Germany has taken bold concrete action on green issues, but on social responsibility it’s been all talk and no action
Germany has strong environmental credentials compared with other European countries. The Green party enjoys robust support and in 2011 won control of Baden-Württemberg, the country’s richest state and home to car manufacturers Audi, Daimler and Porsche. The election ended the 58-year tenure of federal chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) in the state.
The country has also taken steps to develop its renewable energy policy and advance related technologies. Following the Fukushima disaster in Japan, Germany became the first industrialised country to commit to a full withdrawal from nuclear power.
When it comes to the more social aspects of corporate responsibility, however, the country lags behind. “Germany is far ahead in renewable energy and that is definitely an achievement,” says Gerd Hofielen, of Berlin-based thinktank the Humanistic Management Centre. But, he argues, corporate social programmes are not yet a priority.
Until recently, corporate responsibility issues were mainly covered by the national sustainable development strategy launched in 2002 and lead by the federal chancellery. The Council on Sustainable Development (RNE), a 15-strong multistakeholder body mandated by government, notably provided the platform for discussions on CR issues. Since 2007, the German Sustainability Awards, which involves the government, RNE and other stakeholders, have rewarded companies’ best practices in social responsibility and environmental protection, with a focus on consistent sustainability management of business and brand.
Keen to jump on the corporate responsibility bandwagon and develop the policy debate, in early 2009 the government launched a separate national strategy for corporate responsibility. Spearheaded by the ministry of labour and social affairs, the initiative also involves other departments, including environment, development cooperation, consumer information and economics.
The national action plan builds on the national sustainable development strategy and is designed to help translate the guiding principles of sustainable development into practice.It comprisesa series of soft measures to disseminate CR best practices, including training and coaching, sharing of experience, promoting international voluntary instruments, and encouraging more transparency in consumer information.
At home, a package of €36m, partially funded by the European Social Forum, is designed to raise awareness among small and medium-sized enterprises. “SMEs account for 99% of companies and 60% of employees in Germany, so it is important to have them on board,” says Marina Kuechen, deputy spokeswoman for the ministry of labour and social affairs.
But critics have questioned the credibility of the new strategy. “Although there is an illusion that the German government is very committed to corporate responsibility, so far there has merely been a programme of intention and no assessment of what is actually being done,” Hofielen says.
Emphasis on volunteering
The German government’s reliance on voluntary measures has also been criticised for falling short of current practices. “The government is very restrictive in its approach to human rights issues and has never led the way to accountability,” says Antje Breucking, business and human rights specialist at Amnesty International.
Despite numerous talks on corporate responsibility and sustainability issues over the past 30 years, the absence of action has led to “roundtable fatigue” for NGOs.
“While discussions are taking place, developments are far too slow,” says Tina Loeffelbein, political unit coordinator at Greenpeace Germany. “The debate has been going on since at least since 1992, and there is still no clear timetable.”
And close ties between the current liberal-conservative government and large companies give little grounds to expect change. The strong opposition of not only German business organisations but also the government to the European commission’s attempt to move away from a purely voluntary approach to corporate responsibility is particularly significant.
“At the national level, we do not have much hope before the next general election,” says Volkmar Luebke, coordinator of the German NGOs Network for Corporate Accountability (Cora). “The main drivers for change will come from Brussels, not Germany.”
The lack of progress has prompted further engagement at regional level. Some local authorities, such as the three city states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg, and the region of North-Rhine Westphalia, are particularly progressive, having their own public procurement legislation. “Problematic issues such as the mandatory disclosure of environmental and social information can only be tackled at federal level, which makes things difficult, but for other issues there are windows of opportunity at state level,” Luebke explains.
In the coming months, intense lobbying is likely to take place in Brussels on the recent proposals. Despite the German government’s negative signals, some movement may still occur at national level. Cornelia Heydenreich, head of corporate accountability at Germanwatch, an NGO, says the government now seems to be interested in opening a dialogue on the new proposals, especially on new transparency rules. “We will have to see where this leads, but at least they are open to discussions,” she says.