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Eight official complaints about alleged breaches of United Nations
Global Compact principles by signatory companies have been registered
in the six months since a review procedure was introduced, EP has learned.
The Compact Office will not divulge which companies are involved, who has made the complaints, or the specifics of the charges brought under its ‘integrity measures’, but they cover a variety of topics including child labour, employment practices, human rights, the environment and the alleged misuse of the Compact logo.
The Compact Office told EP: ‘There have been eight instances where issues were raised under our integrity measures. It is not our practice to release the names of those who raise issues, or the names of the companies concerned.’
The integrity measures were introduced last autumn as a response to long-running criticisms that the absence of a complaints procedure has allowed corporate signatories to the Compact to ignore its ten principles covering human rights, corruption and the environment.
The eight companies now subject to complaints will have been informed of the allegations against them and will be required to provide written comments to the complainant. These will be copied to the Compact Office, which can suggest remedial action. If the Office feels a company’s conduct is detrimental to the initiative’s ‘reputation and integrity’ it can remove the company from the list of signatories, which precludes attendance at Global Compact activities and use of the Compact logo. There is no set period within which complaints must be resolved.
The integrity measures are one element of a new governance framework for the Compact that is being introduced this year. Another is the 20-strong Global Compact board appointed by UN secretary-general Kofi Annan last month, which comprises ten representatives from companies, four from business associations and labour groups, and four from civil society. Jose Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, chief executive of Petrobras (Brazil) and Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency International are among the members.
The board will give strategic advice and will be consulted on how to implement the integrity measures. It will meet once a year, with the first meeting due in New York this summer.
As part of the governance reforms, a non-profit body known as The Foundation for the Global Compact has been formed to raise funds. This should reduce the Compact’s reliance on cash from the UN and national governments.
Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, chairman of Anglo American, who will be the foundation’s chairman, said it will seek at least $1million (£530,000) a year from the nearly 3000 Compact participants and other stakeholders. The foundation’s board will comprise Moody-Stuart, James Kearney, senior partner of the legal firm Latham & Watkins, and Oliver Williams, director of the Business Ethics Centre at the University of Notre Dame in the US.
The Compact Office will not divulge which companies are involved, who has made the complaints, or the specifics of the charges brought under its ‘integrity measures’, but they cover a variety of topics including child labour, employment practices, human rights, the environment and the alleged misuse of the Compact logo.
The Compact Office told EP: ‘There have been eight instances where issues were raised under our integrity measures. It is not our practice to release the names of those who raise issues, or the names of the companies concerned.’
The integrity measures were introduced last autumn as a response to long-running criticisms that the absence of a complaints procedure has allowed corporate signatories to the Compact to ignore its ten principles covering human rights, corruption and the environment.
The eight companies now subject to complaints will have been informed of the allegations against them and will be required to provide written comments to the complainant. These will be copied to the Compact Office, which can suggest remedial action. If the Office feels a company’s conduct is detrimental to the initiative’s ‘reputation and integrity’ it can remove the company from the list of signatories, which precludes attendance at Global Compact activities and use of the Compact logo. There is no set period within which complaints must be resolved.
The integrity measures are one element of a new governance framework for the Compact that is being introduced this year. Another is the 20-strong Global Compact board appointed by UN secretary-general Kofi Annan last month, which comprises ten representatives from companies, four from business associations and labour groups, and four from civil society. Jose Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, chief executive of Petrobras (Brazil) and Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency International are among the members.
The board will give strategic advice and will be consulted on how to implement the integrity measures. It will meet once a year, with the first meeting due in New York this summer.
As part of the governance reforms, a non-profit body known as The Foundation for the Global Compact has been formed to raise funds. This should reduce the Compact’s reliance on cash from the UN and national governments.
Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, chairman of Anglo American, who will be the foundation’s chairman, said it will seek at least $1million (£530,000) a year from the nearly 3000 Compact participants and other stakeholders. The foundation’s board will comprise Moody-Stuart, James Kearney, senior partner of the legal firm Latham & Watkins, and Oliver Williams, director of the Business Ethics Centre at the University of Notre Dame in the US.
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