How a nation deals with social and environmental issues has a direct impact on its national economic competitiveness and growth prospects. Nations that fail to address Corporate Responsibility issues expose businesses to potential costs such as those associated with corruption and poor health and safety performance. This is the main finding of a new Responsible Competitiveness Index comparing over 50 countries, published this week in a report by AccountAbility the leading international institute and The Copenhagen Centre.
The Responsible Competitiveness Index is the result of eighteen months work including consultations with the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the European Commission. It considers corporate responsibility alongside traditional factors affecting a country’s economic competitiveness, and provides a sound basis for understanding the correlation between national competitiveness and corporate responsibility.
The Index identifies 22 countries notably two of the world’s largest economic powers, the USA and China, as having a ‘responsibility deficit’. Macroeconomic growth in these countries could be compromised by as much as 10% once the effects of Corporate Responsibility are factored in.
