- Standards and Guidelines
- Voluntary Initiatives
- Social Investment Issues
- Partnerships
- Information and Resource Centers
Global Standards and Guidelines
- Global Reporting Initiative: Organized by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES), The Global Reporting Initiative was established in late 1997 with the mission of designing globally applicable guidelines for preparing enterprise-level sustainability reports. In March 1999, GRI released
- Exposure Draft Guidelines: for comment and pilot testing
- Global Sullivan Principles: These business principles were developed by Reverend Leon Sullivan and a small group of U.S. and European companies. Procter & Gamble, General Motors, Colgate-Palmolive, and Sun Oil are the U.S. companies that have thus far endorsed them. Shell and Rio Tinto of the UK and TATA Industries of India have also done so. Intended as an aspirational statement to which companies can align their internal policies, the Principles cover such things as equal opportunity; freedom of association; safety and health; and ethical business dealings.
- International Labour Standards and Human Rights: These standards were created and are sponsored by the International Labour Organization. The ILO was created in 1919 primarily for the purpose of adopting international standards to cope with the problem of labor conditions involving “injustice, hardship and privation”. Core labor standards as a component of international trade agreements has become a policy priority across the globe. The ILO core standards have received considerable support from several national governments and are the leading set of international labor standards.
- OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises: These Guidelines are recommendations jointly addressed by Member countries to multinational enterprises operating in their territories. These Guidelines, which account for the problems which stem from the international structure of these enterprises, lay down standards for these enterprises in the different Member countries. Observance of the Guidelines is voluntary and not legally enforceable. However, they help to ensure that these enterprises operate in harmony with national policies of the countries where they operate and to strengthen the basis of mutual confidence between enterprises and governments.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Policy and Reinvention: Resources for Promoting Global Business Principles and Best Practices: A Directory of People, Organizations and Web Sites
Voluntary Initiatives
- “Forging New Links: Promoting and Protecting Human Rights and the Environment”: Summary of a Roundtable that oulined the concerns and criteria for Inter-Governmental and Non-Governmental Groups regarding these issues. The Roundtable was held in San Francisco, CA, on January 14, 1999 and was organized by the California Corporate Accountability Project.
- Caux Round Table Principles for Business: These principles aim to express a world standard against which business behavior can be measured.
- Keidanren Charter for Good Corporate Behavior: The Keidanren Charter states that corporations, in order to be useful to society as a whole, should adhere to ten principles; respect the letter and spirit of all laws, whether domestic or foreign, and of international rules, and behave in a socially responsible manner.
- The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) Responsible Care: This initiative aims to improve the health, safety and environmental performance of member company operations and products and the level of community involvement and awareness of the industry.
Social Investment Issues
- Good Money: Good Money provides information on socially and environmentally responsible investing (SRI), consuming (SRC) and business practices (CSR). They also provide information about how perfectly ordinary people can use the power of their money as investors, consumers and businesspeople to bring about the changes necessary to improve social and economic conditions throughout the world.
- Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR): ICCR is the leading organization in the shareholder resolution process, and is instrumental in coordinating resolutions co-filed by different investors. While ICCR’s members are faith-based organizations, its broader constituency includes many non-religious groups who look to it for guidance on social issues. Another ICCR project is the: Corporate Examiner
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- Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC): IRRC’s mission is to provide the highest quality impartial research on companies and shareholders worldwide. IRRC provides research, software products and consulting services. They offer guidance and advice on proxy voting, enabling clients to make informed, considered decisions that reflect their investment philosophies. The IRRC also provides the: Environmental Information Service
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- Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini & Co. (KLD): KLD, a leading authority on social investing, provides a full range of social investment support services for financial professionals and institutional investors.
- SocialFunds.Com: SocialFunds.com is an internet based business that serves the investment needs of socially responsible investors. Their goal is to empower individual investors with the resources they need to make informed decisions regarding their socially responsible investments.
Partnerships
- Alliance for a Caring Economy (ACE): ACE is a national/international alliance which believes that the activities of caring and caretaking — which include caring for each other, for our communities, and for the natural environment — comprise the most important human work on our planet, for both women and men.
- International Cooperative for Environmental Leadership (ICEL): ICEL is A Global Partnership Promoting Innovative Environmental Solutions. ICEL provides a global forum for leaders from industry, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academia to exchange information and evaluate technological solutions. Voluntary cooperation allows regulatory bodies to work with industry outside of the traditional command-and-control style of governing, by planning and implementing joint projects.
- Partners for the Environment: Through Partners for the Environment, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collaborates with over 7,000 organizations using voluntary goals and commitments to achieve measurable environmental results in a timely and cost-effective way. Our partners include small and large businesses, citizens groups, state and local governments, universities and trade associations.
Information and Resource Centers
- Managing a Better Environment: Opportunities and Obstacles for ISO 14001 in Public Policy and Commerce: This analysis by the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, looks at the complex implications associated with the adoption of ISO 14001, the dominant environmental management system (EMS) standard worldwide. The goal of the study is to shed light on the benefits and limitations of voluntary ISO 14000 standards, and to evaluate their affect on society and public policy worldwide.