Download Influencing Government

Influencing Government
The private sector and
intergovernmental negotiations – the
good, the bad and the ugly
Simon McRae Corporate Accountability
Campaigner,
Friends of the Earth
What is Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR)?
Depends on who you talk to
For Government and businesses it is companies
taking voluntary action beyond compliance with minimum
legal standards to improve the social and environmental
performance of their business
What is Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR)?
Depends on who you talk to
For many NGOs they see companies use CSR cynically
as a smokescreen (or greenwash) to avoid having to
• take serious action to improve the social and
environmental performance of their operations and
• mask their lobbying activities
What CSR is not?
1.
2.
3.
Its not a substitute for the regulation of
companies!
Its not a substitute for how companies should
manage their social ethical and
environmental impacts!
It won’t save the world!
What are limitations of CSR
– the ‘accountability gap’
• No incentives, either legal or financial (eg carbon tax), to
go more than marginally beyond competitors
• Doesn’t address those who breach principles or repeat
offenders
• Doesn’t give stakeholders the right of redress
• Does address the fundamentals problems of
unsustainable trading system and market economy
So what are the challenges for 21st
century
1. Stop breaching environmental limits
2. Resolve the international democratic
deficit of how corporations are regulated
3. Make world trade rules fair
Stop breaching environmental limits
-
-
Extinction of species
Over 12,500 species are
under threat primarily as a
result of human activities
including 1 in 4 mammals and
1 in 8 bird species
current rate of extinction is
between 1000 to 10,000 times
faster than natural background
levels
(Ref: IUCN ‘species extinction’ briefing)
Stop breaching environmental limits
-
-
-
Forests disappearing
On average during the 1990’s
14.6 million hectares of forests
a year were cut down despite
increasing reforestation
50% of all biodiversity is
contained within rainforests
which make of 7% all forests
Only 10% of forests protected
(Ref: IUCN ‘forests under fire’ briefing)
Stop breaching environmental limits
-
-
Water wars?
Although only 1% of all water
on earth is freshwater it
essential for life on earth
In 20 years its expected that
nearly half the world will either
have difficulty accessing clean
water or their supplies will be
under severe stress
(Ref: IUCN ‘water and wetlands’
briefing)
Resolve the international
democratic deficit of corporations
How do we get democratic control over companies
who act globally but are only regulated at national
level by Governments?
Global action – UN Norms on the Responsibilities of
Trans national Corporations with regard to human
rights and an international treaty on corporate
accountability
National action – CORE and UK company law reform
Resolve the international
democratic deficit of corporations
Global action
Extract from World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) joint plan of implementation
paragraph 49 which encourages governments to
“Actively promote corporate responsibility and accountability,
based on the Rio principles, including through the full
development and effective implementation of intergovernmental
agreements and measures, international initiatives
…appropriate national regulations…”
Resolve the international
democratic deficit of corporations
Global action
Develop international treaty or convention that
covered corporate accountability
- the treaty could be built up using UN Norms on the
Responsibilities of Trans national Corporations with regard to
human rights as starting point
Resolve the international
democratic deficit of corporations
Global action
Make sure treaty can be enforced by extending role
of International Criminal Court
- The International Criminal Court could provide an independent
forum for hearing cases, perhaps including a special tribunal for
environmental abuses. Eligibility for hearing or referral to this court
would need to be defined.
Resolve the international
democratic deficit
National action
Reform national company
law so that companies
responsible for social and
environmental impacts
overseas
Resolve the international
democratic deficit
National action
CORE coalition of environment and development NGOs,
unions and faith groups are campaigning to reform
company law so that UK companies are responsible for
their social and environmental impacts where ever they
operate in the world
CORE demands
•
•
•
Duty of care for environment
Mandatory sustainability reporting
Foreign Direct Liability
see www.corporate-responsibility.org
So what are the challenges for 21st
century
Make world trade rules fair
Many developing countries are trapped in poverty by
unfair trade rules which favour the rich primarily in
Europe and North America. In 2005 UK NGO’s are
calling for action through
TRADE JUSTICE.
DROP THE DEBT.
MORE AND BETTER AID
See www.makepovertyhistory.org
So how can CSR help deliver on
these challenges?
1.
Socially Responsible lobbying
•
•
Align company position on public policy with private lobbying
Withdraw from lobby groups or funding of think tanks which
misrepresent your lobbying position in key public policy issues
(e.g. climate change) as well as
Supporting lobby groups or funding of think tanks which represent
your lobbying position in key public policy issues
•
2
Direct investment and influence
•
Use own purchasing power to invest in eco –efficient operations
and renewable energy and influence supply chains to do same
Need to align company position on
public policy with private lobbying
• Where they got it
wrong!
• Exxon and climate
change
• Exxon has a infamous history
of funding lobby groups and
lobbying politicians that
oppose mandatory action on
climate change
Need to align company position on
public policy with private lobbying
Where they got it
wrong!
• Shell and UN Norms on
human rights
responsibility of
companies
• Shell have been active as the
chair of the ICC lobbying
against the implementation of
UN Norms
Need to align company position on
public policy with private lobbying
Where they got it
right!
• The Co-operative
Financial Services (CFS)
and disclosure of
lobbying on public policy
in their CSR report
• The report details the response
of CFS in terms of using their
lobbying influence with regard
to social and environmental
reporting and sustainable
development
Need to align company position on
public policy with private lobbying
Where they got it
right!
• The Co-operative Financial
Services and disclosure of
lobbying on public policy in
their CSR report
• What did they disclose
•
Influence and action
•
Mandatory reporting lobbied for
mandatory reporting of social and
environmental impacts of companies
Project SIGMA working with the
British Standards Institute and others
to develop a British Standard in
Sustainable Development
Management Systems.
BitC indices lobbied for increased
transparency for stakeholders in the
Business in Community indexes
•
•
Need to align company position on
public policy with private lobbying
Where they got it
right!
• CFS sustainability report
2003
• Influence and action
• Disclose lobbying position and
activities on key public policy
issues that affect your
business
• What is missing?
• No disclosure of membership
of lobby groups such as CBI
• No disclosure of where CFS
policy differs significantly from
lobby groups
So how can CSR help deliver on
these challenges?
Withdraw from lobby
groups or funding of
think tanks which
misrepresent your
lobbying position in key
public policy issues
(eg. climate change)
Example
Shell and BP
withdrawing from anti
climate change lobby
group the ‘Global
Climate Coalition’
So how can CSR help deliver on
these challenges?
Support lobby groups
or funding of think
tanks which represent
your lobbying position
in key public policy
issues (eg. climate
change)
Example
CFS have publicly
supported CORE
coalition campaign to get
mandatory reporting of
social and environmental
impacts
Direct investment and influence
• There is a global market for environmental goods and
services worth over US$500 billion and growing at 10%
per year
• The UK has only 5% share and is already falling behind
its competitors
What’s been happening on CSR?
UK Government action
Internationally
• Support UN Global compact
- European Union have published Communication on Corporate
Social Responsibility
-
UK approach
Proposed international framework strategy on CSR based on
raising awareness of CSR
encouraging best practice (ie. OECD Guidelines for Multinationals)
improving existing process BUT not regulation
What’s not been happening on CSR!
Government inaction - all carrot no stick
Effectively most Governments including the UK have abandoned
commitments made at World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) on corporate accountability, to look beyond
just voluntary measures, and consider how we can use regulation to
promote corporate accountability.
Instead they have surrendered control of the CSR agenda to
corporations who favour self regulation and are openly hostile to
regulatory action
Where to next?
3 demands of UK Govt on CSR
• Lobby UN to hold international conference on corporate
accountability that’s focused on regulatory initiatives
• Stop relying on voluntary initiatives only like Global Compact and
OECD Guidelines for Multinationals to address corporate abuse and
power
•
Support demands of CORE coalition on reform of UK company
law
Where to next?
3 demands of business on CSR
• Disclose lobbying position on key public policy issues as well
as member ship of trade associations and lobby groups
• Lobby to support the UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Trans
national Corporations with regard to human rights
• Support demands of CORE coalition on reform of company law
Where to next?
Further reading on socially responsible lobbying
• Green Alliance, The private life of public affairs, 2003
• International Chemical Secretariat, Cry Wolf: predicted costs in
industry in the face of new regulations, April 2004
• Fanny Calder, Following up the World Summit on Sustainable
Development Commitments on Corporate Social
Responsibility: Options for action by Governments, Chatham
House, February 2005
• Sustainability & GPC, Politics and Persuasion: Corporate
Influence on Sustainable Development Policy, 2001