The “core” of the CSR-SC Project of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is represented by the instrument of Social Statement: a scheme of reference to voluntarily estimate and monitor the engagement and the realization of activities concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR) and to support decisional processes and their carrying out

The Social Statement is the result of the analysis of the main national, European and international standards and initiatives (GRI, SA8000, AA1000, QRES, SEAN, GBS, SIGMA Project, London Bench-marking Group, The Copenhagen Centre, Wertemanagement System ZFW, SERS, and Finetica).

As confirmed in the documents of the European Commission, the Social Statement is a voluntarily instrument, primarily conceived to guide enterprises in the account of their social services, standardizing the system of data gathering and presentation and supporting forms of confrontation and evaluation of results. Through the spreading of Social Statement the Ministry of Labour and Social Security aims at increasing the level of enterprises awareness about advantages deriving from the adoption of CSR policies, promoting the spreading of a culture of responsibility inside the industrial system. The Social Statement also wants to answer to the growing information requests, which come from many categories of stakeholders, about the main themes of Corporate Social Responsibility.

The definition of a clear and well-established instrument of account aims at guaranteeing more transparency in enterprises communication, as a form of customers’ protection and as an advantage for all citizens. The Social Statement wants to be a simple, modular and flexible instrument, which will permit to all enterprises - regardless of size, sector, legal status, experience in the reporting activity, etc. – to join the system defined by the Government. In this field, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security dedicated a particular attention to small and medium enterprises (SME), which constitute, as we know, a fundamental component of the Italian industrial system. The purpose was that of supplying an instrument that will not hamper this category, an instrument that, starting from the needs of small and medium enterprises, will supply new interesting opportunities in a managerial and competitive key. From the definition of CSR worded in the Green Book of 2001it can be deducted that to be socially responsible implies to go beyond the simple respect of current regulations, investing more in human capital, in the environment and in relations with interested parties.

The Social Statement is composed by two fundamental parts:
A. the personal data file of enterprise;
B. the set of indicators.

A. The personal data file of enterprise
The personal data file aims at focusing the general characteristics of the enterprise that decided to adopt the Social Statement.
The main information required are:

• name;
• legal status of the organization (Ltd, PLC, Cooperative, etc.);
• sector (or sectors) of activity;
• head office;
• branch office;
• the main markets of reference;
• number of employees.

In addition, enterprises are required to signal the adoption of instruments as Guidelines, Management Systems (for example, quality systems, management systems for environment and security), certifications and social and environmental reports.
These documents may be attached to the Social Statement to testify the engagement of the enterprise concerning the matters under discussion.
The Social Statement is not a substitute of public and/or private initiatives on the theme of corporate social responsibility; but it must be considered a complement to these projects.
The approach suggested by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security aims at valorising these experiences, with the final objective of supporting more transparency and clearness of information for stakeholders.

B. The set of indicators
The set of indicators is the core of the Social Statement. The single indicators are organized in a framework that is composed by three levels in which an approach oriented towards stakeholders was preferred. Therefore, the plan of accounts of the Social Statement is divided in:

• categories: 8 groups of stakeholders (Human Resources, Associates/Shareholders/Financial Community, Customers, Suppliers, Financial Partners, State/Local Bodies/Civil Service, Community, Environment) with special clusters of indicators for each of them;
• aspects: thematic areas that are monitored by groups of performance indicators, which vary for each category of stakeholders;
• indicators: qualitative and quantitative measures that supply information concerning a specific aspect.
  Indicators can be qualitative (for example, when it is needed the description of a project or an initiative realized by the enterprise) and quantitative (when required information must be expressed in numeric form – percentage, ratio, economic or financial data, etc.).
  

Moreover, the set of indicators was divided in two basic categories:

• common indicators (C), which must be used by all enterprises for the realization of the Social Statement ( from the SME to big enterprises);
• additional indicators(A), which can be applied to big enterprises(with a minimum of 50 employees) on the basis of specific criteria. They will integrate common indicators.

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The Social Statement wants to be an opportunity to guide enterprises towards objectives of excellence in the methods of account of their CSR, supporting the continuous improvement of company performances in this field.

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Annarita Vitulano
From "The Economy of the Trevigian Marca", April 2005