ABSTRACT
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that describes the practice whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns into their business operations. The interaction of businesses with stakeholders on a voluntary basis is to achieve long-term sustainable growth and development. Thus the concept of CSR derives from the social model of a corporation and emphasizes social performance as the additional dimension for the evaluation of company operation. The group of stakeholders includes shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, local communities and management. On the operational level, CSR refers to a set of different initiatives undertaken in various spheres of social and economic lives (environmental protection, national heritage, social programmes, sports, education, etc.) to solve social problems, provide for stakeholder management and social dialogue and minimize the negative impact upon environment.
The paper discusses the practical dimensions of CSR, analysing the effectiveness of the activities of three of the largest companies, listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The article presents detailed CSR initiatives undertaken by these companies and evaluates the efficiency of CSR in addressing two questions: What impact do CSR programmes have upon stakeholders? and How do stakeholders benefit from these programmes?
