ИСТИНА

Contemplation of the concept of corporate social responsibility is a derivative of certain conditions markets create, thus determining the nature of relations between various stakeholders, positions it in the context of major forces in today’s economic and social changes. In order to assess voluntary practices of Croatian companies, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and the Croatian Business Council for Sustainable Development started developing a benchmarking methodology, which was launched in 2008 in the form of the CSR index of Croatian public and private enterprises. The used methodology for the Index development was context based, although it was initiated in accordance with similar comparative methodologies such as Dow Jones Sustainability Index, FTSE4 Good Index and Business in the Community CR Index. Since 2008, the index was revised, improved and conducted on an every year basis through a voluntary questionnaire that covers six different fields ((a) economic viability and sustainability, (b) inclusion of CSR in the business strategy, (c) working environment and HR practice, (d) environmental protection, (e) market relations and (f) relations with the local community). A complex set of indicators was determined for each category that was translated into a set of related questions and answers that gave adequate, measurable and verifiable information. The principle goal of the project was to accelerate the development of CSR as a strategic integration tool among Croatian companies and foster a knowledge sharing process among its participants.