SustainabilitySustainable development - Czech Republic

Updated 01/2011

Legal requirements

The legal arrangement of the requirements and procedures for taking sustainability further is mainly contained in the Labour Code, the Act on Collective Bargaining, the Act on Consumer Protection and also in the Act on the Conservation of Nature and the Countryside.

Labour Code [631 KB]
Act on Collective Bargaining [167 KB]
Act on Consumer Protection
Act on the Conservation of Nature and the Countryside

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility means companies taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on the environment, consumers, staff, etc., and promoting the public interest, i.e. voluntarily eliminating practices which damage the community.

Detailed information on corporate social responsibility

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is responsible for implementing corporate social responsibility laws.

Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

Your activities have impacts in many domains, hence corporate responsibility is of benefit in the following areas, among others:

Economic
Social issues
Environmental issues

Corporate social responsibility (CRS) is a component of business strategy. There is no national body in the Czech Republic. In the sphere of employment and social affairs in relations between employees and employers CRS is applied, for example, through the institution of collective bargaining.

Within the framework of collective bargaining there are corporate collective agreements and higher level collective agreements, which make it possible for certain undertakings to be voluntarily agreed over and above the legally required minimum. The practice of expanding the binding character of higher level collective agreements also applies to collective bargaining.

Higher level collective agreements
Expanding the binding character of higher level collective agreements
Higher level collective agreements that are binding for other employers
Corporate Social Responsibility

Standards

Quality management system ISO 9001:2000

The internationally applied standard ISO 9001:2000 is applicable to any production activity or service provided. It was created by the International Organisation for Standardisation, the aim of which is to establish international standards for a Quality Management System.

Certification of management systems

Environmental management system ISO 14001

It includes widely-used environmental management procedures and places great emphasis on the attitude of the organisation to the environment. An entity satisfying the conditions of the ISO 14001 standard supports environmental protection and the prevention of pollution in balance with social and economic needs.

Certification under this ISO standard may be performed by a certification body accredited, for example, with the Czech Accreditation Institute.

Certification of management systems

The EMAS environmental management and auditing system

EMAS is a voluntary system for companies that have agreed to assess and improve their environmental profile. An organisation deciding to adopt this scheme also undertakes to provide relevant information to the public. The environmental declaration of the company must be verified by an accredited third party.

EMAS

OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety management system

The standard helps to eliminate or minimise risk for employees or other persons who would be exposed to risk through the activities of the company. The standard helps to demonstrate fulfilment of legal requirements and is a significant step towards creating and sustaining an environment that is good both for employees and for business.

Certification under this standard may be performed by a certification body accredited, for example, with the Czech Accreditation Institute.

System certification under OHSAS 18001

Social responsibility SA8000

International standard SA8000 is recognised worldwide as the reference standard for improving working conditions. The various chapters of this standard specify requirements for hours of work, health and safety, prevention of discrimination, the work of children and young people, forced labour, freedom of association, disciplinary practices, rewards for the fulfilment of basic needs and a management system for continuous improvement.

SA 8000 Certification

The law requires businesses to comply with minimum social and environmental rules.

Administrative procedures

Certification of standards

Quality management standards

A detailed method for implementing a quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001:2000 is available on the following link:

Method for implementing a quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001:2000

Environmental management standards

The following links contain a method for implementing the ISO 14001 environmental management system and the EMAS environmental management and auditing system.

ISO 14001 Environmental management system
EMAS - Environmental management and auditing system

Occupational safety management standards

The link below contains information on implementing the OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety management system.

OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety management system

Resources

Further information on corporate social responsibility is available on the following specialised website:

Corporate Social Responsibility

Check also the legislation on this topic in:

SustainabilitySustainable development - Czech Republic