Earth Dialogues 2002
Globalisation and Sustainable Development
Is Ethics The Missing Link ?
Lyon - February 21-23, 2002

Visit Green Cross International Website

Roundtable 2:

Business and Industry

(revised January 24, 2002)

Introduction (in french)

Agenda 21 states that business and industry should operate in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. However, UNDP’s 1999 Human Development Report asserts that multinational corporations are too important and too dominant a part of the global economy for voluntary initiatives to be sufficient to ensure environmentally and socially responsible corporate practices. UNDP maintains that globally agreed principles of performance are needed for: human concerns to ensure compliance with labor standards and human rights; economic efficiency to ensure fair trade and competitive markets; and environmental sustainability to avoid degradation and pollution. The central objective of the Business and Industry Roundtable is to address how these principles can be promoted more effectively to advance the larger global ethics agenda within the business sector.

Session One: The Ethics-Related Obstacles and Challenges to Achieving Sustainable Development

  1. Agenda 21 states that business and industry should operate in a "socially and environmentally manner". What are the central impediments faced by business and industry in responding to that goal? Please provide concrete examples of these impediments?

  2. Mikhail Gorbachev has stated that the economic choices and lifes adopted in recent history have led humanity to a global ecological crisis. As a result, Mikhail Gorbachev maintains that we need a need a new system of values, "a system of the organic unity between humanity and nature, and an ethic of global responsibility." What are the factors that have impeded the realization of this new ethic in the business sector?

  3. What is the business case for putting ethics and principles first? Please provide concrete examples where corporate enterprises have succeeded in making the business case for putting ethics and principles first?

  4. What are the fundamental challenges harmonizing competition and free market approaches with steady and expanding support for human development and human rights?

  5.   Many NGOs assert that voluntary initiatives are often developed without regard to the principles of transparency, independent verification, worker/participation participation, as well as core international standards related to labour, environment and human rights. Do you agree with these assertions? If so, what are the underlying factors that have contributed to these problems?

  6. Historically, progress associated with corporate social and environmental responsibility has been driven to a large extent by state regulation, trade union activism and collective bargaining. Do you agree with this assertion? If so, do you feel that increasing reliance on voluntary initiatives has in any way contributed to the undermining of these important drivers of corporate responsibility?
Session Two: The Role of Fundamental Ethical Principles and Values in Facilitating the Promotion of Sustainable Development

  1. UNDP’s 1999 Human Development Report asserts that multinational corporations are too important and too dominant a part of the global economy for voluntary codes to be enough. UNDP maintains that globally agreed principles of performance are needed for:

    - Human concerns - to ensure compliance with labour standards and human rights;
    - Economic efficiency - to ensure fair trade and competitive markets;
    - Environmental sustainability - to avoid degradation and pollution.

    How can these principles be promoted more effectively to advance the larger global ethics agenda, and how can they be framed in terms of concrete ethical norms? Also, please provide concrete examples where business enterprises have succeeded in operationalising these fundamental principles within their practices and operations?

  2. The Task Force on Business and Industry (an NGO caucus set up under the auspices of the CSD NGO Steering Committee) has argued that several fundamental challenges should be addressed in the promotion of corporate responsibility. These include:

    - Meaningful substance directed towards solving problems of environmental deterioration and social
    ...injustice;
    - The need for positive incentives to motivate business sector to adopt corporate responsibility ...practices;
    - The need for integration of ethical values into corporate tools for measuring success and progress;
    - The need for effective instruments for independent monitoring and verification of voluntary initiatives;
    - Promotion of public participation in the development of voluntary initiatives.

    Do you agree with these assertions? If so, which specific ethical norms are needed to promote and to give further expression to these fundamental principles? Please provide concrete examples where business enterprises have integrated these principles into their operations and practices?

  3. UNDP's 1999 Human Development Report calls for globalisation with the following norms:

    - Ethics: less violation of human rights;
    - Equity: less disparity within and between nations;
    - Inclusion: less marginalization of people;
    - Human security: less instability of societies and people;
    - Sustainability: less environmental destruction;
    - Development: less poverty and deprivation.

    How should these norms be more concretely expressed in the context of corporate social and environmental responsibility?
    Please provide concrete examples where business enterprises have integrated these norms into their business practices.
Session Three: Policy Recommendations for Action and Implementation

  1. Corporate codes of conduct, voluntary initiatives, green business networks have all been useful instruments for promoting the ethics agenda within the business sector. How can these tools be strengthened, and what are the concrete policy recommendations that should be transmitted to Johannesburg in this regard? Please provide concrete examples illustrating the use of corporate codes of conducts, voluntary initiatives, green business networks etc.

  2. The changing attitude of business is also reflected in the phenomenon of new private public partnerships which has brought the private sector together with other State and non-State actors (i.e. WWF/Unilever partnership to create economic incentives within the seafood industry for sustainable fisheries; Fairtrade Association; BP and EDF). What are the concrete measures needed to strengthen these partnerships to ensure that they promote the ethics agenda more effectively? Please provide concrete examples of other successful partnership initiatives.

  3. The Global Reporting Initiative is another important example of a new form of partnership between the private and public sector, which has developed reporting guidelines for sustainable development in the business sector. What sort of political impetus can Johannesburg give to this important initiative? How can GRI be replicated in other sectors and how should it be strengthened?

  4. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) maintains that the desired new paradigm shift should move corporate practices towards: (a) seeing savings and opportunities in the promotion of sustainable development; (b) integrating sustainable development into all phases of production; (c) systems-based thinking; (d) openness and transparency and consultation with key stakeholders. What are the new measures, instruments, tools etc. needed to operationalise this desired paradigm shift? Please provide concrete examples where these paradigm shifts have been successfully operationalised.

  5. The Secretary-General's Report on the Implementation of Agenda 21(E/CN.17/2002/PC.2/) notes the following suggested policy recommendations, which are particularly relevant to the business sector. (i) achievement of a four-fold increase in efficiency accompanied by a ten-fold increase in efficiency in developed countries in the long-term; (ii) enhancing corporate responsibility and accountability through such initiatives as the GRI, environmental management, accounting and environmental reporting; (iii) enhanced support for research and development of cleaner production technologies; (iv) promotion of voluntary initiatives; (v) promotion of eco-design, eco-labeling and other consumer information tools.
  6. What are the new and additional elements that the Earth Dialogues should address in the promotion of these recommendations? In particular, what are the ethics dimensions that should be highlighted? And how should these recommendations be elaborated upon beyond the general points highlighted in the Secretary-General's report?
Session Four: Political Strategies for Johannesburg and Beyond

  1. What are the political strategies needed to engage the sector in the development of more effective tools and mechanisms for promotion of the corporate responsibility/accountability agenda at Johannesburg?

  2. What are the political strategies needed to specifically mobilize support within the business sector for increased "command-and control measures", recognizing that as according to a growing number of NGOs, that voluntary initiatives are not always enough on their own?

  3. What are the strategies needed to forge new and more effective alliances between the business sector and civil society in the promotion of the corporate responsibility/accountability agenda at Johannesburg?

  4. What are the political strategies needed to ensure successful promotion of the package of recommendations highlighted in the Secretary-General's report?
 
Copyright - Green Cross International - Geneva/Switzerland - February 2003

 

 

ED by Round :

ED by Meeting :