La Responsabilità Sociale di impresa in una intervista ad Alessandro Benetton

La Responsabilità Sociale di impresa in una intervista ad Alessandro Benetton ABSTRACT: Corporate Social Responsibility Social and environmental pressures enormously influence companies’ management decisions. That is why there has been an affirmation of the awareness that apart from the economic dimension a business also has an ethical dimension. It is precisely in relation to this dimension that a profound change has taken place: that of the disintegration of the opposition between the shareholder’s view and the stockholder’s view. Obviously satisfying the interests of investors remains the central and indispensable element of a company’s activity, but now the quest to reach that objective is increasingly linked to a commitment, on the part of managers and business people, to favouring a sustainable development of the area in which the business operates. It is undeniable that the market is the best judge and it is precisely the dynamic nature of the market which lends such complexity to all the variables that characterize the life of a business. The theme of social corporate responsibility is now at the centre of many debates but perhaps, despite this, there is not yet sufficient clarity in the definition of ‘social corporate responsibility’. There is also a certain amount of confusion between issues such as sustainable development, social equity and business ethics: all terms pertaining to Social Corporate Responsibility, but which certainly do not exhaust its meaning. Social responsibility is a guiding principle which transversally concerns all aspects of the life of a company. It is first and foremost a question of moral responsibility, even before legal responsibility. This is sufficient to suggest that the behaviour of financial institutions, such as 21 Investimenti, is not at all neutral with regard to all those who are influenced to a greater or lesser extent by their business activities. It is enough to consider the connection between financial activity and local development, the battle against unemployment or protecting the environment. It is indisputable, then, that financial activity is very closely linked with the huge debate about social corporate responsibility. The important thing in this type of evaluation is the awareness that the value of a company does not depend only on numbers. In the face of definitions and declarations of objectives, it therefore becomes necessary to ask oneself what social responsibility means for a company in its daily business in order to make this the essence of the commitment and the duty that are at the core of the activity and of the development of the company.

Laura Radi, a cura di, La Responsabilità Sociale di impresa in una intervista ad Alessandro Benetton in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO " 96/2004, pp , DOI: