EU wants multinationals to publish ethical reports
Date: 31-May-02
Country: BELGIUM
The vote comes amid a growing debate about globalisation and the widening gap between rich and developing countries.
The number of major firms issuing ethical reports is growing with almost half of the top 250 companies in the Global Fortune list issuing such a report annually, a study by consultancy KPMG and the University of Amsterdam showed.
But European parliamentarians would like the practice to be regulated in the 15-nation bloc.
"We want to encourage good practice," Richard Howitt, the European parliamentarian who wrote the report, said after the vote.
"Of 2,500 voluntary codes of conduct promoted by business, two thirds ignore internationally recognised standards, avoid independent verification or disown responsibility down their supply chain."
The report is non-binding, but the European Commission is drafting a document on corporate and social responsibility.
The industry is known to be generally opposed to strict legal requirements in this field and favours a best practice approach.
But Howitt said anecdotal evidence showed that companies that pursued active social or "green" polices were rewarded by consumers.
"The Millennium Poll on social attitudes across Europe showed that one in five consumers boycott goods on ethical grounds," Howitt said. "The portfolio of ethical investment funds, meanwhile, tops $50 billion in Britain alone."
