Workers and Consumers at the Centre of the Green & Digital Transition
Workers and consumers will be at the core of CSR Europe’s 2021 agenda focused on building an economy with and for people.
We will support companies in re-skilling and up-skilling their workforce and adapting their business model to new consumer behaviour and EU policy frameworks, including the Pact for Skills and the Consumer Agenda.
In 2021, CSR Europe will continue to work with companies, key stakeholders, and experts of the European Commission to ensure a fully inclusive labour market within the twin - green and digital – transition advocated by Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. In line with the European Skills Agenda, and the recently launched Pact for Skills, CSR Europe will support companies in:
Empowering the HR functions to identify vulnerable employees and help them build the skills they need instead of pursuing a ‘firing and hiring” strategy
Fostering talents in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
Strengthening the resilience of their business model by leveraging diversity and inclusion
How companies are preparing for an inclusive workforce transition
With the support of the JPMorgan Chase & Co. Foundation, CSR Europe will continue working together with more than 30 companies in France, Italy, Poland, and Spain to up- and re-skill their workforce and prepare them for Europe’s transitions towards a climate-neutral, circular economy by 2050. After a first assessment of three key HR processes - strategic workforce planning, training & development, flexibility & mobility - CSR Europe and its National Partner Organizations - the Foundation Acting Against Exclusion (FACE), Foundation Sodalitas, Forética, Impronta Etica, Responsible Business Forum Poland - will support companies in addressing the vulnerability of employees at risk of losing their jobs due to automation and digitalisation.
CSR Europe members will have the opportunity to attend exclusive ateliers on the Future of Work in Europe. Furthermore, our members’ Chief HR Officers will be invited for high-level HR Roundtables with experts from the European Commission.
As systemic change happens only when there is a transformation of the entire eco-system, this year CSR Europe is opening selected events to a wide variety of stakeholders, such as sectors and industry federations, to scale-up impactful actions in a landscape of fast-evolving skills requirements.
Building the STEM workforce of the future
As COVID-19 made it harder, and in some cases impossible, for students to attend classes, partners of the collaborative platform “Together 4 STEM”, launched STEM@Home: a digital learning platform with a rich collection of free, multi-lingual courses on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The materials, provided by Amgen, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson, are supporting students and teachers with over 75 easily accessible, world-class courses available in English, French, Spanish, and Italian.
In 2021, the consortium will extend further its activities to affirm the platform’s leadership in the advancement of STEM education and its contribution to building the STEM workforce of the future. At the same time, STEM@Home will continue to add new resources and expand beyond the pandemic to become a long-term reference point for digital education and effective remote learning in STEM topics.
Fostering inclusive business models
In 2020, CSR Europe launched “Business Uniting Talents 2030” (BUT2030) with the support of the King Boudewijn Foundation and the Prince Philip Fund. The project, involving the CEOs of 9 leading companies operating in Belgium, aims at addressing the current inequalities in accessing the labour market and jobs by Belgian residents who came from countries outside of the European Union. At the same time, with BUT2030, CSR Europe wants to reduce the mismatch between local talents’ skills and job opportunities.
For this reason, in 2021, CSR Europe will continue to support companies in their efforts to make better use of the diverse pool of talents available locally and to reduce the employment gap between native Belgians and residents coming from outside the EU. Companies and industry sectors interested in giving their contribution to the definition of an inclusive and diverse labour market in Belgium are invited to express their interest.
Parallel to the effort in ensuring companies’ retention of their workforce and their skills, and in light of the disruption brought about COVID-19 to people’s consumption patterns, CSR Europe’s PEOPLE agenda will also focus on how companies can integrate new consumers behaviours into their business strategy. At the same time, with the adoption of the conclusions on the new Circular Economy Action Plan, and the launch of the New Consumer Agenda, it will be more important then ever for companies and sectors alike to adapt their approaches to consumers’ fruition of goods and services.
For more information:
Senior Director