Health Literacy--a Strategic Asset for Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe

The European Commission (EU) has launched the strategy "Europe 2020" aimed to turn the EU into a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy delivering high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion. A prerequisite for the success of Europe 2020 is the availability of a healthy population and a healthy work force. An action worth highlighting is raising corporate social responsibility (CSR). The aim of this paper is to present how health literacy can become a strategic asset in CSR through the introduction of the Collaborative Venture on Health Literacy and the development of a business case on health literacy meeting targets of Europe 2020. A scope study revealed that a majority of companies within the network of CSR Europe already show health-related employee programs on their corporate websites, but only a few are focused specifically on advancing health literacy. The gap leaves potential opportunities for interventions based on research and good practices, where businesses through CSR can create a health-friendly environment and stimulate the workforce to manage their own health, seek information, and make decisions in terms of promoting health and well-being, thereby transforming information into knowledge and increased awareness among employees.