Debates over the scope of corporate responsibilities have raised an important theoretical question that goes to the purposes and roles of the modern companies. Do we constitute a company just to maximize profits. How do we balance the profit-maximizing interests, with corporate social responsibility and trust building? In Britain, the model seems to work outstandingly, excelling in Europe. How is the situation for Spain? This article explores these questions.

In recent years, corporate environmental and social responsibility has risen to the forefront of company concerns. Today, many companies are showing a serious and deep concern about adopting a policy regarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), thus investing more and more on it as a near-future investment. Furthermore, a more careful scrutiny of corporate governance has brought out the implicit assumption that CSR and sustainable development matters and these have gained a solid place on the companies' agendas (Argandoña and vonWeltzeinHoivik, 2009).

Loss of confidence on the part of the shareholders in the companies is attributed to technical reasons such as lack of transparency in the structured product content or `opaque' annual company reports. The current legislation along the aid of the voluntary adherence to standards stands as a positive step forward. Annual CSR Reports have become a way in which companies can report CSR initiatives towards their stakeholders and the public in general. Many companies upload these reports on their respective websites. So this action can in fact, build and help to strengthen trust and support on behalf of people and stakeholders. Stakeholders' reliance upon the information shared depends on how transparent, clear and accurate this information is, as it represents the company's visible and plausible social, environmental and ethical performance. Thus, profit maximizing objectives and CSR policies must work together in order to strengthen and build trust for the company.

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