Crises reveal what organizations value. Whether a business demonstrates corporate responsibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, or fails to do so, can determine if the company and its leaders emerge from this crisis with the trust and confidence of their stakeholders intact. Definitions of corporate responsibility have evolved from an exclusive focus on shareholder returns, to […]
The Trump administration’s January 27th executive order banning refugees and certain legal immigrants from entering the United States galvanized businesses into action. Companies immediately affected by the ban, like airlines, scrambled to manage the impact on their customers. U.S.-based companies with global operations and diverse workforces, like Coca-Cola, Ford, Goldman Sachs, Google and Nike made forceful public […]
Logos Senior Advisor Anthony Ewing recently co-led the Fifth Annual Teaching Business and Human Rights Workshop at Columbia University. Anthony is a co-founder, with Joanne Bauer of Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights, of the Teaching Business and Human Rights Forum, a unique platform for collaboration among individuals teaching business and human rights […]
by Anthony Ewing | Bio | Posts 8 Apr 2015 Mandatory human rights reporting is coming soon to a jurisdiction near you. Is your company ready? Large European companies need to review their human rights policies and the risks of human rights impacts linked to their operations over the next two years. The catalyst is a […]
An expanded version of this post, “UN Human Rights Framework: What executives need to know and do about human rights, Part I and Part II” appears on the website of Ethical Corporation (UK). Human rights have been a concern for some companies since the anti-Apartheid divestment campaigns of the 1980s, but there has been no […]
Since public trust in the private sector has hit historic lows, demonstrating corporate responsibility has become even more important for today’s corporate leaders. Effective corporate responsibility – meeting (or exceeding) stakeholder expectations for financial, social and environmental performance -restores trust and credibility. Unfortunately, when companies attempt to talk about corporate responsibility, they often do more […]
Many corporate counsel and human rights advocates will view last month’s $15.5 million settlement of Wiwa v. Shell, correctly, as further evidence that the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) is a viable tool for corporate human rights accountability. The future of corporate human rights accountability, however, is more likely to focus on human rights due diligence […]
Just like any other global company, Yahoo! must ensure that its local country sites . . . operate within the laws, regulations and customs of the country in which they are based. – Yahoo! Spokesperson, September 2005 Human rights trump doing business. . . . Internet companies must learn when not to hide behind […]
A few years ago, I came across a twenty-five year old article from the Harvard Business Review, “Can a Corporation Have a Conscience?” The 1982 piece, written by HBS Professors Kenneth E. Goodpaster and John B. Mathews, Jr., applies principles of moral philosophy to what was then the relatively new field of corporate responsibility. I was […]
No, this is not a post on the financial markets or political campaigns A month ago, I paused to digest the report out of Pakistan that a truck bomb had destroyed the Islamabad Marriott, killing 55 people and wounding more than 250. The news unnerved me. I had stayed at the Islamabad Marriott for five […]