The European Union has set a clear direction for the future of Europe with the Green Deal and the NextGenerationEU programme: if we want to overcome the existential threat posed by climate change and reach the targets of the Paris Agreement, we need to transform our economies and societies and design a Europe that works for everyone. Companies, as well as financial markets, are following suit, embracing climate action and sustainability requirements more than ever before.

This is an important evolution for CSR Europe, an organisation which has sustainability integrated into its core mission since its foundation, over 25 years ago.

This month, we sat down with Hans Daems, Chair of the CSR Europe Board of Directors, Group Public Affairs Officer, and COP26 Director at Hitachi Europe to talk about the achievements of this Board and how sustainability changed since its election. Hans has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2011 and has been twice elected as Chair in 2016 and 2019.

The interview kicks off the second edition of the blog series “The Sustainability Agenda Towards 2030”, our monthly interviews with CSR Europe’s Board Members and Leaders to shed light on the key CSR challenges of our time and how leading companies are turning threats into opportunities.

How did you see companies’ approach to sustainability evolve over the course of your mandate as Chair of the CSR Europe Board of Directors?

I think the biggest change we have witnessed over the last four years is that sustainability has become strategy driven. An increasing amount of people within companies are running their business with sustainability in mind, for instance when it comes to setting the target markets, defining a product portfolio, setting the R&D agenda, and in some cases even when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. So, in essence, I would say that sustainability is no longer a “nice to have” but a “must have” and it has become the way companies drive value in the long term.

How was this change reflected in Hitachi’s own evolution?

Hitachi has now become an integrated group with a portfolio that focuses on Environment, Innovation, and Digital. As climate change innovators we want to help cut carbon emissions through innovation and diversity-driven and inclusive collaboration. In 2021 we were Principal Partner of COP26, and played a leading role in the efforts to achieve a Net Zero society. In Glasgow, the world came together around the agenda on climate change to keep the 1.5-degree target alive, but ultimately the time of action is now.

How did you and the other members of the Board translate this shift into CSR Europe’s 2022 programme? Can you share with our readers the Board’s priorities for this year?

To deliver on the promises of the Climate Agenda we need bold action from all the stakeholders. For this reason, this year we decided to focus CSR Europe’s activities on the pursuit of an Inclusive Green Deal.  We want to bring practitioners together around this agenda because this is the big challenge that everyone has: how can we leave no one behind in the face of the green and digital transition.

In this sense, CSR Europe offers a unique space for companies to play a central role in this debate and become directly involved in collaborative initiatives aimed at scaling up sustainability impact. For instance, this year we are launching three new Leaders Groups on:

• Making the Green Deal Inclusive

• Raw Materials Sustainability in the Value Chain

• Financing a Green and Just Transition

 In the Leaders Groups, selected corporate members will work together according to a hub-and-spoke model, engaging with national CSR networks, value chain partners, and stakeholders to ensure a Just Transition in Europe. This is an exclusive opportunity for members to lead and engage beyond their individual companies, and where collaboration is taken to the next level. The CSR Europe Activity Plan 2022 and the direction of the different collaborative platforms, like Drive Sustainability and Responsible Trucking, strengthen further CSR Europe’s focus on improvement and impact through practical action and collaboration, within and beyond Europe. 

Nowadays more and more organisations are tackling sustainability. In your opinion, what is the most striking added value of the work done by CSR Europe?

First of all, I find it extremely positive to see this increased focus on sustainability. As the leading business network of corporate sustainability and responsibility in Europe, this shift opens more opportunities for collaboration with other organisations.

CSR Europe is a network of skilled and like-minded practitioners who know what they are talking about because they are the ones bringing forward the sustainability agenda within their company.

Being able to collaborate and engage with people who are dealing with the same sustainability issues that you have is a unique added value of the CSR Europe membership. No one should be under the illusion to be able to find alone the answers to the big social and environmental challenges of our time. The learning-and-sharing value of the Ateliers and the CSR Europe Open Webinar series cannot be underestimated.

Secondly, at CSR Europe collaboration in a real added value. You can find other leading companies and national CSR networks who are genuinely interested in advancing on the sustainability agenda for the benefit of people and the planet. Experts come together, and it is with this experience and knowledge that scaling up impact on the ground becomes possible. The direction for 2022 is to further enhance the collaboration, also in public-private arrangements, like for instance when it comes to supply chains.

Last but not least, CSR Europe’s added value lies in its engagement with the European Commission, other policymakers, and stakeholders. CSR Europe, and its efforts within the European SDG Multistakeholder Platform, actively contributed to shaping the direction taken by the Commission with the European Green Deal. The EU taxonomy, the EU Due Diligence file, and the European Pillar of Social Rights have seen strong involvement of CSR Europe and its members last year.  Their implementation needs our full attention and expertise: it cannot only be about legislation and requirements for companies. It needs to be about how companies, governments, labour unions, and civil society shape their collaboration to move in this direction in an inclusive way.

This is our main policy challenge in 2022 and that is why I do hope that the Leadership Hub for an Inclusive Green Deal will deliver on its programme.

This spring CSR Europe will elect a new Board. As your mandate as Chair is coming to an end, what would you consider to be the main achievements of this Board?

I would like to thank all my colleagues on the Board of Directors for their engagement. I am particularly proud to say that the companies and National Partner Organisations in the Board regularly took part in the many activities and working groups of CSR Europe. I think we are leaving the organization in a better place compared to when we started.

And why do I say this? Because the direction we have set is clear and so are the opportunities to engage on three key pillars of People, Materials, Markets.

As a Board, we strengthened CSR Europe’s s unique sweet spot, at the cornerstone of policy and member companies and networks in Europe. But it is not just about what we have left behind as a Board. It is very much about how we have contributed to the bigger picture: to make the planet more sustainable, to keep global warming under control, and to leave no one behind.

 Is there any reflection that you would like to share with the future Board?

I would like to call on CSR Europe’s members to really consider putting forward their candidacy to become members of the Board of Directors. This is the ideal place to be, not only to show your commitment to sustainability but also to set the direction of CSR Europe’s work and engage with the Executive team.  

The outcome of what you achieve depends very much on the input. With the CSR Europe membership, and the opportunity it brings to join the Board of Directors, companies can be part of the bigger picture.

THE SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA TOWARDS 2030

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