Workshop III: Moving Beyond Codes of Conduct
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting - Davos, Switzerland, 25-30 January, 2001
A collection of Knowledge Agents being gathered to support the Process during the Four Work Shops that will be facilitated by Matt and Gail Taylor.
Please e-mail Jeff Johnston with edits, additions, comments, etc. (jjohnston@iterations.com)
Click here to go to Matt's public website describing the process that will be used to facilitate these workshops.
Workshop III: Moving Beyond Codes of Conduct, Monday, 29 January, 11.15-12.45
The globalization backlash has altered corporate thinking about what is necessary to be a "good" company. Corporate involvement in issues such as child labor and human rights have an impact on consumers and investors. What are best ways to get closer to communities and customers in this new environment? When should your company engage in a dialogue or a partnership with an NGO? A workshop to discuss the dos and don't of corporate responsibility.
Objective:
- arrive at a PUSH GOAL = develop a better understanding together of the role of codes of conduct and the dynamics of partnership and whether these can deliver social benefits.
- Explore innovative strategies and effective partnerships that would ensure the delivery of social benefits I) the role of codes of conduct in doing this 2) practical examples of where this has been done 3) defining the roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders
- How can companies integrate the concerns of NGOs and civil society at large? (Useful if this session can include how the interests of NGOs differ/overlap with those of Trade Unions)
- Are the codes of conduct the best way to do this?
- How can a dialogue be established without compromising the interests of either party?
- How can business-NGO partnerships be developed and sustained? What is the role of government in such partnerships?
Working tables will be focusing on:
- What are codes of conduct for and what do they achieve? Are codes of conduct useful vehicles in communicating with and/or developing partnerships with civil society ?
- What is the relative effectiveness of codes of conduct versus government regulation - are codes a substitute or an extension of government regulation?
- Sharing experience - who benefits most from social partnerships? (eg is it the partners themselves or the communities and employees the partnership is trying to benefit?)
- What are the roles and responsibilities of government, companies and civil society in, for example, a partnership based on a code of conduct to eliminate harmful child labour? (And who sets the standards? Leave this to the group to define what kind of standards they mean - could be ways of working together, what the partnership should achieve and/or international labour standards)
- Situation for companies in the field with various stakeholders (i.e.: security rights, conflict zone or land/indigenous right) - suggest taking out, too complex and these issues should come into the broader discussions above.
- Establishing codes of conduct within a companies working with various stakeholder
- Sharing the best practices of partnership between companies, NGOs and governments
- Partnership in the field of labour and children rights and the role of an institutional framework
- Situation for companies in the field with various stakeholders (i.e.: security rights, conflict zone or land/indigenous right)
Questions asked of the experts:
- From the boardroom to the factory floor, where does it happen? (Sir John Browne)
- How do you measure the implementation of the Sullivan Principle? (Reverand Sullivan)
- How do companies react to the different regional and cultural interests? (Michael Garrett)
- Partnership for child related issues, where are the interests to be shared? (Burkhardt Gnärig)
Purpose/Objectives:
New Paradigm: What we're looking for here is something that turns the traditional view of these issues on its head. What new paradigm will have emerged by 2025 that in hindsight, made solving these problems/issues possible?
Possibility: The new heros, like sports figures used to be ...
Issues and Questions: These are rough, and will evolve over the next few days ...
- Child exploitation
- Structure of the economy
- Woman labor, fair compensation and opportunities
- Environment
- Vantage points: "mine" vs. "yours" vs. "ours", etc.
- Laws, including circumvention
- What is the value of non human life? How is it factored into the equation?
- Connecting beyond the self. Making connections transparent. "De-abstractify it."
Key Tipping Point that enabled the paradigm shift: What was the milestone that once reached, enabled everything else to fall into place?
Experts:
- Sir John Browne, Group Chief Executive , BP, UK
- Burkhard Gnärig, Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children Alliance, United Kingdom
- Michael Garret, Executive Vice-President, Asia and Africa, Nestlé, Switzerland
- Leon Sullivan, President and Founder, The Global Sullivan Principles, USA
- Arun Bharat Ram, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India
- Peter Eigen, Chairman of the Board, Transparency International, Germany
- Jim Pantelidis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bata, Canada
- Kumi Naidoo, Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, CIVICUS
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Knowledge Agent
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| Session Structure, as of 01.01.16. Click here for the Word document. |
| Comments on Session Structure document from Rachel Yates (?) Click here for the Word document. |
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Corporate Social Responsibility, World Business Council for Sustainable Development The WBCSD is a coalition of 120 international companies united by a shared commitment to the environment an to the principles of economic growth and sustainable development. Its members are drawn from 30 countries and more than 20 major industrial sectors. (Click here for a pdf file of this document) |
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Child Labor A two page document listing a few child labor statistics and a list of what NGOs and business can do about it. (Click here for a Word document) |
| Women in Africa's Development Overcoming Obstacles, Pushing for Progress, by Takyiwaa Manuh, Africa Recovery, A UN Program |
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National Council of Churches Hails New Global Sullivan Principles, Announced Today New "Global Sullivan Principles" for corporations, announced today, outline "exactly the kind of challenge companies should strive to meet," said the Rev. Dr. Joan B. Campbell, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, in a statement welcoming the principles. |
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Unocal supports Global Sullivan Principles for corporate responsibility Unocal Corporation today said it supports the Global Sullivan Principles, which serve as a framework for good corporate citizenship for multinational companies around the world. |
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World e-Inclusion is a new business strategy of HP. Its purpose is to broaden access to the social and economic opportunities in developing countries thus extending the company's focus to traditionally excluded markets, with an emphasis on sustainable business ventures that benefit the rural poor in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America. (HP) |
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Buy products from villages online - Your purchase helps to provide producers in developing countries with the support they need to develop their skills and businesses and get a fair return for their work, access new markets, expand their product ranges and improve their bargaining power. (HP) |
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"(Sustainability is) the ability to meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." - from the 1987 U.N. Brundtland Report Sustainability is a core belief of World e-Inclusion - environmental, social and economic sustainability. (HP) |
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Make a difference join the World e-inclusion community HP invites you to become a member of a special community -- a community of people that demonstrates their commitment to people in developing countries by actively getting involved. (HP) |
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Visit Nikau village, Visit Bonwire village, Visit Baoli village, Visit San Marcos village (HP) |
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The LINCOS Foundation is a prime example of one of the local partners of the World E-Inclusion initiative, providing an understanding of specific community needs, working with partners such as HP to co-invent and effectively implement sustainable solutions. LINCOS (Little Intelligent Communities) is a project that originated with the desire of Jose Maria Figueres, former President of Costa Rica, to "interconnect the inhabitants of the planet, through new technologies, and convert our communities into communities which would be better prepared to face the challenges of globalization in a more efficient new millennium that improves productivity and well being." (HP) |
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CIVICUS is an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. |
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ILO, International Labor Organization - Promoting Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work |
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ILO - Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention Comes Into Force Convention provides new legal tool to combat most exploitative and dangerous forms of child labour |
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Why are international labour standards needed?, ILO What is the reason for international labour standards? |
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Human Rights - Framing the Issue, Corporate Social Responsibility Forum A civilised society recognises the right of every individual to liberty, freedom of association and personal safety. These form the basis of a code of human rights found at the core of national and international law across the globe. |
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Global Trends 2025: A dialogue about the future The Drivers and Trends Demographics: World population in 2015 will be 7.2 billion, up from 6.1 billion in the year 2000, and in most countries, people will live longer. Ninety-five percent of the increase will be in developing countries, nearly all in rapidly expanding urban areas. Where political systems are brittle, the combination of population growth and urbanization will foster instability. Increasing lifespans will have significantly divergent impacts. |
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Eco-Efficiency, Creating More Value With Less Impact, World Business Council For Sustainable Development (Click here for the pdf document) |
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We are the UK's leading international children's charity, working to create a better future for children. We are active in the UK, as well as more than 70 countries worldwide. We involve children in what we do - we believe in listening and learning from them. |
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How We Work - Save the Children More than 60 years of experience working hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder with families and communities at home and abroad has taught us that poverty need not be a life sentence. |
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Child Labour - Save the Children Save the Children is working to end exploitative child labour. But we don't believe a ban is the answer. Most children who work do so to survive. If children were banned from mainstream jobs, many would turn to illegal, dangerous work. |
| Human Rights Today, a United Nations Priority - |
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Corporate Responsibility at Unocal - "To improve the lives of people wherever we work." |
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The Gift Economy, by Gifford Pinchot Not all economies are based on maximizing personal gain - some are founded on giving. |
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