Press Release from The Center for Corporate Citizenship
September 14, 2004
Global Corporations Unite to Examine
World-Class Performance in Corporate Citizenship
Nine of the world’s
top performing companies have joined forces to form the Global
Leadership Network. This international network will focus on the
crucial question of what constitutes world-class performance in
corporate citizenship.
Collectively, this important group of companies – IBM, General
Electric, FedEx, Cargill, 3M, Diageo, Omron, Manpower, and General
Motors – represent more than $544 billion in annual revenues, employ
some 1.4 million people and have multi-national operations that span
the globe.
“These are best-in-class companies who have been practicing corporate
citizenship for years,” said Steve Rochlin, Director of Research and
Policy Development for The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston
College. “Their willingness to share their experiences will have a
significant impact on other companies, especially those with fewer
resources or those who have been late to recognize the importance of
integrating corporate responsibility measures into their core business
strategy.”
“Crucially, these leading companies are identifying elements of their
corporate responsibility programs that not only improve but drive
business performance,” said Simon Zadek, CEO of AccountAbility.
“Capturing and harnessing this valuable knowledge is one of the key
objectives of this unique business learning network.”
"IBM founded this network of like-minded global companies because we
know that quality corporate citizenship and responsible social
engagement is an important part of the long term economic value of a
company and that it must be managed with the same seriousness of
purpose as any other core element of the business," said Stanley Litow,
Vice President of Corporate Community Relations at IBM. "By bringing
together some of the most well-known, well-respected global
corporations to study these questions, we believe we can, as a group,
lead by example and have a profound impact on the way all major
corporations think about and manage corporate citizenship."
Directed by The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College and
AccountAbility, with support from the Ford Foundation and each
participating company, this three-year research project will focus on
how these companies balance the pressures for profitability against
the demands to be responsive to broader societal needs.
This will be achieved by exploring how they:
* Align corporate citizenship into the core business strategy by
defining what activities are material to the company.
* Respond to and learn from societal expectations in a manner that
creates value for the business and stakeholders.
* Align corporate citizenship values with operational excellence to
ensure that ethics and the interests of good corporate governance are
maintained.
* Create opportunities for leadership that allow companies to
influence the best practices of others.
Preliminary findings from the research are expected in early 2005.
About The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College:
The Center is a membership-based research organization and is
committed to helping business leverage its social, economic and human
assets to ensure both its success and a more just and sustainable
world. As a leading resource on corporate citizenship, The Center
works with global corporations to help them define, plan and
operationalize their corporate citizenship. Through the power of
research, executive education and the insights of its 350 corporate
members, The Center creates knowledge, value and demand for corporate
citizenship. For more information visit The Center’s web site
http://www.bc.edu/corporatecitizenship.
About AccountAbility:
AccountAbility's mission is to promote accountability for sustainable
development. As a leading international professional institute,
AccountAbility provides effective assurance and accountability
management tools and standards through its AA1000 Series, offers
professional development and certification, and undertakes
leading-edge research and related public policy advocacy.
AccountAbility has embraced an innovative, multi-stakeholder
governance model, enabling the direct participation of its
organizational and individual members who span business, civil society
organizations, and the public sector from different countries across
the world. For more information visit
http://www.accountability.org.uk.
The Global Leadership Network Steering Committee:
IBM: http://www.ibm.com
GE: http://www.ge.com
FedEx: http://www.fedex.com
Cargill: http://www.cargill.com
3M: http://www.3m.com
Diageo: http://www.diageo.com
Omron: http://www.omron.com
Manpower: http://www.manpower.com
General Motors: http://www.gm.com
|
