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Anastasia Balezdrova

When last year the Prime Minister George Papandreou chose the small and very remote Kastelorizo ​​Island to announce the Greek people that the country will sign a Memorandum of financial support with the already known Troika, a few viewers paid attention to his meetings with the residents. "One of the meetings was with students from the local elementary school who answered his remark that they have very nice computers, "A pharmaceutical company gave them to us." This dialogue was shown only once and only on national television." This is how the managing director of Genesis Pharma Constantinos Evripidis presented the company practices of following a policy of corporate social responsibility during the past five years. The company cooperates closely with Euroscience within the project "Let the knowledge fly" in order to enable children who live in remote areas have access to technology and knowledge.

In particular, the company and the organization collect used computers, new or used textbooks, scientific or literary books and submit them to the schools and municipal libraries in the most remote parts of Greece.

The first Congress on Corporate Social Responsibility organized by Capital Link entitled "Corporate Social Responsibility - a bridge of communication between companies and society" presented many examples of good practices of companies implementing the concept.

The Congress had provided a special area where 60 companies, nongovernmental organizations and associations presented their activities in support of society and environmental protection. The President of the organizing company Nikolaos Bornozis stressed the importance of the role of corporate social responsibility, especially in difficult economic conditions, not only in Greece but also worldwide. "Through their activities within the corporate social responsibility companies have to meet basic social needs by supporting programs of small or almost no funding. They demonstrate in this way their social and environmental awareness while achieving positive results from their economic activities."

The Ambassador of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on issues of bioethics and corporate social responsibility Michelle Dusen said that the interest of public authorities at international, national and local level to corporate social responsibility, which is considered a tool for regulating globalization, is growing continuously. "The sustainability of our ecosystem is in danger. Future generations are in danger. Is the market able to respond to the challenge when it is left to its own destiny? The economic crisis we are experiencing today is questioning this statement. From this perspective, Greece is on the first front line. Who could handle these responsibilities in a lawful manner? These are the countries and the organizations in them. It is their mission to protect the citizens and ensure sustainable prosperity."

A lively and very telling example of this practice is the idea of ​​ICAP Group, which recently launched its publication "Leading employers in Greece". It presents for the first time the leading companies in the fields of human resources and corporate social responsibility in order to emphasize their identity and relationship, because the connecting point is the man. The advisory services executive director of the company Georgos Haros described the practices introduced to save energy and materials. All the employees of the company take part in its initiative for community service once a month during one working day.

According to the Professor in Marketing and Communications at the Economic University of Athens Georgios Avlonitis, "there has been an increase in the activities for environmental protection undertaken by companies in recent years. The results of the University’s annual survey reflect the current position and understanding of the Greek consumers of corporate initiatives for environmental protection, which indirectly indicate the need of adopting long-term "green policies".

A NGO representative, however, said that despite the efforts, the companies support only a limited number of well-known organizations that are located in Athens. "If an organization is not known to the public or is in the countryside it is almost doomed, because we base our existence on your funding." Athena Kritikou - Genimata, who runs an organization in support of children with disabilities, proposed the establishment of a national authority, which would unite the NGOs, and a register to include them. According to her, companies will have access to all organizations that they could support within the framework of their corporate social responsibility.