CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, is a philosophy, a value involving the company thoroughly and transversally. Sustainability is one of the aspects, but not the only one; it’s also basic to answer for the observance of the law and inspire new life and work styles. CSR isn’t synonymous with charity, it’s a virtuous process to create profit for the company, too. CSR is a theme, not too much discussed, that should be spread to awaken public opinion and users, to create communities of professions sharing this culture.
In short, these concepts came out at WOW! Jelly Session, that took place at Sedus  Italia, a pioneering company in the application of these concepts –CSR, sustainability, work-life balance- far earlier this word was coined. In the fifties, the owners, the Stolls, introduced this philosophy in Sedus as personal ethics, without a political idea or a managerial model – explains Dorothea Scheidl-Nennemann, PR manager Sedus ed editor del corporate magazine Place 2.5– and it involved the whole company. In 1993 Christof Stoll was awarded Sustainable Manager by WWF”.
From the wish to give the employees the possibility of a better life came also the idea of the biodyinamic garden and the company restaurant.

Vodafone is one of the Italian excellences: on the one hand, environmentally-conscious, as proved by the Vodafone Village, on the other hand, maximizing the impact of technologies and mobile networks on the social. Because CSR means to have a different position on each tessera part of a much more complex whole; that’s why the control of the chain and commitment are basic.
CSR is a philosophy underlying the corporate culture, it’s a balancing of the economic, environmental and social values, although environmental themes give a higher return in terms of business and marketing.
LEED tools should be used to save and cope with complexity globally, to consider the real needs. Moreover, those, who buy have a right to know not just the technical specifications and performances, but also the environmental mark of what they are choosing.
What is the 2.0 architects’ role? They must be ethic, sustainable and able to communicate, they must create a climate of confidence with the customer and implement a cultural contagion… yet, sometimes they don’t believe it themselves,  and don’t aim at sustainability, inventing alibis such as not too clear rules or the lack of culture of customers and suppliers.
And now we find out that even the Internet is polluting and we should start to pay attention to this problem.
Thanks to:

Mariateresa Addario, sales account Nora Italia;
Daniele Andriolo, facility mngr;
Matteo Artusi, architetto Fondazione Italiana Bioarchitettura;
Alessandro Bonafede, AD Nora Italia;
Chiara Bondioli, Fondazione Vodafone;
Lella Castelli, responsabile mktg Sedus Italia;
Caterina Cedrone, Property Strategy Expert;
Eleonora Beatrice Fontana, architetto, ICET Studios;
Tiziana Galletta, area sales mngr 3Form;
Mario Garretti, architetto Garrettio Associati,
Manuela Macchi, head of CSR and communication Holcim;
Lucia Matti, communication manager Lombardini 22;
Marco Mari, vice presidente GBC Italia;
Filippo Saba, direttore commerciale Interface;
Dorothea Scheidl-Nennemann, international public relations manager;
Renata Sias, editor WOW!

Text by Renata Sias, editor of WOW! Webmagazine