LA RESPONSABILIT� SOCIALE ET L'�THIQUE ENVIRONNEMENTALE � �L�MENTS DE LA CULTURE �COLOGIQUE DANS LES ENTREPRISES DU XXIe SI�CLE : L�ETUDE SUR LES ENTREPRISES ROUMAINES

During the last decade, the business community ends especially the companies that activate in the fields responsible for the degradation of the environment, are seen as subjects whose main role is to ensure sustainable development. They must face growing pressures from the stakeholders, who wish to know their position regarding sustainable development, in its three dimensions: economical development, that generates profits and jobs; social development, as a guarantee for the well-being and for the compliance to human rights; environmental development, which must ensure the preservation of natural resources and the ability of the ecosystem to absorb and tolerate pollution. A company is defined as sustainable if it is socially responsible. This paper is the result of a process of investigation, of an analysis of the present framework, and of a bibliographical synthesis in the field of social responsibility and environmental ethics. First of all, we have made a historical incursion in the problematic of social responsibility of companies, and then we have mentioned the most important challenges that justify socially responsible behavior in today�s world. In order to point out the degree of responsibility of Romanian enterprises, regarding the actions for the protection of the environment, we have drawn an empirical analysis on a representative sample of Romanian companies.