Corporate lobbying will become a key business risk in 2003

Why a Review of Corporate Responsibility?

Last year, stories about corporate responsibility escaped from environment and society newspaper columns and landed squarely on the frontpages. On the one hand, CEOs went from heros to zeros, as corporate governance debacles spread from Enron and Worldcom to other US companies and then to other parts of the world. On the other hand, the United Nations became heavily involved in promoting partnerships for corporate responsibility at the 2nd Earth Summit in Johannesburg. The consequences of this increased profile for corporate responsibility will emerge in 2003. As important will be the developments that occurred behind the headlines, as more companies, governments and civil organisations addressed the role of business in society. To help us understand the emerging terrain, the progressive careers agency Lifeworth.com has published its second Annual Review of Corporate Responsibility. This free online publication incorporates commentary from the premiere academic journal on the topic, the Journal of Corporate Citizenship.

The founder of Friends of the Earth, and now an advisor to UN Global Compact, Richard Sandbrook commented that “the Annual Review bridges the gap between the practical and intellectual, helping us with the insight to promote business’s contribution to sustainable development.” Director of Corporate Responsibility at Nike, Hannah Jones, said that it “provides some of the most insightful commentary on emerging trends in the field, going beyond the noise of everyday news about corporations and putting this in context and identifying implications for the future of business in society.

Healthy dialogue and vigorous debate are the lifeblood of the CSR movement, which is why we are glad to support it”