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See also the following sections of this website:

• Company statements of policy on human rights: Examples
• Company statements of policy on human rights: General materials
• Corporate codes of conduct
• Links: Companies

Websites:

Social Responsibility Training: ISEA-Accredited Foundation Course in Social & Ethical Accounting, Auditing & Reporting (National Centre for Business & Sustainability [UK], in partnership with Manchester Business School)

Conferences:

The Global Reporting Initiative in Asia - A Regional Conference on Current and Future Status 16-19 July 2002, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Global Reporting Initiative)

Other materials:

2003:

Disclosure vote on Dow meeting agenda [USA] -...If approved, the [shareholder] proposal would require the company to compile a report on dioxin-contaminated sites, submit plans to remediate the contamination and plans to phaseout dioxin-producing processes and products. Dow says it already supplies an abundance of information about dioxin and its plans and successes to reduce the toxin. (Kathie Marchlewski, Midland Daily News, 7 May 2003)

• Dow Chemical Shareholders Challenge Management on Dioxin - Investors Seek Disclosure of Company’s Unreported Environmental Liabilities - A shareholder resolution pending for the Dow Chemical May 8 annual meeting asks the company to report on its liabilities related to dioxin and other persistent toxic pollutants. (Trillium Asset Management, 6 May 2003)

GlaxoSmithKline, seeking a cure for public mistrust - Mallen Baker assesses GSK's most recent social and environmental report. (Mallen Baker, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 23 Apr. 2003)

FTSE4Good raises the bar for companies - FTSE Group recently announced a new, more stringent set of human rights criteria for companies in the socially responsible index series FTSE4Good...FTSE are trialling the human rights standards on the global upstream oil gas and mining sector...They are asking companies to commit to ILO core labour standards on a global scale, support publicly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have guidelines on the use of armed security guards according to the UN Basic Principles of the Use of Force and Firearms and to reference “respect of the rights of indigenous peoples”. In order to stay in the FTSE4Good Index, companies will also have to provide training for employees on human rights policy, provide evidence of undertaking a human rights impact assessment and integration of their policy into risk assessment processes...In countries of particular concern such as Angola, China, Burma, Zimbabwe and Sudan, resource companies must commit to meeting more stringent guidelines (Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 21 Apr. 2003)

Poor fellow mining country - Steering a big bank and a huge mining company, Leon Davis [chairman of Westpac, deputy chairman of Rio Tinto] puts Aboriginal disadvantage first on his unusual agenda...Westpac recently issued Australia's first comprehensive triple bottom line report...Rio Tinto has made striking progress in its relations with Aboriginal communities in Australia, winning praise from indigenous leaders such as Marcia Langton and Mick Dodson. Davis was key to this policy, spearheading the company's decision to set aside legal hostilities and negotiate with Aboriginal people to form binding voluntary agreements covering native title...Westpac staff volunteers spend four weeks in Aboriginal communities providing mentoring on family financial and small business skills...Rio Tinto has a huge legacy of community conflict to come to terms with [including] the Jabiluka uranium mine, the Weipa industrial dispute, the Bougainville copper mine, allegations of human rights abuses at the huge (albeit minority-owned) FreeportGrasberg copper mine in West Papua, and ongoing debate about disposal of mine tailings at the Lihir gold mine in Indonesia. Recently, for example, Rio Tinto has opposed any ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change by Australia. (Paddy Manning, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 Apr. 2003)

FleetBoston Financial Releases Sustainability Report - FleetBoston Financial today released its first annual sustainability report...The report further emphasizes Fleet's leadership role in promoting sustainability in the finance industry in partnership with the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES), and the United Nations Environment Programme Financial Institutions Initiative (UNEP FI). Fleet further built upon its longstanding commitment to the community when it became the first financial institution to endorse both of the voluntary codes of conduct associated with CERES and UNEP FI. (FleetBoston Financial, 11 Apr. 2003)

Letter to Louise Fréchette [Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations] raising concerns on UN Global Compact -...As we have stated in the past, we believe that the Global Compact must find ways to strengthen methods of accountability for the private sector in relation to the principles...(i) Clear criteria need to be adopted to deal with cases where companies are alleged to breach the Global Compact principles...(ii) The basic requirement that participating companies report annually on their compliance with the principles must be monitored...(iii) The Global Compact and participating companies must show leadership on the human rights principles... (joint letter from Amnesty International, Oxfam International, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch, 7 Apr. 2003)

A standard to build trust in company social reporting - Accountability has released the AA1000 Assurance Standard in an attempt to put some degree of quality and rigour onto the growing process of social reporting. The question is how well does it succeed? (Mallen Baker, Business Respect newsletter, 6 Apr. 2003)

PepsiCo Shareowners Will Address the Business Risks of Water Scarcity - The SEC is requiring PepsiCo's to allow its shareowners to vote on a resolution regarding the business risks of water scarcity...Concern about water supplies is seeping to investors who own stock in companies that use large amounts of water. A group of PepsiCo shareowners have filed a resolution asking the company to report on the business risk of water use throughout its supply chain. The resolution also asks the company to disclose its "current policies and procedures for mitigating the impact of operations on local communities in areas of water scarcity." (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 2 Apr. 2003)

Interview with Digital4Sight - Digital4sight is a global action research programme designed to help guide companies make the strategic transition to being a values-based enterprise; their research has uncovered some interesting findings for companies. [refers to company reporting on social issues; supply chain; transparency] (interview with Phil Dwyer and Anthony Williams of Digital4Sight, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 2 Apr. 2003)

AccountAbility Launches Assurance Standard for Corporate Responsibility Reporting - Investors and other stakeholders stand to benefit from the standardized verification of corporate reporting on social, environmental, and economic performance...As a complement to the launch of the AA1000 Assurance Standard, AccountAbility also released a report entitled The State of Sustainability Assurance. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 26 Mar. 2003)

• press release: Assurance Standard to be launched on March 25th  -...The AA1000 Assurance Standard is a generally applicable standard for assessing, attesting to, and strengthening the credibility and quality of organisations' sustainability reporting, and their underlying processes, systems and competencies. (AccountAbility, 19 Mar. 2003)

• full report: AA1000 Assurance Standard (AccountAbility, 2003)

• press release: State of Sustainability Assurance report to be launched 19 March 2003 - AccountAbility’s first State of Sustainability Assurance report will be launched on March 25th.  It seeks to promote effective sustainability assurance by describing some of the most important trends and providing highlights of emerging practices.  It brings together perspectives from accountancy bodies, assurance providers, business and multi-stakeholder networks, companies, the investment community and standards bodies to assess the current state of sustainability assurance. (AccountAbility, 19 Mar. 2003)

• full report: The State of Sustainability Assurance (AccountAbility, 2003)

The UK Corporate Sustainability Reporting Awards [refers to The Co-operative Bank, Shell,  BT Group, Risk and Policy Analysts Ltd., Unilever, Scottish Power, Canary Wharf Group, Best Foot Forward Ltd, FRC Group, Co-operative Insurance Society, Traidcraft, British American Tobacco] (Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 25 Mar. 2003)

The Shell Report and Annual Reports published today - The Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies published its sixth Shell Report today, alongside its 2002 Parent Company Annual Reports. This year's report, entitled "Meeting the Energy Challenge" describes Shell's economic, environmental and social performance in 2002. (Royal Dutch/Shell, 21 Mar. 2003)

• full report: Meeting the energy challenge: The Shell Report 2002 (Royal Dutch/Shell, 2003)

UN Global Compact and Global Reporting Initiative Strengthen Cooperation -...The goal of collaboration is to embed the Compact’s principles into day-to-day business operations while measuring and reporting performance with the GRI framework. (Global Reporting Initiative, 19 Mar. 2003)

CEOs Advocate Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability at Conference: The Forum for Corporate Conscience calls on CEOs and corporations to promote triple bottom line performance -...The leadership section advocates the adoption of the Global Reporting Initiative...The white paper, which was written by academics from the McColl Graduate School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte, points out that companies and investors do not necessarily sacrifice financial returns to advance triple bottom line performance. (KLD Research & Analytics, 19 Mar. 2003)

Oekom Applauds Insurers Employing SRI but Chides Rest of Sector's Non-Transparency - Lack of transparency prevented the German corporate research firm from conducting corporate responsibility ratings on the majority of global insurance companies. - Few insurance companies are making the effort to disclose their social and environmental performance...Norway-based Storebrand, which scored the highest overall rating of "B" on a scale from "A+" to "D-", received kudos for employing negative as well as best-in-class screening in substantial portions of its investment portfolio...The report highlighted the shareowner advocacy practices of UK-based Aviva, which placed second in the overall rating with a "B", and Australia-based AMP, which placed twelfth with a "C".  "As an example, Morley Fund Management [Aviva] is committed to vote against FTSE 100 companies, which do not publish environmental reports" (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 18 Mar. 2003)

Private sector need to do more environmental reporting [Malaysia] - The private sector still needs more awareness on doing environmental reporting as part of corporate governance and transparency. Of the thousands of companies in Malaysia, only 40 did some form of corporate environmental report in 2001. Recent trends, however, revealed slow but gradual progress. (Deborah Loh, New Straits Times, 10 Mar. 2003)

HIV/AIDS Reporting Framework Released - Key performance indicators for HIV/AIDS management were set out for public feedback today...The resulting draft document, “Reporting Guidance on HIV/AIDS: A GRI Resource Document”, was released today in an effort to elicit extensive global feedback that will shape the final report. In parallel, a broad range of South African manufacturing, mining, banking, and government organisations have agreed to evaluate the HIV resource document. All public feedback should be submitted by 21 April 2003 to the South African contacts listed below. (Global Reporting Initiative, 4 Mar. 2003)

ExxonMobil Receives 23 Shareowner Resolutions on Issues Ranging from Climate Change to Corporate Governance -...The social resolutions filed with ExxonMobil ask the company to implement a sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy, review and implement human rights standards, affirm political nonpartisanship, and report on the impact of AIDS on operations. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 26 Feb. 2003)

SRI Issues Will Impact Companies' Financial Performance, UK Pension Fund Trustees Say - A recent survey finds that pension fund trustees in the United Kingdom view socially responsible investing (SRI) issues as linked to companies' future financial performance. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 25 Feb. 2003)

• Pension Fund Activism on Social & Environmental Issues to Increase [UK]: New report reveals increasing importance of social and environmental performance to pension fund trustees -...In the survey of over 100 member nominated trustees' of pension funds, less than one in ten believes that companies are providing enough social and environmental information for investment decisions to be analysed. The survey found that trustees believe that social and environmental issues will have a substantial impact on the financial performance of companies over the next five to ten years. (Just Pensions, 24 Jan. 2003)

• full report: Will UK Pension Funds Become More Responsible? A Survey of Member Nominated Trustees (Chris Gribben & Leon Olsen, Ashridge Centre for Business & Society, Just Pensions, Trades Union Congress, 22 Jan. 2003)

Exxon CEO backs mandatory emissions reports - Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Lee Raymond said this week companies should be required to report carbon emissions before any rules are created to target cuts in gases blamed for global warming. (Reuters, 13 Feb. 2003) 

Legal Issues in Corporate Citizenship -...Mandatory legislation on various aspects of business transparency is emerging around the world. It can form part of company law, environmental regulation, or tailored legislation for institutional investors or on social and environmental reporting. Pressure for enhanced public sector accountability has also given rise to calls for company reporting on revenues paid to host government by companies in the extractive industries...A new wave of legal actions – mostly in US courts, but also in some EU countries – is testing the boundaries of existing legal principles in relation to some of the most difficult issues of the CSR agenda. For example, a series of cases in the US, France and Belgium are testing how fundamental principles of international law – particularly human rights law – apply to parent companies of multinational corporate groups. (Halina Ward, International Institute for Environment and Development, Feb. 2003)

International standards for corporate responsibility [refers to UN Global Compact, ILO conventions, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, ISO 14000 Series, AccountAbility 1000, Global Reporting Initiative, Global Sullivan Principles, Social Accountability 8000] (Malcolm McIntosh, Ruth Thomas, Deborah Leipziger, and Gill Coleman, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 30 Jan. 2003)

A global right to know - A new report by a coalition of environmental, labor and human rights groups...argues for an international right to know...they want large companies that are traded on U.S. stock exchanges and have significant international operations to be required to disclose information that could affect the communities in which they operate...The idea of an international right to know is a creative new approach, and for the companies a not particularly burdensome one. (New York Times, in International Herald Tribune, 24 Jan. 2003)

ICCR Proxy Resolutions Book Gauges Shareowner Action Climate -...the auto sector resolutions...ask General Motors and the Ford Motor Company to evaluate what new public policies would enable and assist the companies in achieving GHG emissions reductions...The utilities sector resolutions ask American Electric Power, Cinergy Corporation, Southern Company, and TXU Corporation to report on the potential economic benefits of committing to a substantial reduction in GHG emissions...Sr. Wolf also highlighted the resubmission of the renewable energy resolution at ExxonMobil...Finally, Sr. Wolf highlighted the increasing number of Canadian resolutions that are making their way into the Proxy Resolutions Book. Placer Dome (PDG) has received three separate resolutions, and the five top banks in the country have been asked to disclose their social and environmental risks. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 22 Jan. 2003)

press release: Coalition Tells World Economic Forum: Building Trust Requires Disclosure - New Report Highlights U.S. Multinationals' Shameful Human Rights, Environmental and Labor Records - a coalition of environmental, development, labor and human rights groups today released a joint report entitled "International Right to Know: Empowering Communities Through Corporate Transparency."  The report documents the irresponsible environmental, labor and human rights practices committed by ExxonMobil, Nike, McDonald's, Unocal, Doe Run, Freeport McMoRan and Newmont Mining. (AFL-CIO, Amnesty International USA, EarthRights International, Friends of the Earth-US, Global Exchange, Oxfam America, Sierra Club, Working Group on Community Right to Know, 22 Jan. 2003)

• full report: International Right to Know: Empowering Communities Through Corporate Transparency (AFL-CIO, Amnesty International USA, EarthRights International, Friends of the Earth-US, Global Exchange, Oxfam America, Sierra Club, Working Group on Community Right to Know, Jan. 2003)

• company websites:
  • ExxonMobil
  • Freeport McMoRan
  • McDonald's
  • Newmont Mining
  • Nike
  • Unocal

Investors want US utilities to disclose emissions - Shareholders at five of the largest U.S power utilities [American Electric Power, Southern Co., Cinergy Corp., Xcel Energy, TXU Corp.] filed global warming resolutions last week that would force the companies to disclose publicly the economic risks of air pollutants they emit. (Reuters, 20 Jan. 2003)

Addressing the crisis in CSR reporting: Mallen Baker looks at potential improvements in corporate responsibility reporting -...Whilst the world is debating whether the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines are the best framework for what should be reported, few have yet commented on the fact that GRI reports are no better read than the rest. (Mallen Baker, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 17 Jan. 2003)

New WBCSD web portal guides companies through the motions of SD reporting - Following the Johannesburg Summit call on the corporate sector for increased accountability, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is launching a web-based “reporting portal” to bolster companies’ efforts to report on their sustainable development activities. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 16 Jan. 2003)

Sustainability reporting is setting the scene for the future of business management, report says -...Striking the balance is co-authored by three industry leaders: Bert Heemskerk, Chief Executive Officer, Rabobank Group, Pasquale Pistorio, President and Chief Executive Officer, STMicroelectronics, and Martin Scicluna, Managing Partner, Global Strategic Clients, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 6 Jan. 2003)

Deconstructing Engagement: Corporate Self-Regulation in Conflict Zones - Implications for Human Rights and Canadian Public Policy [includes sections on: case study of Talisman Energy in Sudan, "Talisman Energy's Corporate Social Responsibility Reports and Verification by PricewaterhouseCoopers", the liability of corporations under international law, "Domestic Disclosure and Corporate Laws", "Litigation", "Consumer and Investor Campaigns", codes of conduct, social reporting, verification/monitoring, "Emerging State Duty to Regulate the Extraterritorial Activities of Corporations"] (Georgette Gagnon, Audrey Macklin, Penelope Simons, A Strategic Joint Initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Law Commission of Canada, Jan. 2003)

2002:

press release: New report spotlights trends in corporate sustainability reporting -  Companies struggle to breach the 'glass ceiling' of transparency and accountability - Reports are getting bigger - but not better (18 Nov. 2002, Sustainability and U.N. Environment Programme)

• full report: Trust Us: The Global Reporters 2002 Survey of Corporate Sustainability Reporting - Trust Us is the second report in the Global Reporters series to put corporate sustainability reporting under the microscope (SustainAbility and U.N. Environment Programme, Nov. 2002)

PR Flacks Beware: GRI Guidelines Call for the Full Story in Corporate Reports - A growing number of companies are supplementing their annual financial reports with yearly reports on their corporate citizenship. To try to promote the accuracy, comparability, and integrity of these reports, a new non-profit organization, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), has brought together a broad range of groups from around the world to agree to a common reporting framework. (Steve Lippman, Trillium Asset Management, 1 Nov. 2002)

IOD gags Blairite think-tank report [UK] - A furious row has erupted between Britain's most influential think-tank and the Institute of Directors (IoD) over a report which questions the commitment of business to corporate social responsibility...Among the findings are: · Only four out of 10 company boards discuss social and environmental issues, routinely or occasionally...· Eight out of 10 directors say their organisation does not publish reports on their social or environmental impact (Oliver Morgan, Observer [UK], 27 Oct. 2002)

California supreme court decision potentially devastating for corporate responsibility reporting and SRI funds worldwide - The decision by the California courts against Nike [in the case of Kasky v Nike, relating to Nike's public defense of allegations of “sweatshop” labour in its Asian factories] has created a great deal of uncertainty among US corporations, reports Peter Clarke (Peter Clarke, Director of SRIMedia, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 17 Oct. 2002)

The Global Reporting Initiative - raising the bar too high? Mallen Baker looks at the 2002 GRI guidelines and assesses some of the praise and criticism they are attracting from business (Mallen Baker, Editor of Business Respect, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 16 Oct. 2002)

The impact of public reporting - Simon Zadek looks at how social and sustainability reporting can make a real difference in changing business performance, impacts and outcomes (Simon Zadek, Chief Executive of AccountAbility, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 2 Oct. 2002)

GRI update - October 2002 -...Ernst Ligteringen has been named as the new Chief Executive of the Global Reporting Initiative. (Global Reporting Initiative, Oct. 2002)

Analysis: Is there a business agenda after Johannesburg? Valentina Bottarelli and Julie Garman assess the long term impact of the WSSD in Johannesburg -...if these partnerships do not yield appropriate outcomes in a few short years, the stick approach will replace the carrot. And the stick may include international codes of conduct, standardisation, certification on required reporting and so on. (Valentina Bottarelli and Julie Garman, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 24 Sep. 2002)

The rise and rise of the Global Reporting Initiative: Mike Brownlie of the Global Reporting Intiative (GRI) traces progess towards sustainability reporting (Mike Brownlie, in Human Rights & Business Matters, Amnesty International UK Business Group Newsletter no. 6, autumn/winter 2002)

Engaging with stakeholders: Suzanne Stormer of Stakeholder Relations at Novo Nordisk, the global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Denmark, argues that the heart of a successful reporting process is stakeholder engagement (Suzanne Stormer, in Human Rights & Business Matters, Amnesty International UK Business Group Newsletter no. 6, autumn/winter 2002)

No trust without verification: Tracey A Swift, director of research at AccountAbility, argues that social reports must include external verification to be credible (Tracey A. Swift, in Human Rights & Business Matters, Amnesty International UK Business Group Newsletter no. 6, autumn/winter 2002)

Doing the rights thing: Matthew Grenier, an independent consultant, examines the current state of company reporting on human rights -   When it comes to reporting human rights issues, however, the picture is even bleaker. (Matthew Grenier, in Human Rights & Business Matters, Amnesty International UK Business Group Newsletter no. 6, autumn/winter 2002)

The case for mandatory reporting: Deborah Doane, Head of corporate accountability at the New Economics Foundation, argues that social and environmental reporting must be mandatory (Deborah Doane, in Human Rights & Business Matters, Amnesty International UK Business Group Newsletter no. 6, autumn/winter 2002) 

Mandatory sustainability reporting - France leads the way: Sarj Nahal, International Director at ARESE (the Social and Environmental Rating Agency), outlines new reporting requirements for French companies (Sarj Nahal, in Human Rights & Business Matters, Amnesty International UK Business Group Newsletter no. 6, autumn/winter 2002) [note: scroll down on the page to find this article]

European Parliament votes for regulation: Richard Howitt MEP, European Parliament rapporteur on corporate social responsibility, analyses the significance of a watershed vote by the European Parliament (Richard Howitt MEP, in Human Rights & Business Matters, Amnesty International UK Business Group Newsletter no. 6, autumn/winter 2002)

Current List of Annual Company Meeting Statements Made by Socially Responsible Shareholders [includes Alltel - Sexual Orientation Discrimination; Eastman Chemical Company - Health Risks of Cigarette Filters; Gannett - American Indians / Diversity Reporting; Hasbro - Sweatshops] (Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, 10 Sep. 2002)

New guidelines released for reporting corporate contributions to sustainable development - Global Reporting Initiative Spearheads Multi-stakeholder Effort (Global Reporting Initiative, 31 Aug. 2002)

SEC [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] Urged to Strengthen Rules Governing Corporate Disclosure of Environmental Risks - The Rose Foundation is petitioning the SEC to require more comprehensive disclosure of environmental liabilities, allowing investors to assess the potential effect on shareowner value. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 21 Aug. 2002)

CLIMATE CHANGE: Firms, Investors Fret Over Costs, Liability -...the Times [New York Times] reported that companies are likely to face huge costs from climate change and could be sued by governments, investors and others if they fail to protect themselves against warming-related risks...Companies such as DuPont, BP and Ford have begun addressing climate change risk in annual reports and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and Dow says it is set to release a social responsibility report in which it charts its greenhouse gas emissions reductions for the first time. The Times reports that Swiss Re is considering denying coverage to firms that do not address the problem (UN Wire, 19 Aug. 2002)

McMaster University goes No Sweat [Canada] - On July 31, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario unveiled its new No Sweat policy for apparel products and other products bearing the university's name or logo...Apparel suppliers and licensees will now be required to abide by international labour standards and local labour laws, and to report annually on their progress towards compliance with these standards. (Maquila Solidarity Network, 1 Aug. 2002)

• McMaster is first Canadian University to affiliate with Worker Rights Consortium: University develops new policies on labour code practices, fair trade coffee (Kelly Curwin, McMaster University Daily News, 31 July 2002)

Countdown to Rio +10: 'Sustainable Development' and the Public-Private Pantomime - As the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) approaches, conflicts intensify between North and South, civil society and industry... Calls from civil society for binding regulations on corporate behaviour are being ignored, instead business is given a central role as provider of 'Type II' outcomes for the summit. Corporate lobby groups have already submitted over 50 projects for UN approval, many of which depict environmentally destructive industries as contributors to sustainable development...Encouraged by the political winds in the Rio+10 preparations, business stubbornly continues its irresponsible campaign for industry self-regulation and voluntary action as alternatives to effective and binding regulation of corporate behaviour. Underlining the unfortunate hollowness of their commitment to 'sustainable development', corporate groupings also work hard to maintain the limited scope of voluntary initiatives. Within the WBCSD for instance, there is "strong concern about the very expanded reporting requirements in Global Reporting Initiative's new draft guidelines." (Corporate Europe Observer, Aug. 2002)

Discount-Davos - Over 2,200 people from the corporate world, governments and EU institutions as well as a handful of NGO representatives attended the second European Business Summit, 6-8 June in Brussels...CSR Europe was the most visible business grouping at this year's EBS...[it] consists of around 60 member corporations, including BP, Shell, ENI, Nestle, Unilever, Danone, BT, ABB, Citigroup, Nike, Levi and Suez...CSR Europe was one of the corporate lobby groups involved in a successful lobbying offensive to discourage the European Parliament (EP) from proposing mandatory reporting on corporate social and environmental performance. (Corporate Europe Observer, Aug. 2002)

Comment: Steve Hilton - A tale of two launches - Two recently announced initiatives mean that corporate social and environmental involvement is now big business, argues Steve Hilton...First, then, to Britain's parliament for the launch of the CORE (Corporate Responsibility) Coalition, and the publication of its draft Private Member's Bill tabled by Labour Member of Parliament Linda Perham...So on to launch number two...a thoroughly modern proposal was outlined by [George Soros]: "Publish What You Pay", a campaign to make oil and mining companies report the sums they pay to the governments of developing countries. (Steve Hilton, founding partner of the social marketing company Good Business, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 17 July 2002)

South African Community Growth Fund Celebrates Tenth Anniversary - The Community Growth Fund invests in South African companies committed to sustainable development and triple bottom line reporting [refers to companies that went through protracted process before qualifying for CGF investment: South African Breweries, Rand Water, Naspers Group; companies removed from the CGF: Western Deep Level mine, Hoskens Consolidated Investments, Liberty Life; companies that refused to submit to CGF's social audit: Aspen Pharmacare, Sun International, Vanadium Corp. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 17 July 2002) 

Big companies 'should be forced to report on green performance' [UK] - Large companies should be forced by law to report on their environmental and social performance as a way of restoring public trust in the wake of the Enron, Andersen and WorldCom scandals, the chief executive of the Co-operative Bank said last night. (Alison Maitland, Financial Times, 12 July 2002)

Social reports leave out the aspect of disabled people - The Employers' Forum on Disability in the UK has launched an annual benchmarking exercise to audit companies' policies towards people with disabilities. A first study of companies' social reports shows that they rarely address disability. (EurActiv.com, 12 July 2002) 

• Missing person's bulletin - 610 million people worldwide left out of top companies' social reports -...findings reveal that in only 10 of the 50 reports were disabled people truly visible as valued employees, customers and members of the community. (Employers' Forum on Disability, 9 July 2002)

• full report: The Missing Persons Report: Global Inclusion Benchmark of Corporate Reporting on Disability (A report by AccountAbility for the Employers' Forum on Disability, June 2002)

• The Employers' Forum on Disability Global Inclusion Benchmark (AccountAbility, 10 July 2002)

Capital in Crisis - ACTU [Australian Council of Trade Unions] president Sharan Burrow outlines the global union response to the corporate carnage gripping an increasingly shaky system -..."There is ongoing work from global unions in regard to how you manage social responsibility within the business community, capitalism and multinational corporations more broadly." [includes reference to U.N. Global Compact, Global Reporting Initiative, socially responsible investment] (Workers Online, Labor Council of New South Wales, 12 July 2002)

Corporate Social Responsibility Should Remain Voluntary, Says Commission - The European Commission has released a strategy paper declaring that the emerging field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) should remain a voluntary endeavour largely dictated by business imperatives...The Commission signalled last week that it would not yield to European Parliament pressure to propose binding legislation for firms to report on social and environmental issues alongside their annual financial accounts. (Edie News, 8 July 2002)

Trying to clear away the corporate smokescreen - How can a company whose products kill millions be considered socially responsible? That is the key question that faces British American Tobacco as it publishes its first social report this week. (Alison Maitland, Financial Times, 4 July 2002)

No mandatory CSR regulations in Commission's proposal -...On 2 July, the Commission [European Commission] published a Communication entitled "Corporate Social Responsibility: A business contribution to Sustainable Development". It is a follow-up of the Green Paper issued last summer. [includes links to the official documents] (EurActiv.com, 4 July 2002)

• {···français} Pas de réglementation obligatoire en matière de RSE dans la proposition de la Commission (EurActiv.com, 4 juillet 2002)

Tobacco 'Social Responsibility' Report - Asia-Pacific health and consumer groups have dismissed this week's release of the tobacco giant British American Tobacco's (BAT) first global 'social responsibility' report, one that avoids acknowledging the addictive nature of nicotine. (Bob Burton, Inter Press Service, 4 July 2002)

• company website: British American Tobacco

One Week After Worldcom: Europe Bows to Big Business - White Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility disappointing, says FoEE [Friends of the Earth Europe] - The European Commission has missed a huge opportunity to stop big business scandals by producing a White Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility that advocates leaving big business to regulate itself...The Commission’s paper ignores calls from Friends of the Earth and others for binding rules to regulate multi-national companies world-wide. FOE has called for the paper to address binding corporate accountability including key measures such as, at the very least, mandatory social and environmental reporting. (Friends of the Earth Europe, 3 July 2002)

UK Parliamentarian calls for mandatory social reporting law [UK] - Labour member of the UK Parliament, Linda Perham, has tabled a proposal for a corporate ethics bill. It would make environmental and social reporting a legal requirement [includes links to official documents] (EurActiv.com, 2 July 2002)

• {···français} Un parlementaire du Royaume-Uni demande une loi rendant obligatoire les rapports sociaux et environnementaux (EurActiv.com, 2 juillet 2002)

All Party Parliamentary Group on Corporate Social Responsibility [UK] - 1 July 2002 - Submission by Sir Geoffrey Chandler, Founder-Chair, Amnesty International UK Business Group 1991-2001 and former senior executive Royal Dutch/Shell Group -... CSR [corporate social responsibility] will be largely cosmetic if there is no commitment to labour conditions based on acceptable standards for a company's own employees and its supply chains, if there is no acceptance of responsibility for the environmental and human rights impact of its operations, if there is no monitoring and reporting on that impact as rigorous in principle as reporting on money. (Sir Geoffrey Chandler, 1 July 2002)

BASF publishes its report Social Responsibility 2001: Report independently verified for the first time -...The report focuses on BASF's activities in key areas such as employees, the community, human rights, markets and dialogue. (BASF, 25 June 2002) 

EU accountants develop sustainable reporting framework - European accounting bodies are developing a detailed sustainability reporting framework, ahead of release of an EU white paper on corporate social responsibility later this month (Ross Kendall, Ethical Investor, 19 June 2002)

Comment: Simon Zadek's column, June 2002 - Simon Zadek reports on the latest developments of assurance frameworks for companies looking to improve social and environmental performance [refers to AA1000S Assurance Standard] (Simon Zadek, Chief Executive of AccountAbility, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 13 June 2002)

New bill calls for corporate responsibility [UK] - A broad coalition of human rights, environment and development organisations today launched a private members Bill to demand greater social and environmental accountability from business. The bill is being tabled by Linda Perham, MP, and is backed by Amnesty International (UK), Friends of the Earth, the New Economics Foundation, Save the Children (UK) and CAFOD. The legislation has been drafted as a response to the failure of the voluntary approach to corporate responsibility (Friends of the Earth, 12 June 2002)

• MP leads call for corporate ethics bill [UK] - It calls for social, financial and environmental reporting to be made mandatory, requires companies to consult on big projects and demands rights of redress for citizens negatively impacted by business activities. (Terry Macalister, Guardian [UK], 13 June 2002)

New Report Assesses the Status of Corporate Social Responsibility: Echo Research reports on how corporate social responsibility is increasingly important for global corporations, and rates how CSR is being incorporated into business practices -...Ford and BP topped Echo's CSR Perception Index for the second year in a row. IBM and GlaxoSmithKline rounded out the top four this year. Echo applauded Ford's "Time Budget" program, which encourages employees to advance CSR initiatives, and BP's integration of social reporting into its business model. IBM earned high ranking due to its promotion of education, while GlaxoSmithKline distinguished itself as the most prominent CSR practitioner in the pharmaceutical industry. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 6 June 2002)

European parliament votes to regulate multinational companies - The European Parliament...has...voted for new legislation to require companies to publicly report annually on their social and environmental performance, to make Board members personally responsible for these practices, and to establish legal jurisdiction against European companies' abuses in developing countries. (Richard Howitt, Member of the European Parliament, 31 May 2002)

Institutional Investors collaborate on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Questionnaire- Today a group of large institutional investors with significant assets wrote to the 500 largest quoted companies in the world by market capitalisation asking for the disclosure of investment-relevant information concerning their greenhouse gas emissions. (Carbon Disclosure Project, 31 May 2002)

• Institutional Investors Press Largest Companies to Disclose Greenhouse Gas Emissions -...The correlation between corporate environmental performance and shareowner value has gained increasing validation, prompting investors to request greater transparency on environmental issues from their companies. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 31 May 2002)

EU wants multinationals to publish ethical reports - The European Parliament backed a report yesterday asking multinationals to assess the social and environmental impact of their businesses in annual reports...."Of 2,500 voluntary codes of conduct promoted by business, two thirds ignore internationally recognised standards, avoid independent verification or disown responsibility down their supply chain." (Reuters, 31 May 2002)

Challenge to a voluntary preserve - Is legislation needed, to force companies to report on their social and environmental performance? (Alison Maitland & Michael Mann, Financial Times, 30 May 2002)

KPMG Launches International Survey of Corporate Sustainability Reporting 2002 - Forty-five percent of the Fortune global top 250 companies are now issuing environmental, social or sustainability reports in addition to their financial reports, according to a new survey released by KPMG. Globally, more companies than ever are publishing reports on their environmental, social and sustainability performance and an increasing number are having these reports independently verified. (KPMG, 29 May 2002)

A new model for social auditing -...In future, companies will need to move way from self-promotional corporate social responsibility reports - such as those recently published by Reebok, Nike, McDonald's and Shell - and move towards independent evaluations by qualified third parties. They will have to open up their factories to independent audits that disclose publicly whether conditions have improved. (Elliot J Schrage, formerly senior vice-president of global affairs at Gap, teaches at Columbia Business School and Columbia Law School, in Financial Times, 27 May 2002)

Comment [on social reporting by companies] -...The most urgent task is to work out what constitutes core data in social reporting. [refers to Global Reporting Initiative] (Mallen Baker, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 19 May 2002)

Mandatory social reporting – an idea whose time has come?...there should be a mandatory requirement for all companies to state their policy regarding social responsibility, human rights and environmental performance (even if the company’s decision is not to have a policy on some or all of these issues). The second [issue to address immediately] is to implement legislation requiring mandatory social and environmental reporting. (Peter Frankental, Business Group Manager of Amnesty International UK, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 13 May 2002)

McDonald's "Corporate Responsibility" Report a Blueprint for Union-Busting (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 8 May 2002)

• {···español} “Informe sobre Responsabilidad Social” McDonald's - Un plan maestro para antisindicalismo (UITA - Unión Internacional de los Trabajadores de la alimentación, Agrícolas, Hoteles, Restaurantes, Tabaco y Afines, 17 mayo 2002)

• {···français} Le «Rapport sur la responsabilité sociale» de McDonald's: un programme antisyndical classique (UITA - Union internationale des travailleurs de l’alimentation, de l’agriculture, de l’hôtellerie- restauration, du tabac et des branches connexes, 17 mai 2002)

• company website: McDonald's Social Responsibility Report (McDonald's Corporation, issued Apr. 2002)

• company press release: McDonald's Issues First Worldwide Social Responsibility Report (McDonald's Corporation, 15 Apr. 2002)

Global Reporting: Top Five Reasons to Pay Attention [to the Global Reporting Initiative] (Leah V. Haygood, BuzzWord Sustainable Reporting, in GreenBiz.com, May 2002)

McDonald's and Corporate Social Responsibility? The April 14th McDonald's Report on Corporate Social Responsibility is a low water mark for the concept of sustainability and the promise of corporate social responsibility. (Paul Hawken, author of The Ecology of Commerce and Natural Capitalism & founder of Natural Capital Institute, FoodFirst: Institute for Food and Development Policy website, 25 Apr. 2002)

• Issues that McDonald's Did Not Deal with in the Report on Corporate Social Responsibility (Paul Hawken, FoodFirst: Institute for Food and Development Policy website, 25 Apr. 2002)

• company website: McDonald's Social Responsibility Report (McDonald's Corporation, issued Apr. 2002)

• company press release: McDonald's Issues First Worldwide Social Responsibility Report (McDonald's Corporation, 15 Apr. 2002)

• McDonald's "Social Responsibility Report" A Blueprint for Union-Busting -...the report fails to offer a single verifiable criterion for evaluating McDonald's' industrial relations practices (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 8 May 2002)

Ford India hands over its first Corporate Assessment Report to the Chief Minister [of Tamil Nadu, India] -...It offers a comprehensive assessment of Ford India's performance on a wide range of social, economic & business issues [including environmental protection]...It is the first country-specific assessment by a Ford affiliate. (Ford Motor Company, 24 Apr. 2002)

Corporate social responsibility guidelines for the financial sector [UK] - Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs today announced Government support for the development of new 'Guidance on Corporate Social Responsibility Management and Reporting for the Financial Services Sector'. (U.K. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, 23 Apr. 2002)

McDonald's feeds appetite for social responsibility: Stung by unfavorable attention it has attracted as a symbol of rampant globalization, McDonald's Corp. is touting its record of promoting animal welfare, protecting tropical rain forests and hiring disadvantaged workers. (Deborah Cohen, Reuters, 16 Apr. 2002)

• McDonald's Issues First Worldwide Social Responsibility Report: NGO Initiatives Update Included in McDonald's Report: Conservation International, Environmental Defense, The Natural Step, Business for Social Responsibility (McDonald's Corporation, 15 Apr. 2002)

Eco soundings: Voluntary inactivity [UK] - In October 2000, Tony Blair exhorted Britain's leading 350 companies to publish environmental reports of their activities by the end of last year. New research by Friends of the Earth shows that just 23% of those companies have reported, 7% say they might and the rest aren't planning anything. So, after the failure of this voluntary approach, FoE, Save the Children Fund, Amnesty and the New Economics Foundation are working together to introduce a new draft law. (John Vidal, Guardian [UK], 10 Apr. 2002)

Firms pushed to disclose their impact on society: A coalition of governments, businesses and public interest groups launched last week a global campaign to encourage companies to issue public reports on their impact on society and the environment [Global Reporting Initiative]...The GRI guidelines are already being followed by more than 110 companies worldwide, including German chemicals group BASF AG, British Telecom, U.S. drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Japanese printer and photocopier maker Canon Inc., French Food group Danone, U.S.-based sports clothing company Nike and South African Breweries Plc. (Irwin Arieff, Reuters, 8 Apr. 2002)

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Is Here to Stay: The Global Reporting Initiative, an organization working to make corporate performance more transparent, was formally inaugurated as an independent institution yesterday. (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 5 Apr. 2002)

Need for new law on companies' green reporting [UK] - Big business scorns PM's call for green reporting:...A coalition of groups has called on the UK Government to insist companies report because the voluntary approach has failed. (Friends of the Earth, 4 Apr. 2002)

Global Reporting Initiative finally inaugurated in New York (Ethical Corporation Magazine, 4 Apr. 2002)

Invitation to Comment on Draft Version of the 2002 Guidelines - The GRI is pleased to release the Draft Version of the 2002 GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for public review and comment....This 1 April 2002 posting marks the beginning of the public comment period that will end on 26 May 2002. [scroll down to end of page to download the draft 2002 guidelines] (Global Reporting Initiative, 1 Apr. 2002)

Business and Human Rights: Policy commitments and disclosure in the extractive sector [A comparison of policies and practices on human rights issues from seven multinational extractive companies: BG, BP, BHP Billiton, BOC, Premier Oil, Rio Tinto, Shell] (Lucy Amis & Dave Prescott, International Business Leaders Forum, Apr. 2002)

All mouth, no trousers?: Best practice in reporting corporate responsibility - "All mouth, no trousers?" is the first in-depth research into the reporting of corporate responsibility [including human rights] in annual reports. Each annual report from the top 100 European companies has been examined for ethical statements. The 52 that contain some form of statement are then further evaluated to ascertain whether these claims ring true. (Hoop Associates, Apr. 2002)

Businesses are called to account: A new initiative should make it possible to compare companies' impact on society and the environment - Next week in New York an extraordinary coalition of companies, governments and pressure groups will launch an ambitious attempt to harmonise the way businesses report their impact on society and the environment. The Global Reporting Initiative hopes to break through the fog surrounding "green" and ethical accounting and bring transparency and comparability to this fledgling form of corporate disclosure. If it works, it could become the international standard for non-financial reporting. (Alison Maitland, Financial Times, 28 Mar. 2002)

MEPs Cave In To Big Business: Friends of the Earth today slammed MEPs on the European Parliament's Industry Committee for rejecting a proposal forcing EU firms to report on their social and environmental performance. The Committee instead opted for a 'voluntary approach' allowing corporations to decide for themselves whether to report on these issues - even though businesses have ignored similar requests, including one made by Prime Minister Tony Blair. (Friends of the Earth, 27 Mar. 2002)

The New Accountability: Tracking the Social Costs:...Pressure from investors, customers, consumer activists and even some governments is pushing more companies, particularly multinational ones, to report their nonfinancial performance, detailing the impact of their businesses on the environment and human rights... McDonald's...plans to release its first sustainability report the week of April 15...In a move that advocates of social reporting say foreshadows corporate reporting to come, Shell will include its sustainability report in the same binding as its annual financial report for the first time this year, underscoring the message that the two go hand in hand. (Amy Cortese, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2002)

New French Law Mandates Corporate Social and Environmental Reporting: French social and environmental rating agency offered both kudos and criticism for a new law requiring French companies to disclose social and environmental performance. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 14 Mar. 2002) 

All mouth, no trousers? - The challenges of reporting corporate responsibility (Matthew Grenier, Strategic Director at Hoop Associates, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 5 Mar. 2002)

Reporting on the Triple Bottom Line 2001: dealing with dilemmas (Novo Nordisk, Mar. 2002)

• Evaluating our suppliers’ social responsibility [refers to human rights] (Novo Nordisk)
• Helping to ensure the right to health (Novo Nordisk)
• Patents put to the test (Novo Nordisk)
• Novo Nordisk and globalisation (Novo Nordisk)

The latest Novo Nordisk Triple Bottom Line report: 'Reporting on the Triple Bottom Line 2001: Dealing with dilemmas' [social/environmental report by Novo Nordisk; includes sections on: globalisation and its implications for business, access to healthcare in developing countries, intellectual property rights, diversity and equal opportunities in the workplace] (Novo Nordisk, Mar. 2002)

Global Reporting Initiative to be officially inaugurated at United Nations Headquarters: A Milestone for Corporate Disclosure, Transparency and Sustainability Reporting (Global Reporting Initiative, 28 Feb. 2002)

{···français} Transparence sociale et environnementale au menu des sociétés françaises - Les sociétés françaises cotées devront faire preuve de transparence à partir de 2003 en ce qui concerne les conséquences sociales, territoriales et environnementales de leurs activités, en les faisant figurer dans leurs rapports annuels au même titre que les informations financières. (AFP, in Le Monde, 22 Feb. 2002)

Beyond corporate gloss: FTSE 100 fall short on social reporting - According to consultants Environmental Resources Management, 79 of FTSE 100 companies now publish at least some information on social issues that impact employees and shareholders. But very few have begun to move beyond ‘corporate gloss’ in their policy statements. (Karen Lindsay, Accountancy online [UK], 9 Jan. 2002)

• ERM Survey Casts Doubt Over Caring Qualities Of FTSE 100 Companies: FTSE 100 companies are making great progress in reporting on the social impacts of their activities. But most have yet to demonstrate real performance improvements on key social issues...Very few companies, for instance, have begun to move beyond 'corporate gloss' in their policy statements to providing performance information on real issues that impact employees and other key stakeholders. (ERM - Environmental Resources Management, 11 Dec. 2001)

2001:

Chiquita Given High Marks for Premier Sustainability Report (Business for Social Responsibility, 6 Dec. 2001)

Chiquita announces release of first corporate responsibility report:...This Report details the Company’s performance in relation to its Core Values, the 100% certification of its Company-owned farms in Latin America to the environmental and social standards of the Rainforest Alliance’s Better Banana Project, and the degree of its compliance with the international labor standard Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000)...It also includes four case studies on environmental and social issues in the banana industry. (Chiquita, 24 Sep. 2001)

• full report: Chiquita Brands International, Inc. - 2000 Corporate Responsibility Report {···english} {···español}

A need for one voice: As business ethics come under increasing scrutiny, a growing number of companies have begun to produce reports on their social and environmental performance...One problem with the current state of environmental and social reporting is that there is a plethora of different measures in use. (Vanessa Houlder, in Responsible business in the global economy: A Financial Times Guide, 23 Oct. 2001) 

A step towards unity of purpose: Few developments in corporate citizenship have attracted as much hope in advance of their launch as the Global Reporting Initiative, to be formally inaugurated early next year. The initiative will seek to create a common framework for assessing businesses' economic, environmental and social performance, collectively termed sustainability reporting. Its goals are ambitious - the GRI seeks to make sustainability reporting "as routine and credible as financial reporting in terms of comparability, rigour and verifiability". (Alan Pike, in Responsible business in the global economy: A Financial Times Guide, 23 Oct. 2001)

Nike releases first corporate responsibility report: Key Issues Identified in Report: Working Toward Sustainability Goals, Reducing Climate Impact, Improving Factory Compliance (Nike, 9 Oct. 2001)

•  full report: Nike's first Corporate Responsibility Report (9 Oct. 2001)

Measuring and reporting corporate performance on human rights [joint publication by Business for Social Responsibility & CSR Europe] -...The report...analyses four initiatives in depth - the Global Reporting Initiative, Social Accountability 8000, the Ethical Trade Initiative and the Fair Labour Association - and provides synopses of key human rights international standards and other reference sources. (Business for Social Responsibility & CSR Europe, Oct. 2001):

• summary and order information: Measuring and reporting corporate performance on human rights (CSR Europe)

• summary and order information: Measuring and reporting corporate performance on human rights (Business for Social Responsibility)

Nike's first Corporate Responsibility Report: This month Nike released a new Corporate Responsibility Report...The report includes some useful information, but its failure to respond to arguments made by the company's critics is deeply disappointing. Here are the positives and negatives. (NikeWatch [Oxfam - Community Aid Abroad], Oct. 2001)

British Airways Social and Environmental Report 2001: From the ground up (British Airways, July 2001): subsection "Our philosophy on human rights", in section 3.4 ("Social - Business Conduct")

BP Environmental and Social Review 2000 (report, BP, May 2001)

Values in a Global Context: The Novo Group Environmental and Social Report 2000 (Novo Group, 30 Mar. 2001)

• Our Lives: Working with social responsibility (in Values in a Global Context: The Novo Group Environmental and Social Report 2000, Novo Group, 30 Mar. 2001)

• Novo Group Environmental and Social Report 2000 released (statement about report, Novo Group, 30 Mar. 2001)

People, planet & profits - The Shell Report (report, Royal Dutch/Shell, 6 Apr. 2001)

Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2000 - Sudan Operations (report, Talisman Energy, 10 Apr. 2001)

• Talisman Issues Corporate Social Responsibility Report [on the company's Sudan operations]: Independently Verified report sent to shareholders (press release, Talisman Energy, 10 Apr. 2001)