Global guidelines for social responsibility

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The British Standards Institution has come up with a guide to help companies, organizations, and governments act in a more socially responsible way. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Vincent Cassidy of the British Standards Institute to get more details.Download MP3

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LISA MULLINS: Immigration isn’t the only area of policy where there’s talk of reform. There are calls for changes in the way big corporations operate. Critics are motivated by rampant corporate abuses of late in the banking and oil industries. Well, the “British Standards Institution” heard the cry. The BSI, as it’s called, has come up with a guide to encourage companies, organizations and governments to act in a more socially responsible way. The guidelines come out on Monday. The BSI’s Vincent Cassidy describes what “socially responsible action” means when it comes to, say, a cotton supplier in the developing world.

VINCENT CASSIDY:  The standard will identify the guidelines and the policies will ensure that not only is the cotton itself sustainably produced in terms of the environment, but also that the supply chain and the workforce in that supply chain will be ethically treated and so that the consumer will know with some satisfaction that the products they’re consuming are responsibly and ethically sourced and produced.

MULLINS:  And if they come from a place where the standards might be very different, I mean can you reasonably expect a company in Laos, for instance, to be able to comply even if it wants to with standards that have been set at these series of meetings in London?

CASSIDY: Well, this is what the standard is tackling. The standard is ensuring that even though a supply chain may be very remote, the standard can ensure for the customer’s satisfaction that the producer in Laos is following the best ethical and sustainable principles in providing goods right the way up the supply [INDISCERNIBLE], so yes, often the standards relate to technical or quality issues. This standard relates to ethical and sustainable issues so yes, to answer your question, this is what the standard is designed to do, is to ensure the ethical and sustainable practice right the way through the supply chain.

MULLINS: Do businesses themselves sign on to this voluntarily?

CASSIDY: Absolutely. Standards are voluntary and if an organization in the United States mandates this standard into their supply chain, then of course it’s their choice to do that and it’s their choice to ensure that their suppliers are compliant with the standard.

MULLINS: Do you expect a lot of corporations to sign on especially if they are able to make more money for their shareholders by not abiding by some of these standards?

CASSIDY: In fact, I would turn that around completely and say that shareholder value is increasingly a reason for adopting ethical, sustainable and socially responsible policies because increasingly that’s what customers in a smart society wants.

MULLINS: I think in many ways that’s true. In other ways though of course there are major businesses including in Britain and here in the United States that specifically set up, for instance, manufacturing facilities abroad because they can do things that they could not do elsewhere. In part that’s how they make money. Can you envision those companies signing on to these standards voluntarily?

CASSIDY: The world is increasingly a smaller place and it’s difficult for organizations to deny the effects of many of their activities around the world. So, the standard will help organizations to be more efficient and enable a company to cope with new laws that may be introduced in an increasingly green world. I think the overall competitiveness of a business is amplified as investors are more willing to place their money in reputable and sustainable businesses.

MULLINS:  So what about those companies that don’t adhere to the standards?

CASSIDY: They will be less competitive in their marketplace and will suffer in terms of reputation. We don’t need to look too far to see the press and see how adverse ethical treatment of the supply chain or indeed a poor environmental and sustainable policy begin to rebound on businesses.

MULLINS: Thank you very much. Vincent Cassidy who is a commercial director at BSI Group, the British Standards Institution. BSI has developed what’s described as the first ever international standard to address corporate social responsibility. It’s coming out on Monday. Thanks very much.

CASSIDY: You’re welcome.

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