Community, CSR management, Suppliers

Merger mania continues apace, with the oil, pharmaceutical, motor and banking industries rapidly regrouping in the face of perceived competitive threats. Some, like the Deutsche Bank/Banker's Trust take-over, throw up fascinating corporate citizenship issues - what responsibility is owed by today's shareholders for the part their companies played in the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust? Most mergers generate more mundane worries about job cuts and loss of national autonomy.

We have argued here before that globalisation has profound implications for community relations and wider citizenship. For example, its a fair bet (the data are not collected) that 80 or 90% of the contributions by US corporations we report above were spent in America, but much more than 10 or 20% of the profits were earned overseas. UK-based companies have a better record, but the disparity still exists.

Kofi Annan goes further than a fair share of donations, calling for companies to embrace a set of core values in human rights, labour standards and environmental practices. He says these are areas where a set of universal values have been defined by international agreements. And he warns that if companies do not act, the open global market is under threat and with it prosperity and corporate profitability.

Corporate Citizenship Briefing, issue no: 44 - February,