RELIGIOUS GROUPS PROPOSE PRINCIPLES FOR GLOBAL CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
(by Corporate Crime Reporter 5 Febraury 1996)
Three religious organizations from Great Britain, Canada and the United States announced last month a set of principles that spell out a new business philosophy they claim is fundamental to a responsible company's action in the global economy.
The groups said that the publication of the Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility: Bench Marks For Measuring Business Performancet marks the first time that religious groups and shareholders have developed comprehensive global standards for responsible corporate citizenship.
"Global companies are facing a new set of issues that go well beyond their traditional business focus," said Rev. David Schilling, the director of global corporate accountability programs for the New York City-based Center on Corporate Responsibility. "The principles for global corporate responsibility call on companies to base their corporate policies on a vision of themselves as one of many stakeholders in the global community and to set high standards of conduct in relation to their employees, the environmentt and the communities in which they operate."
The 28-page document calls for:
* a new relationship between corporations and communities;
* sustainable economic development which builds equitable productive and participatory structures to increase the economic empowerment of communities;
* respect for the dignity of every person and for collective and individual rights;
* corporate governance policies that balance the sometime competing interests of managers, employees, shareholders, and communities; and
* protection of the environment.
"In the global economy, the challenge for both corporations and individuals is to provide adequate resources for human development while preserving God's creation," said Rev. J. Andy Smith II of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, a member of the dtafting committee. "Many business leaders are attempting to respond to this challenge by developing their own company policies or criteria for corporate world citizenship. We believe the 'Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility' will encourage companies to develop and implement.
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