Corporate Social Responsibility and the Renewable Energy Development in the Baltic States

Abstract

Recently, the approaches of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the renewable energy development have changed with the new global approach to sustainability. Today, CSR is an evolving and dominating business practice that integrates sustainable development into a company’s business model. The main focus of our paper is on the public relations of corporate social responsibility in renewable energy development. We show that a proper approach to public relations and resulting communication and dissemination of products and results should be sustained. This paper assesses the new pathways for executing public relations for CSR with relation to the renewable energy projects. The study analyses the impact of corporate social responsibility on energy companies, which are expected to make a positive contribution to the development of sustainable energy. We use both the overview of the theoretical concepts and literature as well as analyze the case of the “old” and “new” European Union Member countries represented by the Baltic States that yield many similarities but differ in their economic development to show the best practices of promoting CSR in sustainable energy development. Our results demonstrate that the implementation of corporate social responsibility can help to create more ethical and conscious sustainable companies and to build better relationships with the environmentally engaged citizens and loyal customers who are also concerned about the environment, health and well-being of their communities.

1. Introduction

In the recent years, from the Kyoto Protocols to the Copenhagen Accord and further to the Paris Agreement, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) is finding its appropriate place in the renewable energy development. The development of socially responsible business in the renewable energy sector can be carried out without state interventions. However, in order to achieve this, a proper approach to public relations and resulting communication and dissemination of products and results should be sustained.

In formal terms, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the ecological and social sustainability practiced, whether in the form of social responsibility, environmental sustainability or ecological governance [1,2]. According to many researchers, today’s approach to the corporate social responsibility is essentially about upholding high standards and giving back to communities [3,4]. The concept is of a special importance in the European Union (EU), which highlights its importance. The European Commission perceives CSR as the voluntary responsibility of organization for their impact on society [5].

In general, the commitment to CSR means that a company works in a way that promotes the links between society and the environment as well as contributes to the sustainable development agenda rather than contributing negatively to it [6]. In addition to strengthening their brand, companies can also benefit from society in other ways, such as by creating new jobs, promoting and enhancing education and economic growth and creating a positive public image of the green energy that facilitates its wide social acceptance [7,8,9,10]. Corporate social responsibility is also often linked to a company’s continued commitment to behave ethically and contribute to the sustainable economic development through environmental improvement, social justice, human rights and the well-being of its employees and customers [11,12]. Moreover, as important as CSR is to the community, it is valuable to business. Corporate social responsibility is essentially aimed at creating a new social awareness in the business world that is compatible with strategies for maximizing profits, even though the profit maximization is done indirectly (we will return to that in the next section) [13,14,15]. However, this is not that straightforward, because CSR does not increase a company’s profitability directly. Instead, it does so indirectly, as it helps to increase the respect to the company and its products on the market (even get a company a listing at the FTSE4Good Index Series of socially responsible tradable indexes for ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)), which can, in turn, result in higher sales, customer loyalty and attracting better personnel (similar to Google that uses a corporate code of conduct of “don’t be evil”). This can also lead to higher stock price of the company’s stocks and higher gains for its shareholders.

In the long run, private companies should regulate their activities through long-term consideration of the environmental and human rights impacts of their actions. With regard to the PR tools and techniques applied for shaping up the CSR strategies, the term “greenwashing” is often applied. Greenwashing can be found in companies that exaggerate or misrepresent the effects of environmental actions or promote products as environmentally friendly when in reality they are not [16,17,18,19]. If a company tries to look good through systemic change that has no long-term positive impact, the public will sooner or later find that out (this is the prerogative of our age of massive digitalization, open-source intelligence and online sleuthing) and make better informed decisions regarding the company’s products. Stakeholders and policy-makers should establish the rules of the game that would help to prevent greenwashed marketing messages from reaching the market and the potential customers.

However, in order to truly understand how a company treats the environment, one needs to do more than blindly accept the words on its website or the advertising techniques—this is where the communication and public relations (PR) in CSR step in [20]. In addition, many companies use their CSR activities to recruit and retain the best managers and to form partnerships with communities to increase their influence in legislation. CSR advocates argue that there are many other benefits related to corporate social responsibility. Accreditation with the Green Economy label informs investors and shareholders who are more likely to support companies that produce environmentally friendly products and services [21,22]. Against this background, socially aware consumers and other stakeholders are starting to pay more attention to corporate social responsibility and its impact on the environment. Companies that make CSR an integral part of their business model are better at managing risk than companies that do not [23,24]. Many companies are introducing the Green Economy label to guide environmentally friendly practices and demonstrate their commitment to the environment and its impact on the economy. They are showing a good example for the other companies that still need to improve when it comes to environmental sustainability, including the way they treat the computers, servers and other technological solutions they use in their daily business [25].

Quite often, businesses and economists tend to reject the idea of CSR, because it implies a binding legal obligation for companies that includes a number of legal requirements, such as environmental and social responsibility and environmental management. Some companies invest in CSR out of a sense of moral duty to society, while others are interested in investing in small businesses that need less expensive production equipment, and others yet invest, because they are a small company with a limited budget and need it. Companies invest CSR to manage their reputation and maintain profitability. A 2019 study of millennials by Deloitte found that climate change and environmental protection are at the top of millennials’ concerns. Almost half of respondents said that companies need to improve the world, compared with only 37% who said that it was more important for companies to “make money for shareholders”, and 73% of investors agreed. The report found that 77 percent of consumers would be more likely to buy a company’s products and services if the company committed to social, economic and environmental issues [26].

All of the above is important within the context of the renewable energy development: either for the companies that directly work in the field of the renewable energy or use the renewable energy in their daily businesses as, for example, a source of electricity, or in the financial sector (e.g., trading green bonds or emissions).

Thence, the main focus of our article is on the public relations of corporate social responsibility in renewable energy development. Currently, there is only a handful of studies focusing on the CSR and CSR reporting practices of energy utilities in various countries, but most of them fail to provide the explanation of the links between CSR and the implications for the development of the renewable energy [27,28,29,30,31,32]. In addition, the issue of public relations of CSR in renewable energy development is not fully developed within the context of the comparison between the EU “old” and “new” Member States [33,34,35,36]. The main value-added of our paper is that we look into these issues from various angles and employ the case study of the “old” and “new” EU Member States represented by the Baltic countries. The selection of the Baltic States as the subject of this research is not random: these countries are located in relative proximity to each other and share the same geographical conditions and the potential for the development of renewable energy. However, they also differ in the stage of their economic development, with Denmark, Finland and Sweden being the more advanced economies that joined the EU at the earlier stages and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania being the post-Communist countries that had to undergo the complex economic transition that enabled them to join the EU in 2004 during the so-called “Eastern Enlargement”. Clearly, the prerequisites and underlying conditions of these countries are not uniform, which makes them an interesting subject of the research.

The article is organized as follows: Section 2 presents literature review. Section 3 introduces the comprehensive insight into the public relations and renewable energy development. Section 4 presents the methodology and data. Section 5 provides the main results and discussions. Finally, Section 6 concludes, outlaying some main outcomes and policy implications.

2. Literature Review

While countries around the world are committing to renewable energy targets under the Paris Agreement signed in 2015, companies are taking the lead [37]. From the Kyoto Protocols to the Copenhagen Accord and the Paris Agreement, companies are taking control of their CSR activities for competition and better planning their future investments using a balanced global climate effort, establishing environmentally friendly, long-term objectives, improving transparency and encouraging market-based approaches to minimize costs [38]. For instance, in April 2021, over 100 companies generating over $1.4 trillion in global annual revenues and having more than 5 million employees across 25 industries in 16 countries such as Amazon, PepsiCo, Heineken and Visa signed The Climate Pledge, committing to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis [39].

One of the ways in which a company’s commitment to social responsibility and its social and environmental responsibility is effectively conveyed can be through its support of the renewable energy. Here are the reasons why renewable energy is a must for companies to commit to social responsibility: As the Paris Agreement has demonstrated, many of the world’s largest countries are implementing the costly but necessary plan to produce 100% renewable energy by 2050. In addition to reducing air pollution, wind and solar energy use little or no water to generate electricity.

In general terms, Corporate Social Responsibility is the constantly altering and self-advancing concept in the field of business management [40,41,42]. Today, CSR has become a standard management concept in which companies assume their ethical, social and environmental responsibility toward society [43,44]. A value-driven model aligns strategic CSR with environmental management and stakeholder approaches to achieve long-term corporate sustainability in terms of corporate economic performance and social outcomes of corporate responsibility [45,46].

Corporate economic, legal and ethical responsibility for society are compatible with the CSR business case [47], because corporations can generate long-term value for society through a respectful and proactive attitude toward various stakeholders, including their human resources [48]. These suggest that one of the CSR outcomes is to communicate companies’ commitment to responsible sustainability—a value shared by all stakeholders. Business companies spend billions on social responsibility initiatives such as event marketing, philanthropic initiatives and aid initiatives for minorities in order to move forward and build a good reputation of the company. This is because consumer purchasing intentions affect 60% of the perception of companies and 40% of the perception of products; in addition, it appears that 42% of corporate images are attributable to corporate CSR activities [49].

A good example of CSR effective PR strategies and approaches in action is Coca-Cola Company. With wind power saving about 331,560 gallons of water annually compared to coal-fired power, it is clear that renewables would also help Coca-Cola meet its water-saving goals. This will not only achieve their carbon emissions target but also their water and nature conservation targets. In order to help achieve its sustainability goals, Coca-Cola has explicitly stated that it plans to tap into renewable, low-carbon energy sources within five years. The company’s records state that it only sources renewable energy from wind and solar power, as well as other sources such as hydropower. However, with the federal tax breaks and incentives soon to expire, Coca-Cola could soon join other responsible big corporations in buying significant amounts of wind or solar power. Renewable energy could help Coca-Cola achieve its CSR and sustainability goals. The company has set itself the target of replenishing 100% of the water consumed and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2020. A recent Greenpeace estimate estimated that the resulting savings would be $180 billion by 2030 if the world switched 70% of its electricity programs to renewable energy [50].

It is apparent that improving renewable energy initiatives can also boost employment, with 380,000 new jobs created in Germany in the recent years thanks to its Energiewende (“energy turn”) strategy, where renewable energy accounts for a quarter of national energy demand [51,52]. Although companies do not have the resources of an entire country, it is realistic for them to reduce costs by using renewable energy. For companies, these cost-saving measures could help raise wages, hire more people, and grow their businesses. In the United States, there are dozens of eco-tariff schemes that allow customers to buy renewable energy on a large scale from the grid, most of which were introduced quite recently. Seventy to eighty companies have signed the principle of purchasing renewable energy and have established guidelines on which industry-leading, multinational companies that source renewable energy from the grid they are aiming for. These companies sign PPAs and turn to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) for support in accessing renewable energy. However, participation in these programs is complex and not yet available in many areas, and it is complex in other areas such as energy efficiency, energy storage and renewable energy management. Corruption risks are a very important problem that hinders sustainable energy development and an area to which CSR can be applied to mitigate these risks in the energy sector.

Moreover, public policies could play a crucial role in creating a favorable environment for corruption and risk reduction, as well as for the development of sustainable energy development in general. This is due to the need to take account of carbon emissions and water purification, which generally occur with the increased use of renewable energy, and the environmental impact of climate change. In recent years, we have seen an increasing shift in the goals for CSR and green energy, with companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Salesforce, among others, announcing aggressive targets for sustainability and renewable energy and increasingly prioritizing CSR targets. Salesforce made headlines in 2014 for reaching a decade-long goal of a net zero emissions target for all of its global operations by 2050. Over the years, they have worked to increase the use of clean energy sources such as solar and wind, which has helped them achieve the net zero emission designation. North Carolina is one of only three states that provide renewable energy through direct corporate ownership of offsite facilities. For example, its Duke Energy’s Green Source Rider allows companies to buy large amounts of renewable electricity directly from the utility, so there is no additional cost to ratepayers. Commercial and industrial (C&C) buyers can overtake utilities in terms of the amount of solar and wind power available to them.

With regard to the above, it might be useful to take a look at the PR strategies and promotion of renewable energy using the approach used in promoting special campaigns and events [53,54,55,56]. In modern science, there is no uniform understanding of the essential features and characteristics of a special event. The main methodological approaches to understanding the event should be briefly reviewed. The ontological approach fixes an event as a manifestation of the existential meaning of a person’s life in his concrete actions [57]. Only a person has access to comprehension of being, which becomes possible with the help of his sensory perception and rational thinking and has the goal of joining true existence and acquiring identity and freedom. Only a person can understand what it means to be (to have real reality), what its purpose is, and what it is to not just exist as an animal or a plant. Thence, any given event becomes necessary for the formation of being and is the most important condition for the realization of a person in the world.

The aesthetic approach focuses on the event as a theatrical action. Aristotle pointed out two most important effects that theatrical art causes in the masses: catharsis and mimesis [58]. Catharsis makes the viewer empathize and sympathize with the events on the stage, purifying his soul, uplifting and educating him. Mimesis means imitation of real life; events that the theatrical art can present as more beautiful or disgusting than they really are. Social relations in the course of dramatic action acquire a symbolic character. One can recall the example of the firefighter Montag’s wife in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, who spends most of her time in a room with huge wall-to-wall televisions (so-called “TV walls”) and participates in the endless soap opera in which the characters address her directly, leaving a pause for response, thereby imitating her participation in the show. The young woman’s main dream was to save money to buy a fourth TV wall (she had only three in her apartment), apparently in order to completely disappear into this media reality, even if, for this, she had to completely dissolve in it [59].

The anthropological approach focuses on the event as a means of establishing a dialogue between people, contributing to their joint activities [60]. There are two types of events: monologic ones, when the idealistic understanding of identity prevails, or, on the contrary, the materialistic ones, with the dissolution of the identity in the mass and dialogism, based on the equality of communication partners. A man can be represented as a multifaceted and multiquality phenomenon, in principle not reducible to one of his manifestations. The modern postanthropological era is characterized by the rejection of the idea of man as a carrier of reason, as well as moral, social and other cultural values. For the “information man” (homo informaticus), the ability to receive, process and transmit information becomes the main value reference [61]. Communication permeates all aspects of social life, leading to the fact that a modern person exists, rather not in the space of people and things, but in a space woven from images, images, messages, myths, stereotypes.

The gamification approach to PR activities consists in the perception of an event as a competition between individuals, the implementation of their life strategies. In modern society, characterized by rapidity, diffuseness and nonlinearity, gamification appears as a special way of experiencing reality that presupposes the interpenetration of game activity and culture, replacing social reality with virtual reality [62].

With regard to the above, Wittgenstein introduces the term “language games” [63], which are understood as various options for its use. The idea of a language game assumes that language, like the performance of music, stage action, sports and other competitions, is dynamic by its very nature, the field of action for it is communication [64]. People participate in various language practices by adhering to certain rules of the game. The rules determine the possible meaning of certain words, which leads to mutual understanding between people. The most interesting thing begins when each of the communicative parties adheres to its own rules for interpreting speech meanings. Here begins the process of a game, a theatrical act in which the meaning of words is constantly changing, a new perception of the world arises. The language game creates new opportunities for communication and at the same time acts as a tool for manipulating the consciousness of the audience [65].

The simulative approach focused not on understanding the essence of events but on their perception in communication as real and unreal. Audiences demand entertainment, but important news doesn’t happen regularly, and to fill the gap, news corporations report “pseudo-events”, political performances organized by politicians to tell a specific story. In the modern world, there is a loss of the sense of reality; it is replaced by a state of hyperreality (simulative super-reality), more attractive than reality itself (e.g., virtualization, 3D models, etc.). Reality is replaced by its signs (simulacra), or copies that do not have an original. In hyperreality, symbols acquire their own being, create their own events. Politics, economics and sexuality are becoming simulacra created by the mass media.

The modern internet space is no longer just a tool for shaping the vision of reality as television used to be but is becoming the very environment for people to live. It seeks to replace all the vital human needs for knowledge, entertainment and even communication itself, leaving literally not a single opportunity to look beyond the limits of this hyperreality. The cyberspace of virtual reality is filled not with people and material objects but with their projections produced with texts and images. These new technologies appear to be the most effective in devising the PR strategies and promoting new approaches toward shaping up the CSR plans for business companies in its many applications, including the development of the renewable energy applications as a part of the transition of companies and organization toward the carbon-free economy [66,67].

Summarizing the methodological approaches presented, it can be argued that an event represents an expression of reality by a person in a spectacular situation, during which a certain meaning of being is played out. This might be very relevant when organizing events leading to the promotion of renewable energy solutions and the development of renewable energy sources with regard to shaping up and building CSR strategies and campaigns.

3. Public Relations and Renewable Energy Development

There are many agencies operating in the renewable industry, and many of these agencies have clients from the past. With the growth of the renewable energy sector, there has been an increase in the demand for specialized PR agencies focusing on this sector. Finding a suitable agency can be difficult, as there are many different agencies in the field of renewable energy. With regard to this, it is important to be able to find the best possible offer for a given renewable energy development and public relations using PR companies that know the renewable energy market and have experience in marketing renewable energies [68,69]. In the fields of renewable energy development as well as marketing for renewable energies and public relations, now it is the right time to redefine the leading position in the market and to increase the vision for the future of renewable energy.

The promotion of the renewable energy development is carried out through the efforts to establish and maintain a strong relationship with the public, its customers and partners. This is typically done through the development and implementation of marketing and communication plans and campaigns to achieve marketing objectives [70]. Consulting in marketing sales is done to project the company’s message to external and internal media. Assistance in the conception and implementation of marketing campaigns and promotional gifts is also an asset, as is assistance in identifying, engaging and managing the resources needed, including access to resources such as personnel, equipment, training and other resources to help. Expertise, relationships and experience are required to design, implement and manage these programs effectively. Innovative renewable energy strategy is driving new regulations and encouraging stakeholders to move forward with innovative solutions quickly. Teams of experienced journalists can use global networks of reporters in all corners of the media to spread the word about the novel renewable energy technology to a mainstream audience.

Businesses often say so, but it has never been more important to show commitment to solving environmental problems. Communicating sustainability initiatives to the public is difficult, and getting the right messages is challenging [71]. Business leaders and communication teams are afraid of being criticized for their progress, afraid of sounding inauthentic or afraid of not setting sustainability goals sooner and ashamed of having to set them earlier. A communication strategy that starts from a place of fear is not an answer, but a necessary first step in the right direction. One can see a number of contemporary global crises that require us to be more proactive in our sustainable development PR strategy in the context of climate change.

Over the years, reputation management has proved to be more crucial than ever for companies. Professional advice and solutions that are geared toward a sustainable future no longer depend on compliance. While more and more brands are taking a stand on polarizing social issues, tangible changes are being implemented in practice. For this reason, it is crucial for brands as communicators to follow the high ethical standards of our customers in order to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [72]. With transparency and authenticity, our PR efforts must always be geared to managing our reputation by behaving the right way, not only for our customers, but also for ourselves. If companies accurately document their sustainable goals and work with us to report on their business, we can provide the evidence to support authentic sustainability marketing and communication. We can be inspired by organizations’ commitments to the SDGs, because we know that they can also be held directly accountable for their performance. There is no excuse for creative overreach and marketing claims that are not backed up by deeds. The SDGs provide guidelines for companies to communicate and market in an authentic and transparent manner, while emphasizing the need for those working in marketing, advertising and public relations to work on their own sustainable marketing strategies. PR professionals also act as advocates for social change, and they should understand the enormous benefits of sustainability and pass them on to organizations and society. By understanding the importance of public relations for the development of sustainable marketing strategies, one can better understand the impact of her or his company’s sustainability strategy on the environment and the economy. If one already understands the power of “sustainability” PR, what about the benefits for any given organization, society and customers?

Generally, it appears that some of the most respected, multibillion-dollar companies have made it there by using public relations as a key component of their sustainability strategy. Sustainability marketing means providing greater value to customers, ensuring brands remain viable in the long term, and launching a vibrant PR campaign to support and improve these measures. It is the best thing that can happen to public relations, because its overall objective is one that is perfectly aligned with public affairs as a whole. Companies from all sectors have integrated what they consider to be an authentic, broader purpose into their marketing strategy, which will, in turn, lead to competitive advantages and long-term profitability. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to communicate their goals and performance to their customers, employees, partners, stakeholders and the general public at all levels. Sustainability-aimed PR has become a growing source of information to promote behaviors and strategies that take long-term risks into account. Our experts help companies disclose sustainability performance and develop reporting and communication approaches that demonstrate sustainability commitment at the stakeholder level. PR could be used to play a more active role in building trust, facilitating cooperation and bringing about desired change of any business company. Sustainability PR consultants are interested in helping companies better understand the changing context in which they operate. There is a strong need for more transparency and accountability in public relations for sustainability. Effective PR consultants should have experience in developing state-of-the-art strategies for measuring environmental impacts, communicating the impact of corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability initiatives, assessing wellness performance in the workplace and reporting on sustainability issues. They should promote public benefit by raising public awareness of a customer’s social or environmental impact, measuring, monitoring or demonstrating through its campaigns.

One form of that is the impact relations agency dedicated to promoting social innovation by sharing stories that matter. Sustainability today means that conscious investors no longer just look at a company’s balance sheet but look for evidence of social, environmental and ethical investments. Sustainability PR experts are committed to helping companies in the field of sustainability meet their social and environmental challenges not only in financial terms but also in their public relations and social responsibility efforts. In short, many organizations, including private, public and NGOs, have now started to recognize that they need to communicate more effectively.

4. Methodology and Data

Corporate social responsibility in business enterprises concerns people and organizations who behave and act in accordance with the principles of good corporate governance, ethical business practices and corporate responsibility [73]. This leadership mission examines the social and environmental aspects of corporate sustainability and suggests the qualities that CSR leaders use as models and how they can promote these qualities. The social responsibility movement began as a debate about whether companies have a responsibility to society.

When it comes to the sustainable energy development and the promotion of the sustainable energy sources on the pathway from the carbon-driven economy to the carbon-free future, CSR plays an important role and occupies an important niche in changing the social and business awareness, setting up the tasks and complying with the principles of the sustainable development [74,75].

In this paper, we take a closer look at the CSR issues in the Baltic States, a small group of countries in the European Union (EU) that offer a lot to foreign companies and have an interesting research background with regard to the sustainable energy development [76,77]. Their favorable business climate makes them particularly attractive to foreign companies, especially in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). All three are in line with the European Union (EU) policy of “do-it-yourself” for social justice and environmental sustainability. An analysis of the research literature suggests that corporate social responsibility in energy utilities is the most important policy measure to ensure sustainable energy development in the Baltic States. CSR in the energy sector addresses social, economic and environmental issues and is compatible with the concept of a sustainable economy.

Based on the analysis of the literature and the methodological concerns raised in the previous section, our research hypothesis can be summarized as follows: it is possible to conduct the assessment of CSR of renewable energy companies from the point of view of the public relations and rank the given countries from which these companies originate using such indicators as (i) the extent of reporting, (ii) quality of reporting, (iii) achieved results and (iv) envisaged actions. All four indicators provide a reliable and solid measure of the CSR among countries, which, in turn, can help to distinguish the candidates for the public support and funding with the purpose to promote CSR in the renewable energy development that would reflect the Sustainable Development Goals and the pledge to reach the carbon-free economy in the next two decades.

In order to do that, in the empirical part of this article, we apply a case study of the six European Union Member Baltic States (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden) to show the best practices of promoting CSR in sustainable energy development. Denmark, Finland and Sweden have a longer history of being the EU Members, while Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the EU in 2004 as a part of the so-called “Eastern Enlargement” and had to undergo substantive economic transformation in order to comply with the new rules and the regulations. There is some literature on the CSR issue in the Baltic States that underlines the most frequent problems and issues [78,79,80,81,82,83].

We analyze a specific case (we call it a “case study”) of the Baltic States using the available data from the European Environment Agency and the European Commission together with the data from the World Bank, United Nations and the IEA.

In general, it can be shown that PR policies and strategies aimed at promoting and assessing the CSR approaches follows the predesigned and premeditated set of steps that lead from the selection of indicators through their comparison, assessment, analysis and all toward the development of the relevant policies and approaches that take into the account the local specifics, availability of resources, energy balance and an array of other important and relevant factors [84].

Figure 1 that follows outlines the typical step-by-step methodological framework that results in the creation of the effective CSR strategies in business companies leading to the efficient policy implications.

The strength of the empirical approach used in this paper is its relative simplicity and application of both qualitative analysis and quantitative data, while its limitations are mainly related to its subjectivity. Nevertheless, in our opinion, the chosen approach can provide useful comparison and relevant results.

One can see that CSR can move faster by integrating established quality management models and methods. CSR and the promotion of corporate social responsibility principles apply to social responsibility. This makes it an important part of the corporate responsibility movement in the United States and worldwide. Although the concept of corporate social responsibility has been widely discussed, there is no quantitative evidence to quantify it at the individual or company level. Moreover, there are different interpretations of whether it improves business performance and whether improvements in CSRs at all levels are associated with a certain performance rate. What we looked for in the improvements in CSR presented here is whether they are part of the competitive environment in which modern companies have developed. If a company is to survive, it must follow the flow and improve its CSR level, or it will be overtaken by competitors. Socially responsible organizations conduct transparent business, improve the working conditions of employees, retain good skilled workers, help protect the environment, make their products and services more environmentally friendly, conduct research and development and conduct business sustainably. Social marketing with ecological and ethical requirements, which achieve a better image of the organization, strengthens its attractiveness for investors and increases turnover and market share. There is a need to invest in small businesses that need cheaper production facilities. In this extract, we distinguish, for example, between a company’s social responsibility and its ethical and environmental responsibility. Firstly, it is a theory of business that emphasizes the importance of making money and ethical interaction with the surrounding community. Secondly, corporate social responsibility is about benefiting while also playing a role in broader issues of public interest.

These obligations targeted at the sustainable development, demanded of simple economics, are a business version of human survival instincts [85,86]. Social responsibility is the idea that a company must act in a way that balances its own profit with the social benefit. Firstly, social responsibility as an ethical principle goes back to a hypothetical 19th-century steel magnate who believed in charity and social responsibility. Friedman argued that people act in their own interest—in the interest of maximizing profit—and that social issues are government business. The relationship between society and business has been tested in a number of ways over the past few decades, both in the United States and around the world. The idea of corporate responsibility blended with the corporate social responsibility has been widespread in society for over ten years. Beyond this idea, others seem to be dealing with the same idea, given the environmental and economic impact on society. Corporate social responsibility is, therefore, a way to promote sustainability in environmental, social and economic terms. For the European Commission, CSR is a voluntary basis for companies to integrate social and environmental concerns into their interaction with their stakeholders.

In general terms, one can agree with the unifying idea that corporate social responsibility is focused on the importance of learning and accountability. Companies that uphold values and ethics in their corporate culture are the cornerstones of corporate social responsibility. Therefore, many scientists unanimously agree that social responsibility embodies human values aimed at human development and the promotion of a healthy environment for human health and well-being

5. Results and Discussions

Overall, sustainability and corporate responsibility concepts have long been associated with improvements in the company’s internal processes, including a focus on sustainability in the business model and management of operations. At the same time, international conferences and workshops have raised awareness of the importance of CSR as an integral part of corporate sustainability initiatives. The main indicator showing how a given country is standing on its way to the sustainable development is the human development index (HDI). It reveals the information on the main economic and social development trends of the country yielding various dimension of sustainable development.

Table 1. Development of HDI in EU Member Baltic States (2015–2019).

Country	HDI and Ranking of Countries	Life Expectancy (Years)	Gross Enrolment Ratio (Tertiary, %)	GDP per Capita (PPP USD)	Life Expectancy Index	Education Index	Income Index
2015
Denmark	0.933 (10)	80.75	82.12	53,045	0.930	0.918	0.952
Estonia	0.877 (30)	77.59	72.16	31,221	0.889	0.878	0.864
Finland	0.930 (11)	81.48	87.68	44,973	0.941	0.924	0.925
Latvia	0.849 (40)	74.48	74.30	26,634	0.842	0.864	0.842
Lithuania	0.862 (34)	74.32	69.74	30,807	0.845	0.883	0.860
Sweden	0.938 (3)	82.20	62.28	51,704	0.958	0.912	0.945
2016
Denmark	0.935 (10)	80.85	81.05	54,341	0.932	0.917	0.955
Estonia	0.881 (30)	77.64	71.39	32,207	0.894	0.882	0.868
Finland	0.932 (12)	81.43	86.97	46,105	0.944	0.926	0.927
Latvia	0.854 (39)	74.58	80.60	27,516	0.845	0.871	0.846
Lithuania	0.867 (34)	74.67	71.11	31,987	0.850	0.890	0.866
Sweden	0.942 (6)	82.31	63.54	52,116	0.960	0.914	0.946
2017
Denmark	0.936 (10)	81	80.61	55,516	0.934	0.919	0.957
Estonia	0.885 (30)	77.64	69.63	33,937	0.898	0.881	0.876
Finland	0.935 (11)	81.43	88.19	47,501	0.947	0.927	0.931
Latvia	0.873 (34)	74.68	88.05	28,663	0.847	0.876	0.853
Lithuania	0.876 (35)	74.67	72.41	33,826	0.854	0.887	0.874
Sweden	0.942 (6)	82.31	66.98	52,739	0.962	0.914	0.949
2018
Denmark	0.939 (10)	80.68	81.18	56,444	0.935	0.921	0.960
Estonia	0.889 (30)	78.46	70.36	35,292	0.901	0.882	0.883
Finland	0.937 (11)	81.64	90.26	48,158	0.950	0.927	0.934
Latvia	0.863 (37)	75.05	93.02	30,050	0.849	0.883	0.859
Lithuania	0.876 (35)	75.65	73.73	35,495	0.858	0.890	0.882
Sweden	0.943 (7)	82.57	72.46	53,146	0.964	0.914	0.950
2019
Denmark	0.940 (10)	80.82	81	57,184	0.937	0.920	0.963
Estonia	0.892 (29)	78.8	70	36,710	0.904	0.882	0.889
Finland	0.938 (11)	81.81	88	48,621	0.952	0.927	0.934
Latvia	0.866 (37)	75.19	88	30,830	0.851	0.883	0.863
Lithuania	0.882 (34)	75.8	72	36,975	0.860	0.898	0.888
Sweden	0.945 (7)	82.72	67	53,205	0.966	0.918	0.952

Source: Own compilations based on United Nations [87] and World Bank [88].

provides an overview of the development of HDI in the selected Baltic States.

In selected countries, the sustainable energy and development targets set by the countries will be achieved through the implementation of a national energy-saving strategy and the development of targets for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Unfortunately, the formation of a team for sustainability projects is one of the least valued corporate social responsibility skills in the energy sector. This is in contrast to other studies that suggest that corporate social responsibility exists even in unfavorable macroeconomic conditions. The low capacity for cooperation in sustainable development limits the organizational capacity to implement sustainability practices. It is this best-evaluated reconfigured capability that suggests that companies are socially responsible in the face of economic and social challenges, but not despite. In the Table 1 above, the development of human development index and some of its important statistics for the EU Member Baltic States represented by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden for the period 2015–2019 are traceable with regard to their levels of life, economic and social indicators and the human development index (HDI).

CSR can help to create reputational benefits and improve the company’s image with external stakeholders and could lead to a favorable climate of trust and cooperation between companies. Our results suggest that one of the CSP outcomes is to communicate with stakeholders who share socially responsible sustainability values. The fundamental motivation behind this approach is that the creation of links between stakeholders in the value chain opens up new opportunities for collaboration between the company and its stakeholders. Effective CSR policy usually means that the company is committed to both an internal and an external ethical approach. Spending on CSR activities is typically intended as a long-term investment that is likely to pay off financially, but the reality is that companies pursuing CSR strategies are delivering ever lower returns to their shareholders. While returns on social index funds show a positive correlation between corporate social responsibility and long-term profitability, “social responsibility” often means lower profitability in practice.

The Baltic Sea region is well-known for its developed energy markets and high potentials for the development of the renewable energy. By selecting the right players in the market, the research activities and knowledge sharing can kick-start the development of new renewable energy technologies for the Baltic Sea States and beyond. The European Union has decided to provide the Baltic States with funding for the implementation of the first phase of a project to connect the electricity grids of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the Continental European Network (CEN). This should give the three Baltic States access to over 1000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2025. Electricity grid operator, which sees the Baltic IntaGrid Vision as a key component of its long-term strategy for the region.

Figure 2 above shows the total energy supply of renewable energy (e.g., wind and solar but excluding hydro) for the six Baltic States (three “new” EU Member States that joined in 2004 and three “old” EU Member States).

Many companies have also embraced the idea of corporate social responsibility as an integral part of their long-term business strategy. Companies often set internal “CSR targets”, publish regular reports on CSR activities and create CSR management positions and departments. In the past, CSR may have been more strongly associated with environmental objectives such as climate change and environmental sustainability. However, in recent years, sustainability programs have increasingly focused on environmental objectives, while CSR’s activities have focused more on social objectives such as gender equality. Very often, such altruistic CSR activities do not necessarily lead to a financial performance of the company. Certain discretionary expenditures, such as corporate philanthropy, can take advantage of a company’s scarce resources, including financial assets, labor and time without providing much benefit to companies in terms of reputation or goodwill.

Table 2. Assessment of CSR and the country ranking.

Ranking		Extent of Reporting	Quality of Reporting	Achieved Results	Envisaged Actions
1.	Denmark	+	+	+	+
2.	Sweden	+	+	+	+
3.	Finland	+	+	+	+
4.	Estonia		+	+	+
5.	Lithuania	+	+		+
6.	Latvia	+			+

Note: + denotes the presence of the indicators. Source: Own compilations.

that follows provides the ranking of Baltic States on their progress toward the renewable energy development using the assessment of CSR criteria and approaches. In order to conduct the ranking, we employ the data by the European Commission [90] and the European Environmental Agency [91] as well as the national statistics from the countries in question collected by Eurostat [92].

From Table 2, one can see how the ranking of the Baltic States looks like: Denmark occupies the first position in terms of the extent of reporting, quality of the reporting, achieved results and envisaged results of the CSR reports with the special focus on the development of sustainable energy. It is followed by Sweden and Finland, both of them being “old” EU Member States. The first three are then followed by the group of the “new” EU Member States, with Estonia occupying the fourth position. It is followed by Lithuania and Latvia, which makes the final position in the ranking.

Nevertheless, it becomes apparent that the current discourse on corporate social responsibility has opened up new opportunities for companies themselves. Companies are under increasing pressure to act more responsible. Corporate governance is about laws and rules, while CSR is about values, ethics and behavior. Similar developments can be observed among the companies in the six Baltic States that were a subject of our research. Although CSR covers all kinds of companies and legal entities, its scope is much broader. It is a short-sighted view to assume that the purpose of a company is to enrich shareholders. Listing companies with regard to their commitment to sustainability and sustainability-centered business practices. Moreover, it is important to research the link between CSR and corporate governance and examine the differences and similarities between the two from an institutional, entrepreneurial and academic perspective. The main difference between these two concepts is that corporate governance in the corporate world provides a framework for managing the relationship between the board and the owners of a company, with CSR providing the framework for managing social and environmental concerns and managing the relationships between shareholders, employees and other stakeholders. There is also a philosophical difference, because while CSR is about values and defining goals and objectives, corporate governance is about processes and mechanisms. Although there is not much scientific work on the relationship between CSR and corporate governance, there is a strong correlation between the two, but not necessarily a direct link. Many commentators argue that the CSR agenda has the potential to bring business and corporate governance into business. The economic, legal and ethical responsibility of a company is the value that a company creates for society and for various stakeholders, including its human resources. We do not think that these two concepts are two sides of the same coin, but they have a lot in common. It can be seen that business case leadership is a key element of the CSR agenda but not the only part. There are several reasons for this development: corporations have economic power, they act as a means of avoiding broader government regulation and society has allowed them to exist. As we have seen, this has led to an increase in the level of business judgment and discretion that directors and managers can exercise in leading companies. Managers are given considerable space as long as they can point to long-term benefits for the company and the whole.

6. Conclusions, Policy Implications and Pathways for Further Research

The main aim of the article was to demonstrate the importance of public relations in promoting corporate social responsibility with regard to the path toward renewable energy development. We can conclude that CSR should focus on the decarbonization of economy that is envisaged to prevent climate change and global warming. Thence, implementing efficient tools and techniques for embedding the transition to the renewable energy should also become a part of CSR methods and goals. CEOs of business companies and multinational corporations tend to agree that CSR is important for their businesses. CSR practices are legally required and are implemented by the stakeholders (for example, the gender equality policies based on disability, gender, age), but many companies go a step further. Some are high on the list of partnerships with nonprofit and other social justice organizations.

Nevertheless, the question arises as to who is best able to communicate a CSR program and how the CSR communication of a company can best be communicated in the context of its business strategy. Traditional executives might argue that it is simply being transferred to the market that the company is blatantly self-promoting and greenwashing on a particular subject. CSR is a fast-growing area, and most large companies are implementing CSR programs. For instance, many American companies seeking to make a meaningful contribution to greater social well-being are increasingly putting consumers, workers and investors under pressure. CSR surveys show that citizens are more interested in companies that treat their workers well, abide by the law, engage in philanthropic activities, address social issues, strengthen community ties, inspire workers and improve corporate image, but it could allow them to distract consumers and legislators from the need for strong regulation of companies. The same applies to the development of the renewable energy that is becoming a solution to the global warming and climate change. Business companies have to embed it into their strategies, and the CSR should reflect upon its importance and position in the future carbon-free economy.

When it comes to our results from the six EU Baltic Member States, one can see a clear pattern that was demonstrated in Table 2. Denmark and Sweden occupy the first two positions, followed by Finland and Estonia. Lithuania and Latvia occupy the last one-third of the ranking in their path toward the renewable energy development and its link to the CSR approaches and strategies. These results can be very helpful for the implementation of CSR in the renewable energy in the Baltic region and can assist the policy-makers at the regional and EU levels to distinguish between the priorities of various Baltic States when it comes to allocating funding and support for boosting the development of the renewable energy in this region.

Overall, our results demonstrate that CSR constitutes the practice of implementing sustainable development at the corporate level and ensuring that private companies contribute to the development of sustainable developments and strategies that define their goals. This can create opportunities to implement voluntary measures for sustainable energy development, such as the increased use of renewable energy and the increase in energy efficiency. Implementing CSR in the energy sector may require a combination of a number of measures, such as energy efficiency improvements, energy-efficient buildings and energy-efficient equipment. There are several ways to disseminate information on sustainable management, raise public awareness of CSR and strengthen cooperation between actors in the energy sector. Some of them can be run by the companies, themselves, while others should be taken care of by the state and its targeted policies.

When it comes to the policy implications that result from our study, it is clear that the framework for the CSR in the renewable energy development has been already set and that the companies are interested in pursuing it in order to increase their reputation and sales, which would lead to the increase in the value of their stocks and the profits of their shareholders. Nevertheless, it is also important that the stakeholders and policy-makers set the concrete rules of the game that would help to prevent adverse practices such as, for example, greenwashing.

In addition, it appears that the policy-makers in the “new” EU Member States should strengthen the renewable energy development and its links to the CSR approaches and strategies. Legislative means can be used as well as the state support and the system of incentives, including the public campaigns and competitions for the “greenest” companies that would be broadcasted nationwide. The example of “The Climate Pledge” embracing over 100 of the world’s top companies that committed to measuring and reporting their greenhouse gas emissions shows that such an approach might have positive effects and may motivate companies to enhance their CSR, which would lead to the stronger renewable energy development in the EU economically weaker regions.

Speaking about the pathways for further research that stem from this study, we can mention two possible approaches: First of all, it would be interesting to conduct the assessment of CSR and the country ranking in the renewable energy development of all EU Member States while distinguishing the “old” and the “new” countries. It would be interesting to see whether it would match the path of the higher economic convergence typical for the new Member States that are “catching up”. Second, it would be very interesting to investigate the correlation between the public relations of corporate social responsibility in renewable energy development and the social acceptance of the renewable energy across the EU countries. As the renewable energy targets set by the Paris Agreement are approaching, companies are at the forefront of adjusting their CSR activities, which effects their customers and the general public. Both topics are worth researching further in order to bring more answers to the important research questions.