An idea whose time has come.

• Author: Higgs, Fred
• Position: International corporate social responsibility

The organization I represent--the International Federation of Chemical Energy, Mine and General Workers Unions (ICEM)--was amongst the first of the global trade union federations to commit itself to the United Nations Global Compact initiated by Secretary General Kofi Annan. The ICEM is also very active in the work of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and participated in a high-level meeting which brought together senior policy makers from government, industry and trade unions to discuss the promotion of the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning multinational enterprises and social policy.

In addition to its active participation in such meetings, the Federation has for some time energetically pursued the promotion of joint global agreements with major companies within the industrial sectors in which our members work. To date, we have three such agreements: with Statoil, the Norwegian oil-and-gas multinational, with Freudenberg, the German-based multinational, producing elastomers and plastics; and with Endesa, one of the world's major private electricity groups, with a wide range of other industrial interests. There are more in the pipeline, and we are confident that the number will grow steadily over the years.

There is a common thread to all of these activities. The ICEM is determined to play a constructive role in the development, promotion and monitoring of initiatives and agreements designed to promote the highest possible standards of corporate social responsibility. We do this from a unique perspective. The ICEM is not simply another non-governmental organization. We represent workers who have a vested interest in the sustainable future of the industries and companies in which they are employed. They can play a crucial role in helping to develop and give credibility to corporate responsibility commitments undertaken by companies.

In the past few years, there has been an explosive growth in the number of corporate responsibility statements, codes of practice and public commitments of other kinds. This has been matched by a considerable growth in scepticism about their worth, and the strength and depth of commitment of the companies that promulgated them. They, however, often remain statements of good intent. This will have to change, especially if they are to be taken seriously by the poor, the unrepresented, indigenous peoples, minorities, the old, the infirm, the young and those from developing countries. I...