for ‘ethics’ coming from
several stakeholders and that inevitably engenders
its own market and tailored instruments.
This is the framework for an increasingly common
issue, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR),
developed originally in the Anglo-Saxon world.
It is not easy to give a universally recognized
definition of Corporate Social Responsibility.
The Green Paper published by the European
Commission in 2001, which has officially
opened the debate on this issue, defines it as “a
concept whereby companies integrate social and
environmental concerns in their business operations
and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a
voluntary basis”.
CSR benefits
Stakeholders are those actors who have an interest
in production activities and who have an effect
on a company’s strategic and operational choices.
Stakeholders can be identified inside an enterprise
(for instance, owners, managing staff and workers),
or outside an enterprise (for instance, trade
unions, suppliers, local communities, mass media,
universities, public opinion, the State).
Corporate social responsibility undoubtedly
implies an advantage for consumers and workers;
but, it certainly also represents an added value for
a company in terms of visibility and reputation,
as well as of greater managing efficiency and
internal cohesion. Social and environmental
implications of the actions undertaken by a
company have a remarkable impact on the life
of individuals and the entire community: it is
in a company’s interest to fully demonstrate its
fair behaviour and firm belief in dialogue, which
improves business climate and leads to greater
involvement of workers toward the achievement
of the company’s goals, beside strengthening
external relations and social image.
The apparent increase in costs that corporate social
responsibility may imply for a company is therefore
massively offset by the positive aspects that favour
business growth.
That is why the European Commission, stemming
from the Green Paper, has worked so as to include
social responsibility among the basic elements of
the entrepreneurship culture, and has specified
that being socially responsible means “not only
fulfilling legal expectations, but going beyond
compliance and investing more into human
capital, the environment and relationships with
stakeholders”.
These are the so-called indicators of ‘ethical
behaviour’: likewise social accounting, ethical
codes and certification standards (from SA8000
standard up to integrated systems), these are the
instruments that enable a business to accede to the
virtuous circle of social responsibility and to share
it actively with the entire community.
For further information
www.fabricaethica.it/contatti.html
www.fabricaethica.it, section “theoretical
context”
An ethical economy for a fair world
THE ROLE
OF EUROPE
The concept of corporate social responsibility has
been recognized for several years as a key priority in EU policies, in compliance with the strategic
objective of becoming “the most competitive and
dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world,
capable of sustainable economic growth with more
and better jobs and greater social cohesion”, set by
the European Council in Lisbon in 2000, and reinforced one year later in Göteborg.
Similarly, corporate social responsibility falls perfectly within the strategy aimed at the pursuit of
quality development, which blends economic
growth, social progress and respect of the environment. “Sustainable development is development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.” (Brundtland Report, published
in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment
and Development). The first official EU document
is the Green Paper published in 2001, which defines social responsibility as “a concept whereby
companies integrate social and environmental
concerns in their business operations and in their
interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary
basis.” Moreover, the Green Paper pinpoints fields
of application of social responsibility: an ‘internal
dimension’ of the company, which includes management of human resources, safety and health
protection, adaptation to changes in business restructuring processes and management of environmental impact; and an ‘external dimension’, which
affects relationships established with local communities, set-up of trade partnerships, relationships
with suppliers and clients, respect of human rights
in the supply chain and a series of environmental
preoccupations at a worldwide level.
The Communication from the European Commission of July 2002 analyses the outcome of the consultation activity undertaken after the publication
of the Green Paper. The Tuscany Region is the only
Italian administrative body taking part in the work.
In the final instance, the Communication stresses
the need to integrate corporate social responsibility
in all European Union policies as mainstreaming,
Fabrica Ethica
and invites the various local and national public administrations to carry out actions in the field.
Soon after the Multistakeholder Forum is launched,
aimed to “increase the level of acquaintance with
corporate social responsibility and facilitate the dialogue between business community, trade unions,
civil society organizations”.
The Multistakeholder Forum is a place of debate
and dialogue among the various stakeholders involved in the process.
The issues tackled by the Multistakeholder Forum
are: to improve knowledge and exchange of best
practices; to identify the instruments for the divulgence of the culture of social responsibility among
small and medium-sized enterprises; to examine
diversities, convergences and transparency among
the various instruments; to further develop the
various aspects of CSR.
The report published by the European Forum in
June 2004 states some basic elements that should
be included in all of CSR instruments: from special
attention to be paid to the entire supply chain, to
the involvement of managing staff, clear and transparent information on social responsibility advantages, up to the inclusion of CSR in the company’s
core business.
The report further articulates some recommendations to the European Commission as regards the
need to increase the level of awareness and spread
the knowledge of social responsibility, also by
means of cognitive surveys; to increase competences of ‘catalyst’ actors, such as business consultants,
consumer associations, investors, trade unions, and
mass media. The document reminds local administrative bodies of their duty to ensure the preconditions for the development of social responsibility
and the success of enterprises that adopt social responsibility behaviours.
After the publication of the Multistakeholder Forum’s report, the European Commission releases
its conclusions in March 2006, following an ample
debate between the business world and other stakeholders (trade unions, NGOs and consumer associations in the first instance). The slogan adopted
by the Commission is “making Europe a pole of
excellence on corporate social responsibility”.
A unambiguous European strategy is not set,
whereby enterprises and the other stakeholders
that “have moved forward the development of CSR
in Europe and globally” are basically left with the
freedom of presenting their own initiatives.
The Communication from the Commission speaks
of a European alliance on corporate social responsibility, intended as a political process for new or
already existing initiatives, and not as a legal instrument to be signed by enterprises. Such an alliance
– as stated in the Communication – shall have “a
significant impact on the attitude of European enterprises to CSR and on their positive engagement
with social and environmental issues.
It should create new partnerships with, and new
opportunities for, stakeholders […] and is therefore a vehicle for mobilizing the resources and capacities of European enterprises and their stakeholders”.
For further information and for the complete
list of European documents
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/soc-dial/csr/
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/csr/index_en.htm
The role of europe
A MAP OF OPPORTUNITIES
FOR TUSCAN SMEs:
FUNDS ALLOCATED
FOR SA8000 CERTIFICATION
Tuscany Region provides funding to SMEs
up to 50% of costs related to SA8000 certification. Funding notices can be downloaded
from the web site www.fabricaethica.it; enter
the section ‘operational development’ and
then visit the page ‘Notices’.
After 2006, DOCUP (Single Programming
Document) will be replaced by POR (Regional Operational Program).
For information on new funding notices,
please contact
[email protected]
or [email protected].
Funding notices are available for:
• INDUSTRIAL SMEs
• HANDICRAFT ENTERPRISES
• SMEs WORKING IN THE TOURISM
SECTOR
• SMEs WITH FEMALE PARTICIPATION
• COMMERCIAL SMEs
Funds are available also to achieve other
management system standard certifications:
ISO9001, ISO14001 and EMAS regulation.
Integration of more management systems
(SA8000 + ISO9001 + ISO14001/EMAS +
OHSAS 18001) is encouraged by the assignment of higher scores.
10
Tuscany Region
FURTHERMORE:
Enterprises certified according to SA8000
standard are entitled to a 0.50% abatement
on IRAP (Regional Tax on Productive Businesses);
• Higher scores are assigned to enterprises
that possess SA8000 certification;
• Reductions on Italian government agency
for the insurance against work-related injuries - INAIL can be granted in case a company demonstrates improvements attained
on safety and healthcare on the workplace
• The Tuscan Regional Bilateral Body for
Handicrafts – EBRET - gives fundings to
enterprises to obtain certification up to a
maximum amount of Euro 5,164.00
(www.ebret.it)
• Local Chambers of Commerce provides
funds for social reports and
SA8000*
The list of Italian SA8000 certified are available on the internet site
www.fabricaethica.it
A map of opportunities for tuscan smes: funds allocated for sa8000 certification
11
THE TUSCAN
GLOBALIZATION
CHALLENGE
Constructing together with the Tuscan micro,
small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) a cultural path leading to the promotion of productions
that hinge on the respect of worker and consumer
dignity and the environment. This is the goal pursued by the Tuscan project on corporate social
responsibility launched in June 2000, whereby our
Region has been the first, both at European and
extra-European levels, to adopt incentives and economic aids to help SMEs proceed along this route.
One year later, when the European Union published the Green Paper “Promoting a European
framework for Corporate Social Responsibility”,
Tuscany witnessed the birth of the Fabrica Ethica
project, whose ultimate goal was to emphasize the
aspects of social responsibility that are intertwined
with respect of human rights, inclusive policies and
social cohesion. In March 2002, an international
symposium was held entitled “Fabrica Ethica,
Corporate Social Responsibility: SA8000”. On that
occasion, the Tuscany Region officially presented
its project for the first time. Three days devoted
to debate on theories, studies and international
scenarios, with the participation of all of the stakeholders involved in the process. For Tuscany, targeting corporate social responsibility means its direct participation in a general European process of
innovation, as established by the Lisbon European
Council in March 2000.
This process also passes through a certification of
businesses according to a standard recognized at
international level, which is aimed at harmonizing
profit and ethics to the final purpose of tracing products and services from a social point of view, namely
an audit of the respect of human rights throughout
all of the production and distribution phases, thus
involving the entire supply chain of a company.
SA8000 standard was chosen as an instrument to
be promoted and supported because of:
- its international application It derives by ILO conventions and UN declaration in human rights;
- its multistakeholder origin;
- it requires the involvement of supply chain (social
traceability);
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Fabrica Ethica
- it requires the management system approach;
- it is a not self-regulated instrument;
Furthermore SA8000 is an instrument that can be
achieved through integrated management systems
merged with quality and environment standards as
ISO 9001 and 14001 and EMAS regulation
In addition to public funds, Tuscan SA8000 certified firms are promoted in public workshops,
conventions, books and newspapers, and are mentioned in several public documents and national
and international awards.
They can rely on resulting rewards such as:
- stronger reputation;
- business bigger soundness;
- image spin-off, visibility improvement;
- sensible and sympathetic local mass-medias;
- recognizability of the enterprises and their products in local and external markets /social traceability;
- good relationship and dialogue public administration-enterprises-territories;
- good relationship with social security institutions;
- stronger sense of territorial membership/workers
retention
The first applications filed by Tuscan SMEs to
obtain social responsibility certification as per
SA8000 standard date back to 2002. Applications
were forwarded by companies operating in various production sectors: from public transport to
leading manufacturing enterprises, agro-food sector and bilateral bodies. The virtuous circle represented by social responsibility in Tuscany had then
set off and our Region became a reference for the
very many public and private realities that were approaching this type of responsibility in Italy. One
year later, in May 2003, the Regional Ethical Commission was established: the Commission is chaired
by the Minister of production activities of the Tuscan Regional Government, Mr. Ambrogio Brenna,
and is made up of 24 representatives from all regional stakeholders. The Commission was set up
for the purpose of monitoring the Tuscan economic system and promoting actions devised in com-
pliance with the various local economic realities. It
represents a milestone for the Tuscan route toward
the achievement of social corporate responsibility.
It is a forum for debate and the exchange of best
practices, where the various actors involved can
put forward critical aspects, ideas and solutions by
sharing their experiences, expertise and networks
of local, national and international relations. One
year after the introduction of the SA8000 certification, Tuscany was the region with the highest
number of certified companies, thus ranking Italy
as the first country in the world for the number of
released SA8000 certifications. A few months later,
in March 2004, the Tuscany Region was chosen by
the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights as one of
the Italian stages for the presentation of the proposal of resolution 2003/16 on corporate juridical
and social responsibility.
After the second international rendezvous of Fabrica Ethica, held in Florence in April 2004, the
Tuscany Region acceded to the National Multistakeholder Forum, set up by the Ministry for
Welfare, as a representative of the Conference of
Presidents of the Italian Regions, and to the UNI
Forum (Italian Organization for Standardization)
on social corporate responsibility. Concurrently,
in Tuscany, on the spur of the Regional Ethical
Commission, in July 2004 the first pilot project
on social corporate responsibility was launched
– Fabrica Ethica Laboratorio Filiera Pelle (FELAFIP) (Ethical Workshop for the Leather Industry) – to introduce integrated management systems
(social/environment/quality responsibility) to the
leather industry. Soon after, the Regional Ethical
Commission worked out measures on the issues
of microcredit, ethical finance and social responsibility. At the same time, the first training experiences were organized in high schools located in
leather industry districts to raise awareness on the
culture of social responsibility among the young,
who will themselves be the future citizens, workers
and consumers. These practices were also aimed at
acknowledging the value of the path undertaken by
the companies involved in the FELAFIP project.
Today, in Tuscany, social responsibility is not just
seen as a horizontal issue tackled by regional policies, but is recognized as a key founding element of
the economic development of a territory as per Article 4 of the new Regional Statute. Furthermore, a
specific Regional Law (n° 17 of 8 May, 2006) translated all of the experiences acquired over five years
by Fabrica Ethica together with the Regional Ethical Commission into legislation. All of the above
in a Region with 161 certified enterprises (encompassing industry, leatherwear, textile, transport,
services, building and agro-food sectors) out of a
total of 437 in Italy, and 1112 around the world
(data of December 2006). Today, Tuscany displays
40 percent of national certified companies.
For further information
“Tuscany Region”, issue of 10. October 2003,
“Certified responsibility”, available also
on the following web site
www.regione.toscana.it/pubblica/la_reg_tos/
The tuscan globalization challenge
13
A VERY SPECIAL
LEATHER
Six hundred and fifty enterprises operating in the
leather sector, two hundred and twenty enterprises
involved in the tannery sector, ten Provinces, fifty
Municipalities, over sixteen thousand direct stakeholders (workers, sub-contractors, suppliers, field
associations, trade unions) and indirect stakeholders (non-profit organizations, consumers, communication media), three departments from the
University of Florence, twenty thousand students
from high schools, and one million two hundred
and fifty thousand citizens. These are just some of
the figures that illustrate the pilot project entitled
“Filiera e territori per una qualità etica integrata
– Fabrica Ethica LAboratorio FIliera Pelle (FELAFIP)” (Industrial system and territory for inte14
Fabrica Ethica
grated ethical quality – Ethical Workshop for the
Leather Industry). The project was conceived by
the Tuscany Region and CER in partnership with
Centopercento Italiano and Assa consortia. The
project was devised to elaborate and divulge the
culture of social responsibility across leather and
tannery sectors.
The project hinges on a firm belief: the economic
development of a territory can and must stem from
a strong cohesion between its people, private businesses, political and institutional entities and trade
unions. In short, a virtuous relationship that targets the added value represented by quality, and
not just quantity, of productions. It is an important
step, from a cultural and economic point of view,
which no longer identifies the well-being of a community with its productive capacity, but with a new
form of competitiveness based on social traceability and reduced impact on the environment.
The leather sector undoubtedly plays a key role in
Tuscan economy and Felafip was conceived to give
new qualification to enterprises by means of an integrated certification that covers the entire production system, according to SA8000, ISO9001 and
ISO14001 standards, relating to social responsibility, quality and environment, respectively.
The project develops in four fundamental stages:
information delivered to businesses and stakeholders in order to gather the highest possible number
of adhesions to the project; awareness-raising campaigns carried out for entrepreneurs who show an
interest toward the initiative; training addressed to
employees, managers in charge of quality control,
and worker representatives; communication actions to the external world.
Fabrica Ethica has already undertaken training
activities in the framework of the project, which
were addressed to URP and SUAP desks (one-stop
desks for production activities) and to press agents
working for local public bodies. To the purpose
of strengthening the relationship between private
enterprises working in the leather sector and the
surrounding territory, the Tuscany Region has organized training courses and seminars throughout
the school year 2005/06 addressed to high school
students in order to spread the culture of social responsibility among the young. To date, nearly 30
schools (from the Provinces of Arezzo, Florence,
Grosseto and Pisa) have adhered to the initiative,
with the involvement of 60 professors.
The greatest success was scored by classes held by
field experts, visits to and stages at certified companies, analysis of documents relating to social
responsibility, and meetings with socially responsible entrepreneurs. On the occasion of the third
edition of “Terra Futura 2006” (Future Land),
300 students from Tuscan high schools adhering
to the project visited the exhibition and were given
the possibility to single out the stand that, in their
opinion, was most representative of the relevant
issue for the products exhibited. Felafip’s next
rendezvous will touch base in Pontassieve and will
see encounters between the Tuscany Region, private businesses and local public bodies adhering
to the project. In the meantime the project was acknowledged as ‘good practice’ by ILO*, the General Directorate for Enterprise and Industry of the
European Commission, and the ETUC:TCL**.
Many invitations were extended to, and accepted
by, national and international delegations that
want to learn more about the actions and the players involved in FELAFIP.
For further information
www.fabricaethica.it,
section “political project”, pages “news”
*Project on sustainable
development through Global Compact
** European Trade Unions Federation Textile
Clothes Leather
A very special leather
15
CREDIT AGAINST
TRUST
Its name is “Tuscan Oriented and Assisted Microcredit System – S.M.O.A.T.” and it was launched
in 2005 by the Tuscan regional government. Its
goal is to facilitate access to finance for ‘non bankable’ subjects, namely those people who cannot offer real guarantees to obtain loans for the purpose
of starting up a business.
In short, a project that saw the constitution of a
working group gathering ethical commissioners,
representatives of universities, banks, financial institutes and members from the tertiary sector, who
sat at the same table to discuss the question of focusing regional policies on private citizens who are
unable to access financing despite a valid entrepreneurial project.
Over the last few years, thanks to conventions
entered into with several banks, the Tuscany Region launched similar initiatives, aimed at financing entrepreneurial projects presented by women
and young people. Overall, from 2002 up to the
present, 752 projects were financed for a total of
over €25 million Euro. If in the past micro-credit
was seen as an instrument tailored mainly for developing countries, in the last few years its role has
increased in importance to favour local development, social inclusion and to strengthen the spirit
of citizenship.
The Tuscan initiative aimed at establishing
SMOAT programme is inspired to the Grameen
Bank, founded by Muhammad Yunus, Nobel prize
for Peace in 2006.
It was launched concurrently with the UN declaration of the year 2005 as the International Year
of Microcredit, acknowledged as one of the most
important instruments in achieving the Millennium
Development Goal, namely the abatement of poverty by the year 2015.
In mid-April 2006, the Tuscany Region renewed
its Memorandum of Understanding with Tuscan
banks for the development of investments of Small
and Medium-sized Enterprises. The Memorandum
of Understanding provides for a guarantee and coguarantee fund to finance up to 80% of micro and
small-sized business investments: this is the ‘rib’
16
Fabrica Ethica
dedicated to microcredit, which make available a
maximum amount of €15,000 Euro for a duration
between 36 and 60 months.
SMOAT is active thanks to the collaboration of
Fiditoscana SPA, the private institution, participated by Tuscany Region, that provides public and
private warranties to Tuscan enterprises.
For further information
www.fabricaethica.it
[email protected]
REGIONAL
LAW N° 17/2006
It is a brand new law, passed in May 2006, and
concerns corporate social responsibility. It is Regional Law n° 17: the fruit of the experience and
expertise acquired over five years by the Tuscany
Region, the first region in Italy to introduce a specific legislation that disciplines this issue.
The fundamental element of the law is the voluntary adhesion to international standards: Tuscan
enterprises that corroborate by adopting the criteria of corporate social responsibility, by means of
international instruments, will be granted financial
aid and specific actions beginning with the next
Regional Development Plan. While waiting for an
unambiguous direction to be indicated by the European Union on the instruments to be supported,
Tuscany has underlined, by passing a Law, that
the implementation of social responsibility practices leads to continued improvement both within
the company (in managing the working staff) and
outside the company (in managing relations with
its stakeholders), because it leads and consolidates
social cohesion with its surrounding territory.
The text of the law hinges on the concept of product and service social traceability (art. 1), intended
both as the possibility to detect and verify the respect of human, social and economic rights, in its
broader meaning, as recognized by international,
European and national rules, throughout the production and supply chain; and, as an element of
innovation and competitiveness for the Tuscan
economic system. According to the law (art. 2),
the Region is entrusted with the task of promoting
seminars and conferences addressed to entrepreneurs, consumers, workers and schools, as well as
the launching of advertising campaigns in order
to divulge the culture of social responsibility and
relevant instruments.
Furthermore (art. 3), the Tuscany Region shall
support ‘ethical’ enterprises and, in the framework of policies and actions devised for small and
medium-sized enterprise, shall provide for financial aid that will urge those enterprises toward
the adoption of certifiable corporate management
systems (relating to quality control, environmental
protection, social responsibility and safety in the
workplace, and their integrated forms) and of social accounting models compliant with recognized
international and national standards in accordance
with regional guidelines. The Regional Economic
Development Plan shall then concretely define the
interventions to be carried out, such as rewards
and tax reductions. The Law also disciplines the
composition and the functioning mode of the Regional Ethical Commission (art. 6) that sees the
participation of, among others, representatives
from Unioncamere (Chambers of Commerce Union), the NPO sector, trade unions and business
associations, banks, Tuscan universities, Local
Authorities. The Commission is not only entitled
to formulate opinions and proposals to be submitted to the Regional Government to the purpose
of spreading and encouraging corporate social responsibility practices, but also to analyse the Tuscan business world through studies and surveys,
to monitor the introduction of certifiable management tools, and work for the sake of transparency
and quality in the process implementation.
For further information
www.fabricaethica.it
[email protected]
Regional Law n° 17 of 2006,
“Provisions on the issue of corporate social responsibility”
Published on the 12th of May, 2006
Art. 1- principles and aims
- CSR as an instrument to promote a development base on
non-discrimination, equal opportunities, social cohesion,
social inclusion
- CSR as a process made by a continuous improvement
- Social Traceability as fundamental part of CSR
- CSR as a multistakeholder involvement
- CSR to be promoted at local, national and international level
Art. 2 - Information, training and communication initiatives
Art. 3 - Public grants to enterprises
Art. 4 - definition of enterprises able to receive public grants
Art. 5 - CSR initiatives planning
Art. 6 - Regional Ethical Commission. Composition and roles.
Art. 7 - Financial planning
Regional law n° 17/2006
17
AN INCREASINGLY
CERTIFIED WORLD
Instruments helping enterprises to design and implement a proper management of their corporate
social responsibility are spreading at an increasing
rate in response to the need for adequate solutions
to the demand for quality lifestyle and social fairness, in an economic framework that has rapidly
expanded toward ever greater globalization levels.
Beside SA8000 certification, enterprises can avail
themselves of other instruments, as (the future)
ISO standard, AccountAbility 1000 (AA1000),
social reports and ethical codes.
Here a short presentation some of them.
Social Accountability 8000 - SA 8000
SA 8000 certification foresees full observance of
the following eight ethical parameters:
1. Child labour: The company shall not engage in
or support the use of child labour (any person
less than 15 years of age, unless local minimum
age law stipulates a higher age for work or mandatory schooling, in which case the higher age
would apply. In some cases, minimum age is set
at 14 years).
2. Forced labour: All work or service that is extracted from any person under the threat of any
penalty for which said person has not offered
himself/herself voluntarily, and/or all work or
service demanded as a means of repayment of a
debt. A company shall not engage in or support
the use of forced labour, nor shall personnel be
required to lodge ‘deposits’ or ID papers upon
commencing employment with the company.
3. Health and safety in the workplace: Bearing
in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry and of any specific hazards, the company shall provide a safe and healthy working
environment and shall take adequate steps to
prevent accidents and injuries to health arising out of, associated with or occurring in
the course of work, by minimizing, so far as
is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.
The company shall appoint a management representative, responsible for the health and safety
18
Fabrica Ethica
of all personnel, and accountable for the implementation of the health and safety elements of
this standard.
4. Freedom of association and right to collective
bargaining: The company shall respect the right
of all personnel to form and join trade unions of
their choice and to bargain collectively.
5. Discrimination: The company shall not engage
in or support discrimination, from hiring to retirement, based on caste, race, national origin,
gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, union or political affiliation.
6. Disciplinary proceedings: The company shall
not engage in or support the use of corporal
punishment, mental or physical coercion or verbal abuse.
7. Working hours: No more than 48 hours per
week with at least one day off for every sevenday period
8. Remuneration: The company shall honour
agreed wage levels and shall ensure that undeclared employment and false apprenticeship are
not undertaken.
9. Corporate management systems: Top management shall define the company’s policy for
social accountability and labour conditions to
ensure the overall engagement of the certified
organisation toward continued improvement.
All of the aforementioned requisites derive from
ILO (International Labour Office) and UN
Conventions. The SA8000 standard was formulated by SAI (Social Accountability International
– www.sa-intl.org), whose advisory committee is
made up of representatives from trade unions,
private companies, non-profit organizations and
international bodies. Among its tasks, the advisory committee is called to review and update
the standard every five years. SAI also accredits
external certification bodies.
The Tuscany Region allocates funds covering up
to 50 percent of consultation and certification
costs to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises that
opt for SA8000 certification.
Financing is made accessible pursuant to the
measures provided for in the 2000-2006 structural
funds programme and in regional funds.
Funds will be available also in the next structural
funds programm.
How can certification be obtained?
The first step of this process foresees that the company declares full compliance with national and
regional laws by completing specific forms that
are available at certification bodies accredited by
SAI. The company shall commit itself to begin the
certification process and declare its willingness
to accept a first inspection (the so-called audit)
within one year. This way, the company will be
entitled to the status of ‘applicant’. It is a sign of
strong commitment on behalf of the company not
only toward its own employees, but also toward
its clients and suppliers, who shall in turn comply
with the certification requirements if they want to
remain official clients and suppliers, respectively,
of said company. A win-win process is thus engendered, where respect is guaranteed both for employee rights and the rights of the society where
the company and its suppliers operate.
Therefore, this first phase foresees an official commitment on behalf of the company to re-organize its structure in order to comply with required
standards. A member of the company staff will be
in charge of managing the SA8000 certification
procedure. This is a pre-assessment phase, when
the company can also rely on an external expert
who can possibly request training courses addressed to members of staff and management.
The status of applicant is not compulsory, in the
sense that a company can begin the process toward certification on its own and request directly
an audit after thorough preparation (via the aid of
internal experts or external consultants).
An increasingly certified world
19
If necessary, the status of applicant can be renewed
up to an overall term of two years. The company
can likewise agree with the certification body to
arrange an intermediate inspection (the so-called
pre-audit) that will take place prior to the final
audit, in order to monitor the up-to-date situation and decide what measures need to be taken in
order to meet the ultimate goal, namely full compliance with requirements fixed to obtain certification. When the company is ready to tackle the
final audit, it shall contact the certification body to
agree terms and modes of the second inspection.
During this phase, the team in charge of the certification procedure will have free access to company internal documents and will be entitled to hold
individual encounters with the various members of
staff and local stakeholders (e.g. associations, trade
unions, local authorities, etc.) so as to collect all elements that it shall then convey to the certification
body. The latter shall, in the final instance, express
the ultimate decision. A certified company shall be
equipped with an appropriate management system,
which shall foresee, among others, a specific supplier and sub-contractor book. The company shall appoint a management representative who, irrespective of other responsibilities, shall ensure that the
requirements of this standard are met. Moreover, a
worker representative will be appointed, who shall
deal with the company. Certification shall remain
valid for a period of three years. For the entire period, external audits shall take place very six months.
For further information
www.sa-intl.org www.fabricaethica.it
20
Fabrica Ethica
ISO standards
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is a network encompassing national standardization institutes from 148 countries. It is made up
of 148 members (one from each adhering country)
and a central secretariat based in Switzerland in
charge of the system coordination.
ISO is a non-governmental organization whose
members are not delegated by their respective governments, although many of its member institutes
are sometimes part of governmental structures.
Other members work primarily in the private
sector and stem from partnerships of industrial
groups. In this framework, ISO allows for the pinpointing of solutions and instruments that fine tune
the requirements of the entrepreneurial world with
those of national governments and of other stakeholders, such as consumers, who are involved in
drafting the relevant standards. ISO was officially
established in 1947.
ISO standards are the fruit of thorough study and
consultation activities entrusted to working groups,
where experts and representatives of the business
world collaborate to define basic concepts and operational modes. The Italian standardization body
is the Italian National Harmonization Institute
(UNI), therefore in Italy certification is indicated
by the acronym UNI EN ISO.
The most popular ISO standards concern QUALITY (ISO9000) and ENVIRONMENT (ISO14000),
which apply to any private or public entity whatsoever and define organization and management
criteria that are required to obtain a quality and
environmental certification, respectively.
In 2005, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) decided to develop its own standard of social responsibility.
The relevant document will be published by 2009
under the title of ISO26000. Unlike other ISO
standards, this document will provide guidelines: it
will not contain requirements and will thus not be
a certification standard. ISO26000 will provide all
types of organizations – and not just private businesses – with harmonized, internationally agreed
guidance that blends voluntary commitment to social responsibility with the need to share common
concepts, methods and definitions.
The guidance standard goals include: assistance to
organizations in fulfilling social responsibility in
full respect of cultural, social, environmental and
economic differences; drafting of practical guidelines to implement social responsibility, to identify
and actively involve stakeholders, to strengthen accountability reliability; increased trust on behalf of
consumers and other stakeholders. Concurrently,
the guidance standard will be linked to existing international documents (e.g. conventions and treaties), other ISO standards and already available
instruments on social responsibility. It will not affect the authority of governments in addressing the
liability of an organization.
The drafting activity of ISO26000 see the participation of representatives from national governments, employee and consumer associations, enterprises, NGOs, universities and research centres
from 64 countries. The ISO Working Group on
Social Responsibility also encompasses 32 international bodies, among which several United Nations
agencies, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European
Commission and SAI. A significant increase in the
number of participating developing countries was
witnessed, for which many of the issues tied with
social responsibility are fundamental. The Italian
delegation, designated by UNI, is made up of:
CGIL (trade unions – workers stakeholder), ABI
(Italian Bank Association – Industry stakeholder),
INAIL (National Institute for Social Assurance)
and Regione Toscana (government stakeholder),
ACU - Consumers’ Associations, National Union
of Chamber of Commerce.
For further information
www.iso.org/sr www.uni.com
Social Report
Social report represents the most appropriate instrument to give visibility to the demand and need
for information and transparency expressed by
one’s target market. Social report is defined as a
“model of accounting on the quantity and quality
of relationships established between the enterprise
and community stakeholders, which aims at outlining a homogeneous, precise, thorough and transparent picture of the complex interdependence
between economic and socio-political factors that
stem from the choices operated by an enterprise”.
In other words, it is an instrument aimed at monitoring, accounting and reporting on a socially responsible management implemented by an enterprise. Social reports can be drawn up internally
by the company according to commonly agreed
standards and Guidelines such as GRI (global
reporting initiative), or, in Italy, by the Gruppo
Bilancio Sociale (Social Report Working Group),
analogously to financial reports applied to enterprises listed at the stock exchange. It constitutes
an independent document, that is separate from financial accounts, to which it is nonetheless related
as the latter provides some of its economically relevant information.
Social report is addressed to all stakeholders that
have an interest in the enterprise, with whom it can
be shared to the purpose of verifying the grade of
achievement of the set objectives and, possibly, the
definition of new objectives.
Timeliness is crucial in social reports: they are generally drawn up at the end of each financial year,
after drafting the closing balance sheet. Social report is actually to be seen as an integration of the
closing balance sheet on the level of information
and is public as it is addressed to all stakeholders
involved in the company.
Social report is generally divided into three sections: (i) the company profile, containing information on the company’s structure, its reference
values, mission, strategies and internal policies;
(ii) production and allocation of added value
(added value should be calculated in order to
relate social accounts data to financial accounts;
in fact, financial accounts data are ‘reclassified’
so as to highlight production and allocation of
added value among stakeholders); (iii) a social report that, unlike the added value related section,
highlights qualitative aspects of company activity
and compares achieved results with prefixed objectives with an analysis on effects produced on
individual stakeholders.
For further information
www.bilanciosociale.it/gbs.html
www.gruppobilanciosociale.org/index.php
www.globalreporting.org
Ethical Code (code of conduct)
An increasingly certified world
21
Ethical Code (code of conduct
Ethical code is strictly connected with social accountability. It can also be defined as the company’s
‘Constitutional Chart’: a chart stating rights and duties, which defines ethical and social responsibility
of each individual taking part in corporate management. Ethical codes allow to go beyond the legislator’s action framework and provide for sanctions in
the case of ‘ethically illicit’ behaviour notwithstanding penal responsibility.
Therefore, they introduce a clear and explicit
definition of ethical and social responsibilities for
all members of corporate staff, from employers to
managers, down to employees, and even contractors and suppliers.
The ethical code structure may vary from company
to company, but it generally contains the following basic elements: overall ethical principles that
touch upon the corporate mission and the fairest
ways to achieve it; rules that govern relationships
between the enterprise and its stakeholders (for
instance, the prohibition of employees accepting
gifts from suppliers, or the need for equal opportunity for advancement for all employees within the
company, etc.); behaviour ethical standards (from
the principle of moral legitimacy to protection of
the individual, healthcare, transparency, fairness,
environmental protection); internal sanctions in the
case of ethical code violations; instruments required
to implement the ethical code, including the set-up
of an ethical committee that carries out a monitoring activity, thus guaranteeing full respect of the
principles contained in the code itself.
The ethical committee often sees the participation
of external experts.
For further information on all the aforementioned topics:
www.fabricaethica.it
SA8000 CERTIFICATION: STATISTICS
In Italy there are 437 SA8000 certified firms, the big part of them are in Tuscany: 161, that is the 35% of
the total amount.
Tuscan certified firms are the 14% of the world certified facilites. (SAI statistics, 30/06/2006)
SA8000 certification in Europe
Romania
1%
Portugal
1%
UK
1%
Poland
1%
Slovenia
0%
Czech.rep
0%
Swiss
1%
Spain
3%
Turkey
1%
Belgium
1%
Finland
0%
France
2%
Greece
1%
Netherlands
0%
22
Fabrica Ethica
ITALY
87%
SA8000 in the world
Central America
1%
Africa
1%
North America
0%
South America
10%
Europe
46%
Asia
42%
SA800 in Tuscany and the rest of the world
Tuscany
14%
rest of the
world
86%
An increasingly certified world
23
A WORD FROM
THE ENTERPRISE
Corporate Social Responsibility. Dott. Andrea Pini, in
charge of quality and environmental management systems and social responsibility of Rosss, a business operating in the field of industrial metal shelving, storage
systems, warehouses, platforms and mobile modules,
based in Scarperia (Province of Florence), was asked to
illustrate his experience with certification procedures
and to express an assessment.
When we talk of our experience as a certified company, we like to be provocative and usually ask other
businessmen: “In your opinion, does certification represent an expense or an benefit?” We can undoubtedly show them that certification, if seriously managed,
is not just an expense, but an economic advantage.
And we can go as far as to state that it is also not just
a mere economic advantage, because it affects many
aspects that can hardly be assessed for their monetary
value, such as a strengthened corporate culture, compliance with legislation, and a strong, positive image
feedback.
The decision taken by Rosss to obtain SA8000 certification did not stem from a casual episode; on the
contrary, it was the fruit of long thought and a strong
commitment on the part of the corporate management. In 1994, Rosss decided to obtain the ISO9001
certification – at that time only a few hundred companies were certified and it was difficult to obtain reliable consultation services on behalf of experts. We
therefore waited for the system to take root before
embarking on further certification procedures.
In 2002 we obtained ISO14001 environmental certification; in 2004, it was the turn of Emas environmental
registration; and, still in 2004, the SA8000 certification. So, the path undertaken in 1994 was ideally completed ten years later, with the release of the SA8000
certification. We have ‘certified’ our working system
under every single aspect, bearing in mind a global
concept of quality: product quality, respect for the environment, labor, lifestyle.
Can we pinpoint a flaw in ethical certification? Maybe
an extremely rigid request to involve suppliers and
contractors: it’s easier to request the participation of
smaller companies, but when it comes to larger inter24
Fabrica Ethica
national groups, the only viable instrument is to carry
out a continuous awareness-raising activity that will
only produce results in the long term.
If we were called upon to give suggestions to public administration bodies to encourage enterprises to obtain
a certification, we could suggest, for instance, using the
companies that have already obtained a certification as
examples and using them as models. Moreover, financial aid should not only be allocated to companies to
cover the costs of obtaining the certification, but also
to maintain the status of a ‘certified company’. Beside
financial aid, the status of a ‘certified company’ should
also be rewarded in the form of extra scores in tenders
for public contracts: should the contracting company
fail to maintain its status of a ‘certified company’, the
contract should be revoked; not to mention the need
for the simplification and reduction of procedures. In
the final instance, it is important, if we want to spread
the culture of ‘quality lifestyle’ throughout our society,
that we start introducing these ideas at an early stage,
that is to our students. These issues should be tackled
in schools so that a basic concept will be commonly
shared: man lies at the very heart of economic and social development. www.rosss.it
A WORD FROM
THE SCHOOL
Ethics and profit, intelligent consumption, environmental protection: young people can also get
involved in all of these through their school. We
have asked Mrs. Santa Di Lallo, business economy
teacher in Lucca, to talk about the relationship between school and corporate social responsibility.
The need to kindle reflection on topics such as the
relationship that exists between ethics and profit,
or on intelligent consumption and respect for the
environment, is stronger than ever in schools. And
this need is felt to a higher degree in a Technical Institute aimed at the formation of future accountants and where the study of revenue-oriented enterprises touches many other technical and
professional disciplines. In this framework the
school plays a fundamental role in the decision on
whether to train competitive or solidarity-oriented
individuals, or to train thinking people or operators, on whether to train professionals with independent attitudes or those able to find new recipes
to use in the world in which they live.
Because this is a field where intervention requires
extreme caution and sensitivity, a step-by-step
process needs to be planned. Students’ reflection
is required on the meaning of corporate social responsibility, on the processes that can be ignited
to improve the quality of work.
Likewise, it is fair to discuss with our students
whether decisions driven solely by control and
cost rationalization, or profit and assets maximization, produce socially sustainable impacts or not.
From this point of view, it is logical to tackle the
reasons that spur a company on to adopt certification systems, because instruments such as SA8000
are points of departure and not of arrival.
On the other hand, students will play different
roles in our future society: some of them will be
employees and some of them will be employers, all
of them will be - and already are undoubtedly to
excess - consumers; they will live their day-to-day
life. Therefore, it is not trivial that we teach them
to acquire a greater awareness of the importance
of following and implementing good practices,
in order to face daily choices in a more responsible manner and to approach an external reality
in the most appropriate manner. Large numbers
of economists, sociologists and other experts are
producing works that deal with kindling far-reaching reflections on the necessity “of dismantling the
myth of continuous growth, to define new parameters for economic and productive activities, to
lay down the foundations for a different culture, a
different knowledge and a different know-how, to
experiment with new types of relationships with
the external world”.
These issues have gradually worked their way into
my didactic courses, along with visits to companies
that have obtained certifications. In this framework, we had our first contact with Fabrica Ethica
in 2004, which led to the participation of two of our
classes at the latest edition of Terra Futura (Future
Land), which allowed our students to discover, for
instance, that experiences not driven solely by profit are taking place in the sector of cacao production
and marketing. We watched our youngsters rediscover having fun with games that are totally different from the ones they are used to.
Other students, on a visit to a paper mill, observed
the various working phases and were offered food
for thought on safety measures and certifications.
A word from the school
25
INSIDE
UNIVERSITY
HALLS
By its own nature, one that embraces philosophy
as well as economy, sociology and law, Corporate
Social Responsibility is becoming more and more
relevant in universities. In particular, the cooperation between the Tuscany Region and the academic
world translated, on the one hand, into deeper and
more attentive research and, on the other, into
training courses.
The Luiss University (the Guido Carli International Social Sciences University) in Rome has been entrusted with the task of leading a research study on
“Justice and Development – Corporate Social Responsibility: Off-Shore Work and Human Rights”,
which will soon be published and that tackles the
issue of globalization and business internationalisation from a philosophical point of view. Particular
focus is dedicated to Romania, a symbol country
for Italy as far as the phenomenon of off-shore
work is concerned. The study analyses this process
and offers interesting food for thought on how this
phenomenon can be appropriately governed and
addressed so as to achieve real respect for fundamental human rights and wider spread well-being.
The need to train professionals on the topic of
corporate social responsibility who can adequately
26
Fabrica Ethica
back up private companies and public organizations in implementing the instruments and paths to
be taken represents the starting point for a collaboration with the Department of Business Sciences in
the Faculty of Economy at the University of Florence. A post-doctoral program has been fine tuned
for the Academic Year 2006/2007 on the topic of
“Corporate Social Responsibility”, where regulations in force, best practices and key principles
will be taught to all those who wish to work in the
Third Millennium entrepreneurial world. The program – which foresees 90 hours of study divided in
theoretical lessons, practical experiences and focus
groups – will be implemented thanks to the operational and financial contribution of the Ministry for
Productive Activities of the Tuscany Region.
The program is addressed to students with a university degree of first level in any discipline and will
take place between November 2006 and May 2007
at the District of Social Sciences of the University
of Florence. Applications can be filed beginning in
September 2006.
For further information please contact
[email protected]
The web site www.fabricaethica.it, launched in
2002 and devoted to corporate social responsibility, has now reached the threshold of one million
visitors per year. The site is divided into three interrelated sections, which help satisfy the demand
expressed by entrepreneurs, field operators and
public administrators. The first section – ‘political
project’ – illustrates Fabrica Ethica’s objectives,
protagonists and strategies, and, more precisely:
a presentation of the initiative, the chronology
of the events organised in Tuscany and across
Europe, and the page released by the Regional
Ethical Commission. Here, visitors will also find
a page devoted to good practices, with news (national and international rendezvous, news, funding notices, opportunities), actions undertaken by
the Tuscany Region and other Italian regions.
Among the services offered, the news archive
features the ‘CSR Brain Box’ project: a database
containing the names of experts in the field of corporate social responsibility who will offer consultation to businesses and organizations that want to
arrange stages or set up collaborations.
The section entitled ‘theoretical context’ leaves
room for debate and insights on social responsibility: from a bibliography – where visitors will
find a list of Italian and foreign publications on
corporate social responsibility – to the agenda of
Fabrica Ethica’s meetings, a list of sites of interest
divided by topic, a constantly updated glossary,
up to a discussion forum with interventions and
I will be the world workshop
That’s the title chosen for the Fabrica Ethica project spot,
featured in many exhibitions and events organized in the
framework of social responsibility and by public administration bodies. The video is currently shown on the web sites
of some Municipalities, private Tuscan businesses and associations and on the “Roma Responsabile” site. An instrument that conveys immediate communication to all citizens
through images, whether they wear the jacket of employers,
employees or consumers, and that ignites reflection on the
issue of ethical development. It reminds us that even a simple purchase may contribute toward building a productive
system where human needs are paid due attention.
proposals coming mainly from the civil society,
which will be on line in the next few months.
Finally, the section devoted to ‘operational development’ provides for all practical information on
how to obtain a certification. Not only information on regional notices to obtain the SA8000 certification, or on regional, national and European
documents, on training actions and certification
bodies; but also a list of Italian companies that
were certified as per SA8000 standard, and a series
of surveys and researches carried out on all that
pivots around the relevant issues (such as critical
consumption, human rights, environment, assessment of existing instruments).
Besides the web site, communication about ongoing activities is made possible through a ‘tutoring
service’, which can be contacted at [email protected]. This service was launched
primarily to give information on public funding
notices to obtain SA8000 certification, and is now
a benchmark for companies in search of information on financial aid, such as funding notices, tax
reductions, procedures to be followed in order
to obtain the certification, dispatch of social reports, ethical codes and certifications. Since it was
launched, over 2,000 users (mainly private companies) have turned to this service.
For further information
www.fabricaethica.it
“As long as my hands
my eyes
my thoughts
are my instruments
I will build
I will be the workshop of the world
where there is no discrimination
where children are not exploited
where freedom is not suppressed
where human rights are not denied
we can create it from within ourselves
and let it grow out into the world”.
www.fabricaethicaethica.it
homepage
Fabricaethica
27
FABRICA ETHICA
CHRONOLOGY
JUNE 2000 – The Tuscany Region, grappling with
the ‘refining’ of the Programming of the funds allocated by the European Regional Development
Fund (FESR),– carried out a survey on the instruments and plans of action to be promoted in order
to strengthen and enhance the quality of its territories, starting from the basic principle that ‘development’, rather than ‘growth’, should be underpinned
by inclusive policies and social cohesion.
In particular, the Tuscan production system is
characterized by the presence of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) representing 97.8%
of the Tuscan entrepreneurial tissue. The reality is
a plethora of micro-enterprises (with an average of
4 employees) that have a strongly predominant role
in this scenario.
On an international scale, the topic of corporate
social responsibility had already been tackled, but
the whole issue was developed and implemented
through philanthropic actions or codes of conduct.
Many multinationals were adopting these instruments in response to the growing ‘army of aware
consumers’ and their ability to organise boycott
campaigns at international levels against products
marketed by companies that denied labour rights
and that were mostly destined for developing
countries. The credibility and reputation of Tuscan
enterprises was therefore to be safeguarded and
recognised. In this framework, the history of productive territories could contribute to a positive
experience of social cohesion and inclusion, where
tradition goes hand in hand with product and
process innovation. Market globalization therefore
offered the opportunity to affirm that competitiveness is not wild dumping, but rather a constructive challenge that should focus on the well-being
of the social components of a production process,
namely the workers themselves.
Reflections on this issue led to the identification of
the only existing international standard – known
under the acronym of SA8000 (Social Accountability) – which constitutes the first certification
of social (ethical) responsibility released by independent agencies. Unlike codes of conduct, which
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Fabrica Ethica
continue to grow excessively, the SA8000 is not the
fruit of a self-certification, but is released by an accredited external body.
The Tuscany Region, through the actions promoted by its regional ministry in charge of industry,
SMEs, innovation, promotion and internationalisation of the Tuscan production system, directed
by Ambrogio Brenna, identified several financial
instruments to divulge the SA8000 certification,
amounting to a total of 27,000,000 Euro to be
available until 2006.
Furthermore, a series of financing instruments were
devised to give support to companies applying for
certification, notably via aid for consultation services, certification costs, and expenses incurred for
corporate innovation. The incentive runs on free
grant aid for small and medium-sized enterprises
with a percentage of 40 to 50%.
Small and medium-sized enterprises located in areas that do not fall into Objective 2 – notably the
remainder of the Tuscan territory – have been allocated a specific financing totaling 4,000,000 Euro.
The strongly innovative action underpinning regional policies led to an e-mail tutoring service,
which are made available to all enterprises and
individuals that have an interest in the CSR issue
([email protected]).
JULY 2001 – European Commission published the
Green Paper “Promoting a European Framework
for Corporate Social Responsibility”, and opened
the debate on this specific issue.
DECEMBER 2001 – The Tuscany
Region sent its comment to the Green
Paper focusing on the added value that
an ethical behaviour can represent for
a SME. In substance, CSR is not just a
question of environmental responsibility, but the entire concept of CSR must
hinge on the respect of rights, inclusive policies and social cohesion. This
would give way to competitive, and at
the same time ethical. The Tuscany Region emphasised the policy undertaken
for European enterprises that better
implements the statement expressed in
Lisbon strategy: “to become the most
competitive and dynamic knowledgebased economy in the world, capable
of sustainable economic growth with
more and better jobs and greater social
cohesion”.
FEBRUARY 2002 – The President of
the Tuscany Region, Claudio Martini,
informs the participants at the Conference of Presidents of Italian Regions of
the actions undertaken by Tuscany for
an ethical development of its territories.
MARCH 2002 – The Committee of the
Regions submitted an Advice on the
Green Paper. Among the observations,
particular emphasis was given to the
differences between Corporate Social
Responsibility and philanthropy, charity or sponsorship and noted that, at
this time, special attention should be
paid to the former, rather than to the
latter. Corporate Social Responsibility
was viewed as a theme that needed to be
integrated in many existing EU policies
and programmes, in order to give special
focus on research improvement, promotion and comparative analysis of CSR
policies. The Committee of the Regions
suggested that minimum objective criteria should be developed and that their
implementation should be regulated in
order to safeguard the credibility of the
CSR process and consumer safety. It
further recommended that policies be
pursued for financial support of companies in order to accelerate the process of
adopting the CSR.
Still in MARCH 2002 in Florence,
the Tuscany Region held an international symposium entitled “Fabrica
Ethica, Corporate Social Responsibility: SA8000”. Three days devoted to
international debate on theories, studies
and good practice regarding the issue of
CSR. On the last day of the symposium,
Mrs. Tachmintzis, on behalf of Commissioner Diamantoupoulo, announced the
strong desire to give CSR a central role
in development-oriented policies and
welcomed the work carried out by the
Tuscany Region, notably a prompt and
sound political action that concretised
the allocation of financial aid to small
and medium-sized enterprises. The
symposium was concurrent with the
launching of the web site www.fabricaethica.it, which is visited by thousands
of visitors worldwide, reaching a peak of
64,000 accesses per day.
levels: Tuscany became a reference for
the very many public and private realities that in Italy were approaching social
responsibility, a sort of incubator of
CSR policies. Via its tutoring activity
– 200 contacts were recorded in one year
– the Tuscany Region offered consultation services to Italian private and public entities that soon themselves became
promoters of CSR. Seminars and conferences were organised on the spur of
these entities, where the Tuscany Region
could give testimony of the experience
and expertise acquired.
JUNE 2002 – The construction process
of an EU framework made progress and,
from 24 April to 24 June 2002, the Directorate General for Employment and
Social Affairs launched three Round
Tables on corporate social responsibility with special focus on the following
themes: codes of conduct, standards
and management systems, and social reporting. Tuscany took part to the round
tables as observatory.
Upon completion of the Round Tables,
on 2 July 2002, the Commission issued a
Communication entitled “Corporate Social Responsibility: a Business Contribution to Sustainable Development”.
The Communication stressed the need
to integrate corporate social responsibility in all European Union policies
as mainstreaming. The Commission
launched the Multistakeholder Forum,
which continued consultation activity
with the aim of “increasing the level of
acquaintance with corporate social responsibility and facilitating the dialogue
between the business community, trade
unions, and civil society organizations.”
DECEMBER 2002 - MARCH 2003 –
The Tuscany Region launched working
tables with the involvement of all regional stakeholders and agreed on the need
to establish a Regional Ethical Commission on corporate social responsibility,
which was called upon to take on the
task of observatory of the ‘Tuscan phenomenon’ and to promote actions that
were to be tailored according to the specific ‘Tuscan reality’ under exam. The
Regional Ethical Commission was also
expected to further link existing international networks encompassing social
and economic players, in order to take in
more information on the ‘good’ as well
as ‘negative’ practices developed on the
front of corporate social responsibility,
notably the respect of worker rights in
Tuscan enterprises based outside of the
Region; both inside and outside the EU
borders.
SEPTEMBER 2002 – The Tuscany Region published the first notices for the
certification as per the SA8000 standard,
addressed to small and medium-sized
enterprises. Not just small and mediumsized enterprises were touched by the
process; in fact, many micro-enterprises
operating in nearly all Tuscan production sectors were involved. The virtuous
circle represented by social responsibility had been set off in Tuscany, thanks
also to the fact that certification implies
that the entire supply and sub-supply
chain of a company is involved. This was
one of the goals that the Tuscany Region
had set: to achieve production ‘social
traceability’. Excellent results were recorded both at regional and national
MAY 2003 – The Regional Ethical
Commission was established, chaired
by Regional Minister Ambrogio Brenna
and made up of 24 representatives from
all regional stakeholders: entrepreneur
associations, trade unions, non-profit
organizations and NGOs, consumer
associations, local public bodies, and
chambers of commerce.
SEPTEMBER 2003 – Italy, accounting
for 52 enterprises, is the country with
the highest number of certified companies according to SA8000 standard and
Tuscany is the region that hosts most of
them: 16. Soon after, the group of certified companies increased, thanks to the
adhesion of enterprises that benefited
from regional financing aid to obtain the
certification (over fifty enterprises).
NOVEMBER 2003 – The action promoted by the Tuscany Region was pre-
Fabrica ethica chronology
29
sented to the European Parliament in
Brussels, in order to share best experiences and the founding motivations and
convey the will to play an active role in
the ongoing European debate.
FEBRUARY 2004 – Tuscany and Campania Regions signed a Memorandum
of Understanding for a ‘new economy
of values’, founded on sustainability,
fairness, solidarity, inclusion, sharing,
respect, transparency, traceability and
responsibility.
MARCH 2004 – The Tuscany Region
was pinpointed by the United Nations
Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights, represented by David Weissbrodt, as one of the
Italian stages to present the proposal of
resolution 2003/16 on corporate juridical
and social responsibility. The proposal of
resolution states for the first time that enterprises, whether multinational or not,
are the entities responsible for the protection of human and worker rights.
APRIL 2004 – The Tuscany Region is
ready to lead the way at the second international symposium, held in Florence
from 28 to 30 April 2004: “Corporate
Social Responsibility for a Europe of
Rights”.
The new accession countries will soon
be part of the European Union and the
Tuscany Region is ready to welcome
them and to involve them in the debate
on the common path to be undertaken
for a socially responsible development.
The working groups within the Regional
Ethical Commission worked together
with the Tuscany Region for the success
of the initiative.
MAY 2004 – The Ministry for Welfare
set up the National Multistakeholder
Forum on corporate social responsibility. Tuscany acceded to the Forum
as representative of the Conference of
Presidents of Italian Regions.
The Tuscany Region also took part at
the UNI Forum (Italian National Harmonisation Institute) on corporate social responsibility.
JULY 2004 – Presentation to the press
of the project entitled “Fabrica Ethica
Laboratorio FIliera Pelle (FELAFIP)”
(Ethical Workshop for the Leather Industry): a pilot project on the introduction of integrated management systems
covering social responsibility, quality
30
Fabrica Ethica
and environment in the Tuscan leather
industry. This project stemmed from a
proposal of the Regional Ethical Commission.
JANUARY 2005 – Presentation of the
pilot project to partners and stakeholders on the occasion of the I-Place event
organised by Centopercento Italiano
consortium. The initiative was attended
by: ILO, trade unions, entrepreneur associations, local public bodies, direct
and indirect stakeholders.
FEBRUARY 2005 – Signature of the
Memorandum of Understanding for
the implementation of the FELAFIP
project between Municipalities, Provinces, Trade Unions, and Entrepreneur
Associations. The Memorandum of Understanding stated the goals and duties
of all signatories to the purpose of promoting corporate social responsibility in
their relevant field of action.
MARCH 2005 – On the spur of the Regional Ethical Commission, the Tuscan
Group for Microcredit was established.
This news was announced on the occasion of the Terra Futura (Future Land)
event on 8 April 2005 at the conference
entitled “Microcredit, Ethical Finance
and Social Responsibility”.
SEPTEMBER 2005 – The Tuscany Region was invited to New York City to
participate in the international meeting
organised by SAI: “Beyond Compliance:
Innovative Strategies for Responsible
Sourcing”.
The Tuscany Region had the opportunity
to present the Fabrica Ethica experience
to an international audience and put forward suggestions to further broaden the
application of SA8000 standard at the
panel session entitled “Public Private
Partnership. A Coordinated Approach
to a Better Workplace”.
OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2005 –
Training meeting on CSR with Municipalities and Provinces desk operators
and Provinces adhering to the FELAFIP
project.
Two seminars were organised addressed
to Tuscan high school professors, with
particular focus on schools located in the
areas affected by the FELAFIP project.
On the spur of the seminars, awarenessraising and training actions were set off
addressed to teachers and students.
JANUARY 2006 – The FELAFIP experience was illustrated to the EU working
group set up for “Mainstreaming CSR
Among SMEs”, upon invitation of the
European Commission, DG Enterprise
and Industry. The project was examined
at the panel scheduled for 18 January
devoted to “CSR as a Driver for Competitiveness in SMEs”.
MARCH 2006 – International symposium at Terra Futura on “The Virtuous
Circle Created by the Contribution of All
Players for the Respect of Rights and the
Environment”, organised in partnership
with the “Meno Beneficenza più Diritti”
(less charity and more rights) network.
On the occasion of the symposium, the
proposal was brought forward to set up
a coordinating network encompassing
local public bodies on the issue of CSR.
MAY 2006 – Fabrica Ethica, in partnership with the Cerro cooperative and the
Piagge community organised the symposium on “Sustainable Credit and Critical
Economy: When People Really Count”.
Among the speakers: Serge Latouche.
MAY 2006 – Regional Law n° 17/2006
was approved “Measures on the Issue of
Corporate Social Responsibility”.
After accruing long experience on the
topic, the Tuscany Region wants to institutionalise the actions undertaken
so far and strengthen its commitment
in promoting and supporting social responsibility among citizens, enterprises,
and public institutions. The role of the
Regional Ethical Commission is widened and reinforced. Further financial
aid will be allocated to SMEs that apply for social responsibility instruments,
recognised and valid on an international
scale.
The importance of ‘social traceability’ is
emphasised, intended as the possibility
to constantly monitor and audit a business management that ensures respect
of human, social, economic and labour
rights throughout the production chain
in compliance with international, European and national legislations, in all
phases of a product or service production and distribution. The Regional Law
was published on the Official Journal of
the Tuscany Region n° 13 of 12 May,
2006. Regional Law n° 17/2006.
JULY 2006- Tuscany decide to support
the CSR award “Ethic & Enterprise” for
the best agreements and CSR practices.
The award is given to enterprises with
meaningful trade union - agreements with
a strong impact on: people (human resources), management systems, territory.
An ad-hoc award category has been created for the small and micro enterprises.
Ethic & Enterprise award was proposed
ad was managed by the Italian unions:
AGENQUADRI – CGIL, AIDP, APQ
– CISL, CIQ – UIL, FEDERMANAGEMENT, with the support of Eurocadres
association. The award ceremony took
place on the 18th of November 2006.
www.eticaeimpresa.net
OCTOBER 2006 – Tuscany proposes to
other Italian Regions and Local Authori-
ties to create a national network on CSR,
aimed at sharing goals and CSR fundamental principles.
The network is engaged in some fundamental issues such as: insertion of
CSR in official and strategic documents,
development and promotion of local
best practices, making proposals to the
National Government and to European
institutions.
On the 5th of October, the Civil Society network “European Coalition on
Corporate Justice” represented by Mrs.
Maria Rosa Cutillo, presented Fabrica
Ethica as the best European practice on
CSR to the audition chaired by Euro MP
Mr. Richard Howitt.
JANUARY 2007 – The launch of the regional project on micro-credit SMOAT
– Tuscan Oriented and Assisted Micro-credit System. SMOAT’s goal is
to provide free information, techincal
assistance, counselling and monitoring
services to new micro enterprises, that
achieve loans with public warranties.
SMOAT is complementary to the public warranties to micro-lonas (no more
than 15,000 Euros), as scheduled by the
memorandum of understanding signed
by Tuscany Region and Banks.
In the same month Tuscany took part
to the IV ISO 26000 meeting in Sydney
as the representative of the government
stakeholder in the Italian delegation.
Fabrica ethica chronology
31
www.regione.toscana.it