Building Bridges Consumer Citizenship: Promoting new responses Vol 3 Building Bridges Edited by Declan Doyle Trykk: Flisa Trykkeri, 2270 Flisa, Norway Det må ikke kopieres fra rapporten I strid med åndsverkloven og fotografiloven eller i strid med avtale om kopiering inngått med KOPINOR, interesseorgan for rettighetshavere til åndsverk. Boken kan bestiles ved henvendelse til Høgskolen i Hedmark [email protected] All rights reserved. This project has been carried out with the support of the European Community in the framework of the Socrates programme. The content of this project does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Community , nor does it involve any responsibility on the part of the European Community This book can be ordered from the Hedmark University College Contact: [email protected] 2007 © Forfatterne (The Authors) ISBN: 987-82-7671-625-2 Consumer Citizenship: Promoting new responses Vol 3 Building Bridges Contents INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................9 STIMULatinG StakehoLDER INVOLVEMENT Victoria W. Thoresen ........................................................................................11 COMMunication ABOUT Corporate SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) AS A PREREQUISITE FOR CONSUMER CITIZENSHIP – THE ROLE OF CONSUMER POLICY actors IN GERMANY Ulf Schrader Silja Halbes ......................................................................................................19 EFFICIENCY OF ENVIRONMentaL LABELLING AS EXPRESSED THROUGH CONSUMER AWARENESS IN Estonia Ellin Unt Hindrek Lootus .................................................................................................31 BRIDGING FOOD PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION. WHICH STAKEHOLDERS FOR WHICH POLICIES? EMPIRICAL SUPPORT FROM A SURVEY OF 800 CONSUMERS Elena Battaglini ...............................................................................................41 USING SOCIAL INNOVATION AND DIALOGUE AS A TOOL IN CREATING A MORE SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY – THE INTRODUCTION OF FAIRTRADE TOWNS TO NORWAY Lone Singstad Pålshaugen ...............................................................................53 ANALYSIS CONCERNING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN INSTITUTIONAL WEBSITES OF EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN COMPANIES Sevgi Kalkan Yeşim Çakti .......................................................................................................63 7 THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS, CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, AND SOCIAL INTEGration OF ECONOMIC IMMIGRANTS IN ATHENS, GREECE Helen Theodoropoulou Petros C. Kosmas .............................................................................................81 GLOBAL VERSUS LOCAL KNOWLEDGE IN AFRICA. What CAN WE LEARN FROM ENVIRONMentaL narratiVES? Jørgen Klein .....................................................................................................95 SOME PROBLEMS OF CONSUMER CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION: INTER- AND TRANSDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES Irina Liokumoviča ..........................................................................................113 “BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER WHy” CONSUMER, ARGUMENTS AND PRODUCERS Peter Daub .....................................................................................................123 JOINT EUROPEAN MASTER AS A TOOL FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY TEACHING IN CONSUMER CITIZENSHIP Bistra Vassileva Violeta Dimitrova ...........................................................................................131 MAKING BRIDGES OVER CULTURAL DIFFERENCES PODLASIE CASE Barbara Mazur...............................................................................................143 Consumer Citizenship: Promoting new responses Vol 3 Building Bridges INTRODUCTION Building Bridges How apt a title for a CCN conference. Consider the many different ways in which this simple phrase may be interpreted in relation to the CCN network? CCN partners have built bridges between countries, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea and from the Norwegian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. They have built bridges between disciplines from Architecture to Zoology. They have built bridges from North to South and from East to West. Conference speakers have come from North and South America, Africa and Asia. Now they are seeking to build bridges crossing the rivers of knowledge that separate as well as unite disciplines. Can that big bridge to bring CCN from a multidisciplinary network to an interdisciplinary network be built? The Cambridge University Press dictionary defines multidisciplinary as involving different subjects of study in one activity. It defines interdisciplinary as involving two or more different subjects or areas of knowledge. The difference can sometimes be difficult to comprehend. If we take the example of sustainable development, a multidisciplinary approach would involve, for instance, an economist and a scientist working on the same problem but separately. Research may be carried out and published in the relevant academic journals of the individual discipline but the most effective method for dealing with the problems may not be developed. Using an interdisciplinary approach involves the economists and scientists coming together whereby concepts and methods from one discipline are worked on and developed by researchers from other disciplines developing a single unified response. Consumer Citizenship requires movement towards the integrated interdisciplinary model. The evolving discipline is so diverse as to make other approaches meaningless. As researchers and activists approaching consumer citizenship from many different directions there is a need to cross bridges to arrive at a common destination. Declan Doyle Editor 9 10 STIMULATING STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT Victoria W. Thoresen Hedmark University College, Hamar, Norway 11 12 How is stakeholder involvement stimulated? War is without a doubt the most effective means of stimulating stakeholder involvement. But paradoxically, war brings destruction and death to those very things the stakeholder tries to maintain. War does not contribute to the building of bridges. Could it be the fear of losing that which one has a vested interest in which drives the individual to accept being drawn into armed conflicts? Fear is definitely a strong motivating factor. Both the “fear of losing” as well as the “fear of not being able to have” forces people to get involved. The majority of wars have been and still are, being fought over possession of natural resources despite ideological excuses. The modern concept of stakeholder involvement is, however, not based only on concern for negative consequences although the lessons we are learning about destruction of the environment and climate change are serious and clearly colored with anxiety about the future. Stakeholder involvement is per definition, proactive rather than merely reactive. It is constructive and cooperative rather than merely accusative. It is like a bridge which brings two distinctly separate points into contact. Stakeholder involvement is civic action in areas previously restricted to owners, producers, legislators and scientists. It is founded on the idea of universal social responsibility. Why is there an increase in stakeholder involvement? There are several reasons for the growth of stakeholder involvement in recent decades. The significant increase in the number of democracies in recent years has strengthened the role of the active citizen. (1) The growth of digital communication as a means of expressing one’s opinions has provided activists and interest organizations with powerful tools. Media have even begun to referring to “the user revolution”. The fact that corporate actors have such a dominant position in determining priorities and maintaining power in society has highlighted the need for improving the balance between freedom for commercial endeavors and the safeguarding of consumer rights, social development and environmental quality. (2) The inbuilt sensitivity of the global market to consumer decisions has transformed the consumer into a strategic economic force to be reckoned with. There is increased public interest in assuring that firms, governments and organizations behave in a more balanced, socially responsible manner and report publicly on their behaviour. There is also heightened sensitivity to information about how the consequences of production and consumption affect not only one’s nearest family, friends, or colleagues but also human beings all over the globe. Concepts such as “needs”, “contentment” and “development” have altered their meaning. No longer does one only look at GNP to define growth. Issues of well being, life quality, choice and participatory governance fill 13 international declarations and guidelines for the human development of nations. The consequences of our lifestyle choices are being measured in many ways such as by ecological footprints. The marginalized and helpless are increasingly more visible and being heard to a greater extent than ever before. Social Responsibility—the ideological foundation The ethical and ideological foundation for much stakeholder involvement is the concept of social responsibility. Social responsibility, though connected to the concepts of justice and caring, is not something constant, solid, set and stagnant. It is in a state of continual transformation and dependent upon individuals being able to identify values and recognize patterns and processes. It requires the quiet change of individuals adjusting their lifestyles and