Message:

"In March 2006 the European Commission stated its intention to "give greater political visibility to CSR, to acknowledge what European enterprises already do in this field and to encourage them to do more." It also made a commitment to "further raise awareness about CSR and promote the exchange of best practice as CSR continues to evolve, with an emphasis on SMEs and on [European Union] Member States where CSR is a less well-known concept, as well as in acceding and candidate countries." Participation in this conference should help to achieve some of those aims."

Since May 2004 Tom Dodd has been a member of the Corporate Social Responsibility Team in the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission. In that time he has worked on many aspects of the Commission's CSR policy, including in particular a number of initiatives to promote CSR amongst small businesses. He started working for the European Commission in 1995, managing emergency humanitarian assistance to various African countries. He subsequently completed a four year posting in the Commission's Delegation in Central America (Nicaragua). He lives in Brussels with his wife and three daughters.