KAMEN KOLEV, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE BULGARIAN INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATION PARTICIPATES IN A REGIONAL FORUM ON "CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR SMES IN C

Kamen Kolev, Vice President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association participates in a Regional Forum on "Corporate Social Responsibility for SMEs in Central and Eastern Europe" to be held in Zagreb, Croatia on 9 – 10 March 2006.

As a region in the process of stabilisation and accession to the EU, the Governments in Central and Eastern Europe are under strong pressure to bring themselves into line with EU policies. One policy that is rapidly growing in importance in the EU is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In 2004/05 UNIDO launched a pilot project in Croatia for the development of Corporate Social Responsibility. Based on the Croatian experience, UNIDO has been asked by other Governments to extend the CSR programme towards other countries in the region  - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and Slovenia. .

In order to start such a comprehensive programme, UNIDO, jointly with the Government of Croatia, the Government of Hungary and the Croatian Cleaner Production Center, is organizing a Regional Forum on "Corporate Social Responsibility for Small and Medium Enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe," From Concept to Reality, 9-10 March 2006, Zagreb, Rep. of Croatia

The Regional Forum will embark upon issues, such as:

• How can small and medium enterprises implement, evaluate and report socially responsible business practices?
• How can the public sector support these endeavours?
• How can a regional approach help to disseminate know-how and expertise on implementing CSR principles in small and medium enterprises?