Defining Global Business Principles: Options and Challenges Discussion Paper for Insight Investment

Document begins: Defining Global Business Principles: Options and Challenges Discussion Paper for Insight Investment November 2004 Halina Ward, Tom Fox, and Maryanne Grieg-Gran With additional inputs from Liza Lort-Phillips The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Insight Investment. International Institute for Environment and Development 3 Endsleigh Street London WC1H ODD Tel: +44 (0)20 7388 2117 Fax: +44 (0)20 7388 2826 Email: cred@iied.org Table of contents 1. Introduction. 3 2. Insight's Defining Global Business Principles Project. 4 3. Background to IIED/Insight Collaboration. 6 4. Core Ethical Principles and International Norms: Some Basic Challenges. 6 Introduction. 6 Core Ethical Principles. Norms `established by the UN and ratified by governments'. 8 5. The format of Global Business Principles. 12 6. Criteria for identifying Global Business Principles. 7. Balancing acts and choices: issues for further exploration. 8. Concluding comments: whose values and who decides?. 21 Box 1: What Insight has said so far.5 Box 2: Is it Ethical? Russian vs American managers (% answering `yes').7 Box 3: Possible Format for Global Business Principles.13 Box 4: Overall suggested Tests.15 2 1. Introduction In October 2002, Insight Investment (`Insight') launched its Defining Global Business ...