Business is to play a central role in the Clinton Global Initiative,
which aims to generate concerted worldwide action in four areas –
poverty reduction, conflict resolution, climate change and improved
country governance.
A number of businesses, including Citigroup, international law firm
Fried Frank, Goldman Sachs, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, US steel
company Mittal, Nokia and Starbucks, have become inaugural partners of
the initiative, which was set up in September by former US president
Bill Clinton.
Corporate partners will be invited to take part in cross-sector
partnerships and to make commitments on some of the initiative’s
goals. The first company to make a commitment is Starbucks, which
according to the initiative’s website has formally pledged to
‘dramatically increase’ the amount of coffee sourced in accordance with
its environmental and social guidelines. However, it sets no definite
target.
The members of an advisory board guiding work on climate change will
include Linda Fisher, chief sustainability officer at Dupont, Jeffrey
Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, and Bjorn Stigson,
president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
The initiative has been criticized in some circles as being
over-ambitious. Clinton concedes it faces a ‘daunting challenge’ but
says he is determined it will lead to practical programmes rather than
just become a talking shop, and that business will play a key role.
‘Ultimately, the private sector will be the most powerful engine for
poverty reduction in the 21st century,’ he said.
