The role involves leading the annual PRI Reporting and Assessment process, which is based on an annual survey of signatory activities in implementing the Principles. The results of the survey are then used as the basis for the annual PRI Report on Progress.
The signatory responses and examples of best practice that are identified through the process will be used as the basis for developing training resources to assist signatories in further implementing the Principles.

The job description includes:

• Developing and further refining the signatory questionnaire, user manual and assessment process
• Implementing, with external assistance where required, the online survey through SPSS
• Project management of the process, including assisting signatories in completing the questionnaire and troubleshooting.
• Extracting and analysing the results
• Identifying best practice case studies and working with signatories to develop them
• Conducting verification calls with signatories
• Analysing signatories’ responses and drafting the Reporting and Assessment section of the PRI Report on Progress.
• Developing training and learning resources for signatories
• Organising training events, possibly in collaboration with other organisations
• Developing e-learning modules    More »

  

  January 3rd, 2009 | Tags: Job offers, PRI, responsible investing | Category: Job offers | Leave a comment

In a recent international meeting on ethics in business, EBBF correspondent Daniel Schaubacher ran into philosopher and Club of Budapest founder Ervin Laszlo, who described the nature of the changes business would have to make in order to make a significant contribution to the future of humanity. Here is a story as told in the latest edition of INSPIRE, EBBF’s e-magazine:

When entering the auditorium, I bumped into Prof. Ervin Laszlo, the prolific writer on systems philosophy and future sciences …:
”Allowing companies to do well in the marketplace, while doing good merely as additional philanthropy is no longer sufficient… Those who have the wealth and power to control major companies (ought to) become a force for the public good by shifting to a new public interest objective… This shift would be truly a giant step for mankind: it would bring the private sector into the fold of societal actors committed to the cause of global sustainability and human well-being…” said this indefatigable visionary, and handed me a copy of his latest “Declaration”: “State of Global Emergency”. In this paper, which summarizes the principal global macro-trends, Ervin Laszlo urges the peoples of the world to take action to deal with the economic crisis, worldwide climate change, ongoing wars, terrorism and nuclear brinkmanship, non-renewable natural resources, a mounting water crisis, world poverty, and sustainability.

For other news from Brussels, click here. And to check out the stories, interviews, news, job announcements and new members that appear in INSPIRE 21, click here.

December 30th, 2008 | Tags: business and public good, Ervin Laszlo | Category: Inspire, News | Leave a comment

Last week we looked at the concept of “Responsible Restructuring” taken from an eponymous publication by EBBF and the ILO. This week’s entry examines “Responsible Downsizing”-reducing the number of jobs in a company-an action recommended only after other types of restructuring were tried (strategic, ownership, production, outsourcing, etc.).

Few words in management vocabulary elicit such strong reactions as “downsizing”. When companies announce a large downsizing, financial analysts often shift to “buy” recommendations in anticipation of share prices rising, whereas workers, many managers, their families, and local communities tremble over the potential consequences. Is socially responsible downsizing really an oxymoron?

For purposes of this article, downsizing is defined as a reduction in the number of jobs. It may take place at the level of a work unit, of a factory, of an entire business, or even a total global corporation, or sector of the economy. Often downsizing is carried out without layoffs, and when it is necessary, many companies go to great lengths to provide assistance in finding alternative employment and by offering generous separation packages.

In reaction to the intensity of global competition and increasing turbulence in many markets, most large companies have found it necessary to downsize in order to remain competitive and in many cases to survive. The loss of major customers, the disappearance of some markets, the collapse of prices due to chronic overcapacity, the obligation to outsource or contract manufacture abroad, often leave management no alternative but to downsize. So the issue is often not whether to downsize but rather how to do it responsibly, that is, in a way that takes the interests of employees, their families, local communities, and other concerned stakeholders into account.

Hidden costs of downsizing More »

December 27th, 2008 | Tags: responsible downsizing, responsible restructuring, stakeholder concept | Category: Books and Resources | Leave a comment

Reading the news you get the idea that we’re getting a new bank or investment scandal each week. Corruption and bribes are turning out to be alive and well in our wealthy Western civilization and appear to be a sign of the times—not just a topic that comes up when chatting about so-called developing nations. Such immorality ceases to surprise. But is the topic of ethics entering into the conversation at such a critical juncture?

To help us participate in this exciting conversation EBBF has included among its ‘Knowledge Centers’ one on Ethical Finance, which compiles information, resources, and presentations on this topic. To give you a taste for what is there, we’re including the introduction and a selection from the subtopics on “Institutional Investors”. We hope you find it useful:

For many, Ethical Finance is an oxymoron. Corporate responsibility (CR) almost by definition is about corporations and is rarely associated with banks, insurance companies, and other forms of financial institutions. Their financial analysts and portfolio managers are often accused of being the cause of much of the external pressure on corporations for quarterly earnings estimates and short term financial results. But, to the surprise of many, these same financial institutions are increasingly joining the corporate world in seeking ways to improve internal operations through improvements in customer service, employment practices and workplace conditions, to become more involved in local community development, and to reduce their own ecological footprints. At the same time, they are recognizing the importance of their own direct external influence on customers for their products and services as well as through more active ownership of shares in their portfolios.

In this knowledge centre we provide information on eight areas of ethical finance:

1. Socially Responsible Investing
2. Cleantech Venture Capital
3. Financial Services
4. Institutional Investors
5. Social Investing
6. Microfinance
7. International Institutions
8. Philanthropy  More »

   

   December 24th, 2008 | Tags: corporate responsibility, Ethical finance | Category: Books and Resources | Comments (1)

Click on the image to enjoy the latest edition of EBBF’s e-magazine INSPIRE
Stories, ideas, values, actions and meaningful job offers from EBBF members

December 18th, 2008 | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

These are times in which a company’s lofty mission and vision statement are tested. In times of growth and prosperity, it isn’t hard to give out generous bonuses, or to take employees and customers out to a lavish feast. But now, when push comes to shove, and profits aren’t what they were expected to be, companies have to demonstrate that their deeds match their words. Does its mission statement pay lipservice to its employees as its most valuable resource, only to let 15% of that so highly prized resource go without much consideration? What better moment to observe a company’s moral fiber than when restructuring?

Over the next several weeks we will be posting a series of selections from “Socially Responsible Restructuring”, a joint working paper of the ILO and EBBF written by George Starcher. (An abbreviated version of the document is available on the EBBF website, here.) Each entry will include a selection and a question inviting discussion.

We will begin by considering the very concept of ‘socially responsible restructuring’. Subsequent posts will include how to approach such restructuring, examples of this approach, and a consideration of the concept of the stakeholder. The following is from chapter two, Socially Responsible Restructuring Defined:

Few companies have escaped the need to reorganize, acquire, divest, outsource, or downsize. Restructuring has become one of the hottest topics in the business press, in financial markets, among economists, and is high on the agenda of most business leaders, union officials, national governments, and local authorities.

Restructuring takes many forms and the term is used to mean a wide variety of different actions. For purposes of this article, we will define the restructuring as the deliberate modification of formal relationships among organizational components. It may also include changing the portfolio of existing businesses (rationalization, selling off unproductive divisions or activities, entering new businesses either through acquisition or internal growth). Restructuring can also involve and impact various stakeholders such as suppliers and other business partners.

Unfortunately, the expression socially responsible restructuring has yet to find its place in management literature. In fact, many executives told us it is an oxymoron. The purpose of this article More »

December 16th, 2008 | Tags: corporate social responsibility, socially responsible restructuring | Category: 101 ways to make a difference | Leave a comment

Economist and EBBF member Augusto López Claros hints at THE big question concerning the current global financial crisis in his letter to the editor recently published on the Financial Times. Isn’t this the time to seize the chance to look at not only how to get back to business as usual but to think about making signficant changes to how we do business and for what purpose. We invite you to read and comment.

Dear Sir/Madame,

Professor Roubini’s fairly grim assessment of the 2009 global economic outlook (”How to avoid the horrors of ‘stag-deflation’”, 3 December) is a detailed analysis of why the horrors are, in fact, unavoidable. It is consistent with his unremittingly pessimistic views not only about the depth of the crisis, but also about the ineffectiveness of policy to mitigate its aftereffects. He speaks with considerable credibility on these issues, having anticipated the deleterious impact of the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble on the financial markets and the real economy. While he may well be right, I would like to suggest that, in fact, we do not know whether 2009 will not witness the beginnings of a recovery, in response to More »

December 14th, 2008 | Tags: augusto lopez claros, global financial crisis, vulnerabilities world financial system | Category: SOS EBBF | Leave a comment

Here’s a taste of what’s to come next week in the next edition of EBBF’s emagazine Inspire: a selection from an interview with Tannaz Grant Morano, who tells her own ‘business’ story–starting with her work as one of the only female engineers at Ford, taking her through an MBA and on to managerial work with a multinational. Here she shares her thoughts on her own efforts to translate her values into practice:

***

EBBF:  How have you translated these values into your work?

Tannaz:  That is a question I ask myself constantly, and will do for the rest of my career.  Let me start to answer this by saying that when I was in business school, I considered becoming an Ethics Officer.  I am fascinated by the ethical challenges in business and thought this would be a great way to have a values-based career.  But then I learned that often Ethics Officers are lawyers, so I didn’t necessarily have the right training, and that the work I enjoy and am best suited for is working in “the field” or in the business operations.  I was to some extent disappointed because I wanted to have a direct impact on bringing moral values to business and thought that working directly as an Ethics officer was a great way to do so.  But then I realized that I was diminishing the importance of the exemplifying these values in one’s own work in the heart of the business. I think some of the most powerful actions are not recognizable as a single accomplishment to be listed on one’s resume.  For example, being honest and trustworthy without exception, striving that my work be performed in a spirit of service to humanity, valuing the opinion of all stakeholders and seeking the viewpoints of those who are silent or ignored, trying to be warm and kind to everyone I encounter and working to bring out non-financial considerations in business decisions.  So I may not be an Ethics Officer but I have the opportunity try to be an example that the Ethics Officer can hold up to others.  I also try to stay active in EBBF, to mentor individuals who share the same values, and to help other organizations.  And now as a mother, along with my husband, I am trying to provide my children with a strong spiritual and moral education.

December 12th, 2008 | Tags: ethical business, ethics officers, moral values in business, Tannaz Grant | Category: 101 ways to make a difference | Leave a comment

Today, as the world celebrates the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) we have decided to also celebrate but in an EBBF way: offering a comprehensive knowledge centre dedicated to showing examples and the case for business embracing and promoting the implementation of this Declaration and of the respect of human rights, worldwide.

This seventh in EBBF’s series of Knowledge Centres, aptly titled The Role of Business in Promoting Human Rights offers a comprehensive listing of key documents, of the key players people and organizations who are dedicating their lives to assisting business to better understand and perform in this essential field for world development.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is the foundation of international human rights law, the first universal statement on the basic principles of inalienable human rights, and a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. On December 10, 2008 the world celebrates the 60^th anniversary of the signing of this Declaration. It is timely to emphasize the living document’s enduring relevance and its universality. This knowledge centre was produced to celebrate this event and to demonstrate EBBF’s full support for the principles described in that Declaration. We thank Roberta Méan for her efforts and interest in researching this important subject and in drafting this text.

In rereading this Declaration, one quickly realizes how relevant all of EBBF’s core values are to human rights in business. Whether it be Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainable Development, or Gender Equality (see recent EBBF publication), Consultative Decision Making or Values Based Leadership, all of our core values support this Declaration and our appeal to the business community to be conscious of the importance of human rights in business.

December 10th, 2008 | Tags: human rights, role of business in improving human rights | Category: News | Leave a comment