Back | Programme Area: Markets, Business and Regulation (2000 - 2009) | Event: Corporate Social Responsibility and Development: Towards a New Agenda?
Corporate Social Responsibility and Development: Towards a New Agenda?
18th November 2003
Provisional Agenda
SESSION 3: BEYOND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?
This session will draw on research and activist perspectives that have raised the possibility of a “post-CSR agenda” that addresses the developmental limitations of CSR, and issues of corporate accountability and international regulation of TNCs. Attention will be given to the “Corporate Accountability Movement” (CAM). Whereas most supports of the CAM have become advocates of both voluntary initiatives and binding regulation, some call for deeper structural and institutional change to limit corporate power. Judicial activism and recent reforms to the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Corporations, as well as proposals associated with the European Union and the UN human rights machinery, have rekindled interest in the role of international and national law in regulating TNC activities. In addition, this session will focus on the role of the UN in promoting corporate accountability.
Panel 4: CSR from a Developmental Perspective
>> Is a new CSR agenda necessary? If so, why?
>> What would a CSR agenda look like from a developmental perspective?
>> Is corporate profit making compatible with development?
Speakers:
- Walden Bello – Focus on the Global South, Thailand*
- Ajit Singh – University of Cambridge, UK
- Guy Standing – ILO*
Discussion 4: CSR from a Developmental Perspective
Break
Panel 5: Corporate Accountability and International Regulation of TNCs
>> From a political and developmental perspective, how significant are the recent proposals and reforms associated with corporate accountability and international regulation of TNCs?
>> Are new laws and institutions needed or are existing frameworks and instruments sufficient to curb corporate power and malpractice, and improve the developmental impacts of TNCs?
Speakers:
- Jem Bendell – UNRISD
- Susan Hayter – ILO
- David Petrasek – Amnesty International Secretariat, UK*
- Halina Ward – International Institute for Environment and Development, UK
Discussion 5: Corporate Accountability and International Regulation of TNCs
Lunch
Panel 6: The Role of the United Nations in Corporate Accountability and International Regulation
>> What role should UN institutions, old and new, play in the international regulation of TNCs and corporate accountability?
Speakers:
- Judith Richter – Independent Consultant
- Karl Sauvant – UNCTAD
- Jan Aart Scholte – University of Warwick, UK
- Derek Yach – WHO
Discussion 6: The Role of the United Nations in Corporate Accountability and International Regulation
* Pending confirmation
UNRISD reserves the right to alter the agenda if necessary.