CO: Corruption may not inspire the same crusading spirit as torture or suppression of freedom of expression, but the impact on a countries political-economic fortunes may be huge.

• AKERE MUNA of Transparency International writes of a rare success story that saw Frederick Chiluba ordered to repay 39 million to the Zambian government for corruption.
• He calls for the G8 to take steps to clamp down on corruption: "This means co-operating with investigators in African countries to trace, freeze and return stolen assets. It also means closing loopholes in national legislation that allow the anonymous transfers of funds to offshore centres."
• Transparency International was instrumental in pushing for the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which Canada has yet to ratify.
• The downside of this anti-corruption movement is of course that it is getting harder to be a dictator...

CO: Undoubtedly, corporations taking steps to reduce their ecological footprints are a step in the right direction, but how can we judge corporate sincerity?

• “Coca-Cola, the world's largest beverage maker, intends to make up for the 290 billion liters (76 billion gallons) of water…the company and its bottlers use each year to make Coke, Sprite, Fanta and other drinks.”
• Can Coca-Cola be present in China without condoning human rights and environmental abuses?
  
• Coca Cola has a delicious flavour but it may leave a bitter taste in its workers throats, as seen in its union relations in Columbia - Coke's Columbia site
  
• Coke has stated: "Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
  The Company respects our employees' right to join, form or not to join a labor union without fear of reprisal, intimidation or harassment. Where employees are represented by a legally recognized union, we are committed to establishing a constructive dialogue with their freely chosen representatives. The Company is committed to bargaining in good faith with such representatives."
• Coca Cola recently won the Polaris Institute's Corporate Greenwashing Award
• ** Full disclosure, this author drinks more Coke than his teeth would prefer.
  

CO: Corporations and their directors are accountable to shareholders. Directors' have a fiduciary duty to the corporation, which is mostly noticed when things go wrong: Enron, Hollinger and Conrad Black, Nortel's $2.5 billion settlement and the passage of Ontario's Bill 198.

• Extensive list of links around corporate governance defined broadly
• Canadian Coalition for Good Governance

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Shareholder Association for Reserch and Education presents a Pension Investment & Governance Seminar Series

Securities Class Actions & Trustees Fiduciary Responsibilities – June 14 in Toronto

In the wake of Nortel's $2.5 billion settlement and the passage of Ontario's Bill 198, fiduciary duties for trustees are changing. With investors successfully suing companies to recover losses caused by corporate wrongdoing, are trustees and other fiduciaries who fail to act in breach of their responsibilities?

This seminar will help pension trustees and other fiduciaries evaluate the governance and legal implications of these trends for their pension and investment funds. Presenters will look at the role of shareholder litigation in strengthening corporate governance; the implications of U.S. settlements for Canadian funds; as well as Canadian and international experiences with secruities class actions and shareholder litigation.

Join us to hear from Canadian and international pension and legal experts from Grant & Eisenhofer, Koskie Minsky and the Osgoode Hall Law School. Pension trustees who have been involved in securities litigation in Canada, the U.S. and the UK will also share their experiences.

The seminar will take place from 8:00am to 4:45pm in the East Wing Room at the Osgoode Hall Professional Development Centre located at 1 Dundas Street, 26th floor.

Click here to view the complete seminar program.

TO REGISTER: Continue reading

Corporations embrace CSR, at least in part, out of a sense of self-interest and public relations. Do the PR aspects of CSR matter, if corporations alter their behavior for the better? I personally generally take the approach that the "perfect can be the enemy of the good." However, there are certainly reasons to disagree: NGO co-option, corporate speech dominating the debate about what responsibility means, letting local and foreign governments off the hook for failing to monitor or legislate human or environmental protection to name a few. While the buzz around CSR is intense right now, there is room for more discussion and there still industries and regions, which can benefit from even considering environmental, human rights, and other social issues. The key challenge is to turn CSR into corporate actions and corporate obligations.

Principles for Responsible Investment hit $8 trillion mark on first year anniversary

April 29, 2007

(CSRwire) The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) initiative, convened by the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative and the UN Global Compact, announces this week on its first anniversary that it has achieved over 180 leading institutional signatories from all round the globe, representing in excess of US$ 8 trillion in assets under management. ...

One of the most exciting initiatives is the PRI Engagement Clearinghouse, which is the first global collaborative forum for investors to work together and share knowledge and resources to take action on ESG issues. This has already proved an effective method of raising awareness and gaining support from other signatories for investor activities, particularly internationally, focusing on issues such as climate change, executive remuneration, transparency, investment in sensitive regions, and other key challenges.

The PRI initiative was established as a framework to help investors achieve better long-term investment returns and sustainable markets through better analysis of ESG issues in investment process and the exercise of responsible ownership practices.

A full list of signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment is available from http://www.unpri.org/signatories/


The Principles themselves can be found here:
http://www.unpri.org/principles/