Stakeholders abroad have different expectations towards companies, depending on the type of corporate involvement. Of course, the focus is primarily on the company’s business activities – its product, or production, and all that goes along with it. But companies are always part of a social context, which leads to certain expectations. Among the areas companies need to consider are the following:

• Export: Responsibilities vis-à-vis the customer (e.g. product safety, responsible advertising), fair competition (preventing corruption) and the environment (e.g. environmentally friendly packaging)
• Import: Responsibilities vis-à-vis suppliers and their employees (e.g. fair practices in purchasing, certain social standards, working conditions, for example eliminating child labor) and the environment (e.g. low-emission transport)
• Investments: Responsibilities vis-à-vis employees (favorable working conditions, healthcare, training), the local community (e.g. infrastructure development, educational and health systems), the environment (e.g. environmentally friendly production systems, protecting the environment by saving and recycling raw materials)

CSR activities and their practical implementation are also affected by the size of the company and the industry in which it is involved, the respective country and the applicable legal conditions.