October 2016 - The Salone of CSR and Social Innovation at the Bocconi University in Milan, is the venue for the first meeting of a new network bringing together the leading European organisations representing CSR professionals: the aim of the European Association of Sustainability Professionals(EASP) is to pool experiences in order to promote the skills and leverage the role of these practitioners within their organizations as a driver for sustainable development.
The new platform is promoted by CSR Manager Network, the association active in Italy for the past ten years, with more than one hundred professionals working on socio-environmental and sustainability strategies and projects; so far, four other countries have joined: France, with the Collège des Directeurs du Développement Durable (C3D), Germany with Verband für Nachhaltigkeits- und Umweltmanagement (VNU), Spain with the Asociación Española de Directivos de RSE (DIRSE) and Great Britain with the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (ICRS).
The new network is open to all comparable organisations in Europe: the associations that represent sustainability practitioners at local level have many points of contact, even though certain parameters may differ (legal form, size of membership, priorities given to different issues, etc.).
With increasing numbers of initiatives and input coming from European policymakers, CSR professionals in the various nations need to network in order to respond appropriately.
Exchanges of information and good practices, collaboration on specific projects, sharing of results of activities with a wider audience: all this, structured in a platform without borders, can help specialists work with institutions.
“In the past 10 years, CSR Manager Network members have come to realise and, I think, develop a growing appreciation of the importance of pooling their experiences,” - said Fulvio Rossi, President of CSR Manager Network. -“This is why we want to promote a network that reproduces this collaborative approach at an international level.”
The first EASP’s meeting “A European Perspective for Sustainability Professionals” is led by Fulvio Rossi, President CSR Manager Network and CSR Manager at Terna, Davide Dal Maso from Avanzi, a director of CSR Manager Network and promoter of the project, together with Marina Migliorato, Vice-Chair CSREurope, and the first European members: Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Asociación Española de Directivos de RSE, Verband für Nachhaltigkeits- und Umweltmanagement and Collège des Directeurs du Développement Durable.