Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) - Views

The following documents provide a range of alternative viewpoints on the validity of, and approach that should be taken in developing the concept of corporate social responsibility. These are intended to illustrate and assist others understand the positions that industry, civil society, government, etc. may hold, and the issues they percieve.

• Misguided Virtue: False Notions of Corporate Social Responsibility - David Henderson, June 2001. (Also Download as Adobe PDF) - Document published by the New Zealand Business Roundtable and The Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA).
  

Articles in response to the above paper, "Misguided Virtue...".

• Profit motive - Charlotte Denny, Guardian Weekly, Thursday November 15, 2001. - A news article in response to the above report 'Misguided Virtue'.
• Kowtowing to Capitalism's Enemies - Steve H. Hanke, Forbes Global, August 6, 2001.
• A Flawed Consensus - David Henderson - WorldLink: The magazine of The World Economic Forum. - An article by the author.
  

Union of Industrial and Employer's Confederations of Europe (UNICE)

The UNICE represents the principal European business federations. They have released a variety of position papers and letters presenting their members views on the development of corporate social responsibility, specifically in the context of a proposed European Union framework on CSR. Some of the documents include:

• Joint letter to Commissioner Stavros Dimas on corporate social responsibility and the European Multi-Stakeholder Forum - July 2004.

• UNICE Statement on principles for an EU approach to company law and corporate governance - July 2004.

• Draft report on the Commission Green Paper on promoting a European framework for corporate social responsibility. Letter to the European Parliament - March 2002.

• Corporate social responsibility. UNICE position. - November 2001. (Adobe PDF)

Some of these are made available on the UNICE website under Documentation.

United States Council for International Business (USCIB)

The USCIB has a Corporate Responsibility Working Group that represents the US business position globally with respect to corporate social responsibility initiatives such as the development of the UN Global Compact, the revision of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and consultations on a proposed European Union framework for CSR.

Papers available include:

• USCIB Comments on EU Green Paper “Promoting a European Framework for Corporate Social Responsibility” (MS Word) - December 2001.

• USCIB Compendium of Corporate Responsibility Initiatives - Rania Jamal, November 2002. Also available for download in Adobe PDF (PDF 448KB).

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CSR is managed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Comments and suggestions to: minerals.forum@unctad.org