ETHICS AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Abstract

The main theme of the paper is the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of companies, based on the fundamental principles of business ethics. CSR is perceived as an evolving concept, In the 50s, being seen as a philanthropic act on the part of companies for the community in which they conduct their business; as a multiple approach, at the end of the twentieth and beginning of the Twenty-First Century, which includes economic, social and environmental aspects and, currently, as a complex vision and a responsibility totally assumed by companies, based on the UN Sustainable Development requirements of today's society. As a case study, the situation of CSR in Romania in its evolution in the last almost 10 years is presented, considering the number of companies that participated in the evaluation of their activity regarding the CSR approach, which are the companies that conduct business in Romania responsibly, what is their field of activity, what industries do they come from, etc. The conclusions that emerge from the analysis show that CSR has evolved slowly in Romania, but more and more, has gradually increased the number of companies that have a responsible behavior towards society as a whole, through the publication of sustainability reports, the industries from which these companies come, being more and more numerous. The top of the most involved companies is almost the same for the analyzed period, with some additions along the way.