Ethical Corporation Magazine: Click cover to browse latest issue
• Thailand
David takes down Goliath
• Copenhagen summit
What really happened
• Listing and disclosure
Stock exchange rules tighten
• Palm oil
Can RSPO pick up the pace?
Northern light: Norway leads on ethics
- EC Newsdesk, 19 February 2009
- Comment
- Send this article to a friend
- Tweet this article
Related articles:
- Non-financial reporting: Denmark ups the ante
- Ethical investment – Case study: Norway’s oil fund – Can divestment make a difference?
- Brundtland Report celebrates 20th anniversary since coining sustainable development
- Carbon capture in Norway – Putting something back
- Norway’s oil fund: Norway’s giant oil fund reports on its ethics progress
Opinion:
Isn’t it good, Norwegian Wood?
Norway, the land of Brundtland and sustainable development, has just released a white paper which sets a new standard for government guidance on corporate social responsibility, write Teresa Fogelberg and Paul Hohnen.
The Norwegian government's new 100-page white paper on responsible business may be the most comprehensive and bold of its kind in the world yet.
Entitled “Corporate Social Responsibility in a Global Economy”, the paper sets corporate responsibility firmly in the context of global sustainability challenges and the competitiveness of Norwegian business in the global economy.
Upcoming Ethical Corporation conferences & events:
London, 22-23 March 2010 The Responsible Business Summit 2010
Novotel West Hotel, London, 4th – 5th May 2010 The Inaugural Ethical Corporation Awards
Novotel West Hotel, London, Evening of 4th May 2010
on the evening of the first day
© Copyright Ethical Corporation 2009
You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from EthicalCorp.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Please note that your account is for use by the subscriber only. Your login details should not be passed on to others. If you would like to license EC copyrighted content for your company or clients, please contact Andrew Bold on andrew.bold@ethicalcorp.com.
Search EthicalCorp.com
Conferences
- How heavy industry can accurately assess their social and environmental risk
22nd – 23rd March 2010, London - Insight from world business leaders and networking with 500+ CSR professionals at the Responsible Business Summit
4th – 5th May 2010, London - The first ever Ethical Corporation Awards - a celebration of excellent responsible business practices by leading companies
Evening of 4th May 2010, London - Copenhagen and beyond: how your business can gain competitive advantage through climate change adaptation and mitigation
8th – 9th June 2010, London - Find out about upcoming events, subscribe to EC conference updates
Reports
- Discover winning methods for encouraging and monitoring CSR in operational departments
- Learn how your company can benefit from industry CSR initiatives
Follow Ethical Corporation on Twitter!
- Join us in the Responsible Business Group
- Other groups
Comments:
Norwegian Wood or Good? - Gunhild Ørstavik, 28 Feb 2009
The Norwegian White Paper on CSR is not yet translated to English. Nevertheless, it is brought into the International debate by Teresa Vogelberg and Paul Hohnen on the Ethical Corporation website (!). Unlike the broad spectre of Norwegian Civil Society Organisations, academia, Parliamentarians and major Social Responsible Investors, they are excessive in their praise of the paper.
Paul and Teresa state that “The Norwegian government's new 100-page white paper on responsible business may be the most comprehensive and bold of its kind in the world yet.”
Is it the recommendation to strengthen the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN Global Compact, and GRI that is so outstandingly bold?
Fair enough, the paper does give an indepth introduction to the field of CSR and discuss a number of positive tools that may be implemented. It is a good introduction. However, it is neither ambitious, nor concrete when it comes to political commitments and it totally lacks a victim perspective. The few suggested measures would not prevent any abuse by Norwegian corporations, nor sanctions for violators or redress for victims. Neither does it reward the best performers.
One of four recommended national measures reads:
”The government will continue their work to asses which measures that might prevent Norwegian citizens and Norwegian corporations from committing serious environmental crimes outside the Norwegian boarders”.
I bet this must scare the wits out of the bad guys! Despite several recent examples of the opposite, the paper seems based on an underlying premise that Norwegian corporations are global actors only in order to do good, and create sustainable development in the world.
On behalf of the NGO coalition Forum for environment and development, I challenge Hohnen and Vogelberg to concretise how they believe this paper will as you say ”set a new standard for government guidance on corporate social responsibility”.
Within a few weeks also actors with a more limited command of Norwegian should be able to read the paper and judge for themselves.
More http://www.forumfor.no/Artikler/5142.html
Post your comment by using the form below: