Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming an increasingly important element in achieving competitiveness and efficient operation of modern companies. As it has an impact on companies, it is increasingly playing a significant role in the public sector. New trends in the world, and in our region, increasingly speak of the need to motivate negotiations and create partnerships between different sectors (business, public, civil) and various stakeholders in society, in order to achieve sustainable development of which CSR is a part. The aim of this paper is to investigate the regional development policies of the Republic of Croatia that contribute to socio - economic development, in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. This research will define what is corporate social responsibility (CSR), the development of CSR in Croatia, and awareness of the application of CSR in Croatia. Efforts will be made to determine how socially responsible business is conducted in regional policies and development documents, and which development projects are good examples of CSR. In this paper the projects that should be implemented in order to improve regional development and its strategy will be presented. Key words: socially responsible business, society and environment, sustainable development, regional development, strategic documents.