International Activities

Related Links

• European Commission - Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry. The site includes information about what is CSR, why it is important, and what the European Commission is doing to promote it. It also includes the new communication on CSR entitled “Implementing the Partnership for Growth and Jobs: Making Europe a pole of excellence on CSR” (COM(2006)136 final).

• European Commission - Employment and Social Affairs - Corporate Social Responsibility
  Information on CSR including a Green Paper and consultations promoting debate on the development of European CSR framework, a list of CSR conferences and events, political milestones and related links.

• ISO Strategic Advisory Group on Corporate Social Responsibility - The Strategic Advisory Group has been established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to discuss and to advise the ISO Council on: whether ISO should develop standards or other documents on the subject of CSR; what the scope of such work should be; and the kind of deliverables ISO should develop. Such a CSR standard would expand upon the successful ISO 14000 Environment Management Systems and ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems standards adopted by many companies worldwide. The site, hosted by the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD), features reports and selected working documents from the ISO Strategic Advisory Group.

• UNRISD Research programme - Business Responsibility for Sustainable Development
  A project of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) with objectives to promote research and policy dialogue on issues of corporate social and environmental responsibility in developing countries.

• ILO database on Business and Social Initiatives - Database on Business and Social Initiatives includes comprehensive information on private sector initiatives, which address labour and social conditions in the workplace and in the community where enterprises operate.

• The Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership. The site of the Initiative supported by the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. The Partnership is an advisory body that seeks ideas and provides advice to the Government on: - increasing the level of funds available to communities through individual and corporate donations; - encouraging business and communities to work together to address local issues through partnership activity; and - encouraging corporate social responsibility - key social issues where the social coalition can contribute to better community outcomes.

• Strategis - Industry Canada. The site provides extesive information about CSR and what the Canadian goverment and industry are doing on the issue.

• Website of the UK government on Corporate Social Responsibility. This website presents information about what the UK government is doing in the are of CSR.

• Corporate Responsibilities: Developing Human Rights Principles for Resource Development on Aboriginal Land - Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), Australian Federal Government.
  The site features information and a set of principles "Development and Indigenous Land: A Human Rights Approach" that provide guidance for resource development on Aboriginal Land.
• Catalogue of Social Practices in the Canadian Minerals and Metals Industry - Natural Resources Canada. The catalogue presents the efforts of Canadian mining companies who practice social responsibility in their project planning and administration, and in their activities outside the mine sites. The information was collected during 2000 and 2001.

• Business Partners for Development
  An informal global network of business, government and civil society that aims to promote good examples of tri-sector partnerships in social and economic development around the world.

• CERES
  A nonprofit coalition of investors, public pensions funds foundations, labour unions, and public interest groups, working in partnership with companies toward the common goal of corporate environmental responsibility worldwide.

• Copenhagen Centre
  An international, autonomous institution established by the Danish Government in 1998 to encourage voluntary partnerships between government and business so as to promote social cohesion.

• Eldis Corporate Social Responsibility Resource Guide - Extractive Industries
  Eldis is a gateway to information on development issues, providing access to range of online resources. The subject-focused guides, such as the Extractive Industries, offer access to key documents, organisations, research themes, discussions and other key resources. A key issues feature on Sustainable Mining is also available.

• Project Sigma
  A partnership between the British Standards Institution, the Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility and Forum for the Future with funding and support from various UK Government departments. The project aims to build the capacity of businesses to meet their responsibilities in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. They have developed pilot Integrated Guidelines to assist management approach sustainability issues. These can be downloaded.

• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
  A global professional accountancy body promoting ethical and governance standards in all aspects of financial, social and environmental accounting.

• Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)
  An international business network set up in 1992 to provide members with innovative products and services that help companies be commercially successful in ways that demonstrate respect for ethical values, people, communities and the environment.

• CSREurope
  A European business-driven membership network launched in 1996 as a result of the European Declaration of Business against Social Exclusion, initiated by former President of the European Commission, Jacques Delors and 20 business leaders.

• International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF)
  International not-for-profit organisation set up in 1990 to promote responsible business practices that benefit business and society, and which help to achieve social, economic and environmentally sustainable development, particularly in new and emerging market economies.

• Society and Business
  A guide to the business case for CSR and resources available through business and the UK Government. Launched in March 2001 by the UK's Department of Trade and Industry.

• The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
  An international business network, established in 1995 from its predecessor the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD), with the aim to develop closer cooperation between business, government and all other organizations concerned with the environment and sustainable development.

• WorldCSR
  A portal linking the websites of major business-driven CSR organizations.

• Red Puentes - Networking on Corporate Social Responsability in Latin America. An association of ONGs from Latin America and Europe seeking to promote CSR in the region.

• BSDglobal.com - Business and Sustainable Development: A Global Guide
  Places practical applications for sustainable business into the hands of corporate decision-makers. A partnership between the Canadian-based International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the independent, Swiss-based Foundation for Global Responsibility, which specializes in promoting sustainable business practices.
  

• CorpWatch.org
  An NGO opposing corporate-led globalization through education and the fostering of democratic control over corporations by building grassroots globalization for human rights, labor rights and environmental justice.

• International Alert (IA)
  An NGO based in the UK seeking to strengthen the ability of people in conflict situations to make peace by facilitating dialogue at different levels.

• International Corporate Governance Network
  A network for the exchange of views and information about corporate governance issues internationally and for the development of corporate governance guidelines.

• Global Witness
  Global Witness focuses upon human right and environmental abuses involved with the extraction of natural resources in the developing world. They were instrumental in bringing conflict diamonds to world attention and are also campaigning for energy and mining corporations to disclose tax and other payments to governments to improve transparency and reduce corruption. They received a Nobel Peace prize nomination in March 2002 for their work on conflict diamonds.

• Transparency International
  An NGO dedicated to curbing both international and national corruption.

• The Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative - Kennedy School of Government. A multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder program that seeks to study and enhance the public role of the private enterprise. It explores the intersection of corporate responsibility, corporate governance and strategy, public policy, and the media.

• European Corporate Governance Network
  European nonprofit research network involved in European and comparative corporate governance issues.