Corporate social responsibility of the construction sector in Spain

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a transformation of corporate culture ranging from the pursuit of value and maximum economic benefit to the commitment to contributing to sustainable development, collaborating with different social agents, governments, international organizations, global civil society and social movements. CSR is a more effective alternative to minimize the negative impacts of a company’s activity and generates a shared value between the company and society. The rise in world population, increasing urbanization and volume of construction has accelerated over the last 50 years. This situation leads to the need to systematize the use of limited resources. Increased demand for natural resources threatens the global economic and social balance and the construction sector is an important sector contributing to the depletion of energy and resources, it is therefore imperative to change the strategy and decision-taking in this sector. Construction has an important effect on other sectors and its socially responsible performance should be holistic. But these companies encounter obstacles, often related to the internal workings of the company such as its attitude of the top management, no clear lines of responsibility, financial constraints and external causes like the absence of initiatives and government incentives. Nowadays, lines of public action are aimed at promoting CSR from different European public policies. In this respect, the public administrations themselves should set a good example in public procurement processes, setting standards e.g., to reduce energy consumption or promote the use of renewable sources and to enforce existing regulations and combat corruption. Based on these premises, the objective of this work is to reflect on the importance of CSR in the objectives and strategies of companies in the construction sector. There is a summary of the lines of action on CSR recommended by the European Union, based on the definition of CSR set out by the European Commission. This definition has two dimensions, one internal such as human resources management, occupational health and safety, adaptation to change and management of environmental impact and natural resources and an external dimension including the development of local communities, collaboration with business partners, suppliers and consumers, and linked to human rights with the adoption of codes of conduct, thereby helping to solve some global ecological problems. Changes in the conception of sustainability, evaluation systems and the use of sustainability indexes are analyzed here and there is also an explanation of the evaluation of the life cycle of materials and products used in the construction industry. All this is framed in the context of Spain as the construction sector plays an important role within the business structure of Spain and is closely related to other sectors, especially the tourism sector that demands various kinds of services. © 2018 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.