Pamphlet launched on eve of Jo’burg Rio +10 Summit argues that significant development impacts from ‘corporate responsibility’ will not be forthcoming unless it is integrated into national economic competitiveness strategies and practices.
Authored by economists and leading corporate responsibility experts, Simon Zadek and Tracey Swift, the pamphlet argues that "A little is not enough. Corporate responsibility will have no future unless individual company practice is part of a broader process through which the more daunting social and environmental challenges are effectively addressed it."
The ground-breaking pamphlet, Corporate Responsibility and the Competitive Advantage of Nations, argues that corporate responsibility could underpin a radical shift in nations’ economic competitiveness strategies. Released today by AccountAbility and The Copenhagen Centre, the pamphlet calls for Porter-style ‘competitive clustering’ in developing such a strategy.
Moving beyond microeconomic ‘win-wins’ Corporate Responsibility and the Competitive Advantage of Nations argues that:
Societal benefits from changes in the role of business in society will remain limited unless such changes support local, national and regional economic competitiveness strategies and outcomes.
Such strategies and outcomes can and should be developed, and can be most effective if rooted in partnerships between business and civil society and public sector organizations.
Public policy could productively strengthen the links between such partnerships and the competitive advantage of nations.
