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.
