H.E. Mrs. Diana Helen Madunic, Madam Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Croatia, held a lecture entitled “The Importance of Socially Responsible Businesses and Social Entrepreneurship – Global Experiences” on Monday, May 13, 2019, at the Student Center’s Café “Akvarij” at the University of Rijeka Campus.
Madam Ambassador was accompanied by Mr. Milorad Stanić, Honorary Consul from the Consulate of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Croatia, Rijeka. They were welcomed by Prof. Senka Maćešić, Ph.D., Vice-Rector for Informatization and Organization, and Ms. Iva Tijan, Head of the UNIRI International Unit, on behalf of Prof. Snježana Prijić-Samaržija, Ph.D., UNIRI Rector.
Madam Ambassador spoke about corporate social responsibility (CSR), i.e. sustainable corporate practice. This type of strategy includes human rights, environment, fight against corruption, working conditions, as well as social issues, such as gender equality, ethics, diversity, etc., and companies are to choose the areas concerning their field of work.
Since Sweden is a good example of such practice, Madam Ambassador Madunic explained it is the result of the Legal Regulation of Corporate Social Responsibility, which was adopted by the Swedish Parliament, which binds corporations to integrate sustainability into their management, analyze their production and supply chain, as well as determine risks of sustainability and write transparency reports on them. Some of the Swedish corporations using this strategy are IKEA (offers energy-saving LED light bulbs), Scania trucks and buses manufacturer (using eco-friendly production powered by processing sewage water) and H&M (trying to reduce the quantity of water used for clothes production). Such “small” changes are going to become inevitable in the future. Aside from being ethical and recently often regulated by law, they are also long-term cost-effective.
H.E. Mrs. Madunic’s lecture marked the beginning of the University of Rijeka’s days, taking place from 13 to 24 May 2019. More information about UNIRI Days can be found on the UNIRI website under “Events”.
