“Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) brings widespread benefits to society but it is also an important component of competitiveness and job creation in Europe,” says Ramon Ollé, CEO, Epson Europe at the CSR Alliance press conference, Brussels, 22nd March 2006. Olle also identifies three priority areas where businesses can make a valuable contribution within their social environment, they are; education, enhancing the dialogue on ethics and environmental innovation.

Education
Ollé, who is currently working closely with several universities in Europe to produce learning material on the subject says, “We believe it is critical to teach our future managers the importance of CSR. It is not just an issue for academics and corporate departments, it must be taken into account in all aspects of strategic decision making in business. It ought to be taught widely throughout universities so that our future employees and managers are aware of its importance well before entering the corporate sector.”

Enhancing the dialogue on ethics
Ollé also highlights the importance of integrating ethics with technology to provide inclusive access to technical innovations. Epson will share its knowledge of ethics and technology derived from its association with the Epson Foundation in Barcelona, Spain. The Epson Foundation promotes the integration of ethical and social concerns into technological development and nurtures young talent in cooperation with universities.

Environmental innovation
Finally, Ollé says that, “Honest commitment to environmental improvement, from design to manufacturing should become a standard business practice,” and businesses should aim to continually develop more energy efficient products.

The CSR Alliance, of which Epson is a member, has been founded to create an innovative partnership within business as the primary actors of CSR and to encourage the further uptake of CSR in Europe. It is a voluntary corporate alliance, supported by the European Commission and is made up of a wide range of business leaders across Europe.

The European Commission is inviting European enterprise to “move up a gear” and to strengthen their commitment to CSR. The CSR Alliance supports the Commission’s aims to encourage the further take-up of CSR amongst European business and to increase support and recognition for CSR as a contributor to sustainable development.

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Editors Notes:

CSR Alliance Members attending the press conference
Mr Bernd Pichetsrieder, CEO VW
Mr Ramon Ollé, CEO Epson
Mr Philippe de Buck, Secretary General Unice
Mr Muller, President Euapme
Mr Viscount Etienne Davignon,Suez-Tractebel, Vice President
Mr Suez-Tractebel, Vice President
Mr Patrick De Smedt, Chair Microsoft EMEA
Mr Mark Ware, Group Vice President External Affairs, BP Plc,
Mr Nikos Analytis, Board Member TITAN
Mr Takis Athanasopoulos, Executive Vice President, Toyota Europe
Mr Eggert Voscherau, Board Member BASF

About Mr Ramon Ollé
Mr Ramon Ollé Ribalta is CEO and Chairman of Epson Europe, responsible for the overall performance of Epson’s business and presence in Europe.

Mr Ollé joined Epson in 1985 as Managing Director of Epson Iberica, further to a joint venture between the Japanese multinational Seiko Epson and his own company. In 2000, he was appointed Executive Vice-President of Epson Europe, the regional headquarters of the Epson Group for Europe, Middle-East and Africa. He went on to become President of Epson Europe in 2001 and then Chief Executive Officer and Chairman in October 2003. He is also a ‘standing director’ of Seiko Epson Corporation.

In September 2005, Mr Ollé was appointed member of the Executive Board of EICTA, the European industry organization representing the digital technology industry in the European Union.

About Epson
Epson is a global leader in imaging products including printers, projectors and LCDs. With an innovative and creative culture, Epson is dedicated to exceeding the vision and expectations of customers worldwide with products known for their superior quality, functionality, compactness and energy efficiency.

Epson is a network of 98,480 employees in 107 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and to the communities in which it is located. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp., the Group had consolidated sales of 1479.7 billion yen in fiscal 2004.