Tobias Webb discusses social issues and sustainability in business. He outlines that Stakeholder Intelligence publishes the business magazine Ethicalcorp and reports on issues where environment and human rights intersect, such as the detention of Greenpeace activists in Russia. Webb then discusses forced child labor and steps companies can take to address human rights issues in their supply chains. He concludes that social and environmental issues are highly interlinked today and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights provide a framework for companies.
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Social issues in business presentation
1. Social
issues
and
Sustainability
Tobias
Webb,
November
19
2013
Stakeholder
Intelligence
/
Ethical
CorporaDon
Tobiaswebb.blogspot.com
Tobias.Webb@stakeholderintel.com
2. Founded
2001
Business
magazine
Based
in
London,
global
network
of
writers
8000
arDcles
on
Ethicalcorp.com
Serving
3000
companies
Hosts
Conferences
Publishes
Reports
Interview
hundreds
of
managers
every
year
More
at:
www.ethicalcorp.com
3. Social
issues,
business
and
governance
Sounds
a
bit
academic
and
woolly,
right?
So
let’s
break
it
down
to
what
it
really
means
4.
5.
6. Where
environment
meets
human
rights
• 30
Greenpeace
acDvists
detained
in
the
Russian
ArcDc
• Two
aVempted
to
board
a
Gazprom
plaWorm
in
protest
• All
arrested
in
a
Commando
raid
• Charged
with
piracy,
now
hooliganism
• Russia
clearly
trying
to
defend
ArcDc
exploraDon
interests
7.
8. Forced/bonded
child
labour
• 168
million
children
engaged
in
child
labour
worldwide
(Uzbek
harvest
every
September)
• Down
from
215
million
in
2008,
and
245
million
in
2000
• More
than
half
are
involved
in
hazardous
work,
considered
one
of
the
worst
forms
of
child
labour.
Uzbekistan
a
key
perpetrator
9. So
what
can
a
company
do?
• Clear
policy
of
no
tolerance
of
child
labour
in
their
operaDons
and
supply
chain
• Due
diligence
on
children’s
rights:
UDlise
the
John
Ruggie
Framework
• Partnerships
and
lobbying
to
help
formalise
the
informal
economy
11. SoluDon?
CollaboraDon
• ExtracIve
Industry
Transparency
IniIaIve
set
up
in
2003
to
combat
Government-‐related
corrupDon
in
the
oil
industry
• “MulDstate
corporate
governance”.
Countries,
NGOs
and
large
companies
all
involved
• Set
standard
for
disclosure
of
revenues/deals
• A
long,
slow
and
bumpy
road
for
signatories
• Now
broadened,
four
EU
states
+
US
to
join
15. Other
collaboraIon
based
groups
that
are
driving
change:
• Kimberly
Process:
Conflict
diamonds
• Sustainable
Apparel
CoaliIon:
Factory
PolluDon
&
Social
Standards
• Word
Business
Council
for
Sustainable
Development:
Lobbying
• World
Resources
InsItute:
Research,
policy,
mapping
• Carbon
Disclosure
Project:
ReporDng
and
accounDng
• Roundtable
on
Sustainable
Palm
Oil:
Standards,
social
and
environmental
improvements
• Global
eSustainability
IniIaIve:
CollaboraDon
for
tech
companies
16. When
social
issues
go
wrong
• Nestle:
AVacked
by
Greenpeace
in
2010
Result:
Social
media
reputaDon
meltdown
• Chiquita:
Sued
by
families
of
Colombians
killed
by
rebel
groups
due
to
ransom
payments
made
Result:
Huge
reputaDon
damage
and
legal
costs
17. Coca-‐Cola:
Mis-‐managed
media
and
consumer
percepDons
over
India
water
management
in
2006
Result:
BoycoV,
brand
damage,
producDon
halts
and
Indian
management
team
lost
their
jobs
19. Rana
Plaza
April
2013
• Factory
of
sub-‐standard
construcDon
collapsed,
despite
warnings
• 1129
people
died,
mostly
young
women
• Brands
audited
working
condiDons,
not
building
structures
• Lead
to
creaDon
of
Accord
on
Factory
and
Building
Safety
in
Bangladesh
20. Rana
Plaza,
some
posiDve
results
• Accord
is
a
“five-‐year
legally
binding
agreement
between
internaDonal
labor
organizaDons,
non-‐governmental
organizaDons,
and
retailers
engaged
in
the
texDle
industry
to
maintain
minimum
safety
standards
in
the
Bangladesh
texDle
industry”
• October
2013:
1,600
Bangladeshi
factories
covered,
represenDng
about
a
third
of
the
Bangladeshi
texDle
industry
22. Nike:
From
‘devil’
to
leader!
• Nike
aVacked
since
1990s
over
labour
condiDons
• IniDally
defensive,
gradually
opens
up
to
transparency
• Following
GAP
in
2004,
publishes
supplier
list
in
2005
• Key
player
in
beZer
R&D
and
innovaIon
for
more
sustainable
products
• Helps
create
the
Sustainable
Apparel
CoaliDon
• Donates
R&D,
leads
brand
collaboraDon
23. What
about
more
localised
social
impact
work?
• Community
volunteering
• NGO
partnerships
• Matching
employee
donaDons
/
Dme
• Going
beyond
compliance
with
employees
• Mapping
country
footprints
(Unilever/Oxfam/SAB
Miller
etc)
24. Conclusions
• Many
companies
do
good
localised
‘social’
related
work
• A
trend
of
economic/social
value-‐add
reporDng
is
emerging
amongst
some
global
firms
• Global
impacts
&
links
not
well
understood
unDl
recently
(e.g.
Chinese
factory
polluDon)
25. Conclusions
• Today,
in
many
cases,
social/environmental
are
highly
linked,
rather
than
separate
• The
Ruggie
Principles
now
provides
companies,
since
2011,
with
a
framework
for
managing
human
rights
impacts
• Sustainability
governance
is
only
a
decade
old,
but
the
debates
and
acDons
(Rana
Plaza,
EITI)
are
acceleraDng
• We
have
only
just
begun!