Coincidence or otherwise, many of our stories in this edition have an international theme.
Certainly attendees at Business for Social Responsibility’s annual conference in New York thought that the result of the US election will positively impact global issues such as climate change. Additionally, 72% said they expect an increase in demands on business to solve societal problems.
Our coverage in this edition confirms an increase in the pace of activity: to highlight just a few, Ericsson promoting the Millennium Development Goals, investors worth $4 trillion banging the drum for greater commitment to the UN Global Compact, a new ‘call to action’ for business on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson teaming up with the UN to fight HIV/Aids.
We continue to report and analyse the breadth of other activity, although even here it is striking how companies as diverse as Coca-Cola, HP and Dow Chemical are all acting on the big environmental imperatives, and saving big bucks in the process. Indeed “bucks” provide a common theme, as many of the corporations featured are American-led multinationals.
So does Barack Obama’s victory herald a new era, for American and for global companies?
Certainly his ‘change’ agenda raises big expectations, a mixture of campaign rhetoric and concrete pledges: crack down on special interest groups, create five million ‘green collar’ jobs, promote responsible lending, invest in the non-profit sector. However, the dire economic realities will inevitably dominate immediate preoccupations. The short term will undoubtedly fail to live up to expectations.
Longer term, it is likely that economic woes and the Wall Street meltdown (themselves the main drivers of the election outcome) will cause a shift from laissez faire ‘business-as-usual’. Fully 94% of those BSR conference attendees also thought government regulation would increase. On both sides of the Atlantic, it does seem we are entering a new stage in the debate about responsibility in business and of the role of corporations in society. Briefing will keep you posted.
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