Philias

Focus on a Partner - June 2009

In this month's issue, Bettina Ferdman, General Director of Philias, CSR Europe's national partner in Switzerland, discusses CSR trends and priorities in Switzerland and the views of future business leaders on CSR. She also presents Philias' Humagora concept and award scheme.

In your opinion, what are the main CSR topics and trends among companies in Switzerland?

Bettina Ferdman

Today CSR topics and concerns are obviously linked to the current economic turmoil, especially in the financial sector, and consequently to employability and to the capacity for companies to manage the impact of the decisions taken on the social and the environmental sectors, like it is the case in the rest of Europe.

Philias is present in both the French-speaking and German-speaking areas in Switzerland. Are there significant differences in the CSR approach of companies located in different regions? If so, why do you think these differences exist?

Historically, there are differences in the sense that the German-speaking part was more aware and more active about environmental issues while the French-speaking part was more concerned by social issues.

This difference can be explained mainly through two historical factors. Firstly, the environmental disaster in Schweizerhalle in 1986 happened in the German-speaking Switzerland and had a huge impact there on people's awareness about environmental security. Secondly, I would mention the high unemployment rate in the early 1990s. While almost non-existent in the German-speaking Switzerland, it was high in the French-speaking Switzerland where it raised social concerns.

However, notably through the concept of "sustainability", there has been a convergence of interests, which can also be seen within Philias' network which includes as many French-speaking as German-speaking member companies. Nowadays, there is homogeneity although some small differences remain due to cultural differences.

Philias works with universities and schools across Switzerland in order to train and equip the future leaders of tomorrow about corporate social responsibility. What are the views of these future business leaders on CSR?

We can notice much more lectures about CSR in the universities. And a growing number of different schools tackle this topic: schools of economic, social and political sciences, engineering schools and also hotel schools. But the trends and the approaches are different in each kind of schools. Some of them target sustainability and finance, others like the University of Basel just created a chair of philanthropy.

Philias organizes a lot of its activities around the Humagora concept. Could you tell us about its objectives and why companies engage in it?

Humagora as well as other projects of Philias have for aim to improve the understanding between non-profit organisations and businesses, in order to foster partnerships between these two sectors, as well as to show that partnerships are not only about giving money but can also be about giving skills, knowledge, material or workforce.

We believe that, in order to be responsible, a company must be involved in its community and contribute to its social and environmental well-being. And since social issues are becoming more complex, one way to do it in an efficient way is to work hand in hand with local non-profits. It is a door open to a wider CSR strategy.

Philias hosts a CSR award in partnership with Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie. Who and what is the award for?

The award targets students who have conducted a survey on CSR. The objective of this initiative is to strengthen and to create a link between CSR theory and practice, and to contribute to create tomorrow's managers with both values and tools on CSR.

More information

Read more about Philias at www.philias.org.

Previous interviews

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