WE STRIVE FOR

THE CHALLENGE

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, responsible business conduct has emerged as a critical component for sustainable success. Companies are increasingly held accountable not only for their financial performance but also for their ethical practices, social impact, and environmental stewardship. This shift is driven by a combination of heightened stakeholder expectations, evolving regulatory frameworks (e.g., EU public Country-by-Country Reporting Directive), and the recognition that responsible business practices can lead to long-term resilience and recognition.

One area of growing importance is tax responsibility. Governments and regulatory bodies worldwide are tightening regulations to ensure that corporations pay their fair share of taxes and contribute to the economic and social well-being of the communities in which they operate. This heightened scrutiny is coupled with increasing demands from investors, civil society, and the public for greater transparency and responsibility in corporate tax practices.

COLLABORATIVE PLATFORM ON RESPONSIBLE TAX CONDUCT

2024-ONGOING

OUR APPROACH

To support companies in adopting responsible business practices and meet stakeholders' expectations, CSR Europe and Fair Tax Foundation co-developed the Tax Responsibility & Transparency Index (TRTI).

CSR Europe is now continuing to facilitate knowledge-sharing among businesses across various sectors through a new Collaborative Platform on Responsible Tax Conduct.

Platform partners will focus their engagement on five key aspects of corporate taxation within today’s regulatory landscape:

Policy & Strategy
Management & Governance
Stakeholder Engagement
Transparency & Reporting
Contribution & Narrative

what we deliver

Tax Responsibility & Transparency Index assessment for new platform members.
Current practice learning & sharing via online and offline technical workshops, webinars, and networking opportunities.
A high-level conference in Brussels to bring together peers and stakeholders who advocate for responsible tax conduct.
Stakeholder engagement opportunities with external experts and platform members in Brussels to engage and learn from each other.
An annual report that includes benchmarking data and best practices based on the collective work of the Platform and the TRTI assessments

THE TAX RESPONSIBILITY & TRANSPARENCY INDEX

2023-2024

OUR APPROACH

In the spring of 2024, CSR Europe and Fair Tax Foundation launched the Tax Responsibility & Transparency Index (TRTI), at the European Parliament.

This tool was the collective work of leading companies, including Enel, Fortum, Grundfos, Vattenfall, Ørsted, which have matured responsible tax conduct practices and key stakeholders from academia, civil society, European policymakers, and the investor community.

The TRTI is a synthesis of the most significant and key elements taken from current reporting frameworks, European policies, and other initiatives on tax transparency practices. It aims to enable companies to benchmark themselves against expectations from external stakeholders, as well as peers from similar industries and regions. Additionally, the TRTI supports companies to monitor and compare progress over time.

WHAT WE DELIVERED

Through their collective work, participating companies were able to:

Show their sustainability initiatives related to tax, as well as their tax strategies.
Measure their (tax) transparency and their responsible tax behaviour.
Monitor and compare their progress over time and be able to show it internally and externally.
Interact with peers and learn from leading organisations how to enhance their responsible tax practices.
Build a narrative around their tax behaviour that can provide stakeholders and the public a clearer perspective of internal processes and operations on how a company executes its tax strategy and which principles are used.
Share and learn insights and experiences with other peers, as well as key stakeholders.