This would imply that the taking into account of CSR in management models would result in a certain form of self-regulation, for example with recognised codes of conduct. Different incentives are contributing to this, such as pressure from direct stakeholders and NGOs and regulatory incentives, in particular in terms of reporting. Lastly, I would like to say a few words about the Banque de France. I wish to stress that, as a company, CSR is of great importance. Its current sustainable development strategy combines a two-pronged approach: an Environmental Footprint Reduction Programme and a review of its tasks in the light of sustainable development. In this respect, the Banque de France will, for example, seek to develop the financial culture of the public, spread best practice in the fight against money laundering, encourage economic and financial research in new fields, such as the development of “carbon finance”. I attach great importance to these subjects, and my wish is to see the Banque de France adopt its own sustainable development charter, which formalises its commitments. This should be achieved by the end of this year and will no doubt further enhance the actions of the Banque de France. In the light of this collective awareness of the environmental (finitude and fragility of natural resources), economic and societal implications, central banks perform their task of preserving financial stability while taking into account and anticipating events. This approach, as recent developments have shown, has to be increasingly systemic and co-operative, involving companies, banks, governments and central banks.
Month by month there have been a series of small downside surprises in the inflation rate as oil prices have been relatively stable; the effects of administered and officially regulated prices now seem to be a bit less than previously expected; inflation expectations remain well anchored and the exchange rate has been rising which may help keep a lid on imported costs for a while (but importantly, at the cost of less balanced growth which is a separate problem). Taking the inflationary news together, it would appear that we have a favourable situation in which to explore how much more capacity the economy has, before inflationary pressures begin to build. Another positive factor supporting our probing strategy is the emergence of macro-prudential policy. Monetary policy has a difficult challenge ahead, as I have outlined. It will help enormously if financial policies can help deal with, or at least mitigate the risks from, some of the imbalances that are arising in the economy while the MPC aims to restore medium-term stability in the economy as a whole. The housing market is an example of where monetary and macro-prudential policies can helpfully interact and the November 2013 Financial Stability Report sets out some of the policy measures that are underway or could be called on if necessary. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Funding for Lending Scheme One decision that has been implemented is in relation to the Funding for Lending Scheme (the FLS).