abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

31 Aug 2006

Author:
Dan Kornfield, Stratfor

Activist Messaging: CGI and a Moment of Transition

These two gatherings, [International AIDS Conference, Toronto, Aug 2006, and Clinton Global Initiative conference, New York, Sep 2006] represent the sunset of one grand activist strategy and the dawn of another. The first strategy, which was evident at the AIDS 2006 event, has sought to transform the world by appealing to a sense of moral obligation, and has relied primarily on governments to be the agents of change. The second strategy, pioneered by CGI and others, seeks to transform the world by appealing to a sense of personal empowerment, and is looking primarily to corporations as the agents of change. Ultimately, these two strategies likely will blend into a third approach that...will be heavily shaped by new views, still evolving, on corporations' responsibilities in preserving human rights... On a range of issues -- wage disputes, emissions standards and intellectual property rights among them -- multinational companies have found themselves caught between activist demands they cannot fulfill and activists' disdain for their compromises and counter-offers... The Clinton Global Initiative adopts an entirely different tone and approach... [At] the heart of discussions about health, poverty, ethnic and religious conflicts and climate change, the goal is to extract from participants a one-year commitment to finance specific, strategic projects -- and then hold them to their pledge... The tone of the CGI approach...is crafted to be more compelling for businesses than the approach traditionally used by activists... Until now, activists have relied primarily upon governments to restrain and guide business activity -- to implement regulations safeguarding people and the environment. But increasingly, activists are partnering with businesses to address such social issues more proactively, and even reversing the flow of accountability: Businesses are slowly becoming the ones to demand regulation and good governance. Several major corporations -- General Electric Co., Royal Dutch/Shell, Exelon Corp., and Duke Energy Corp. -- all have begun to ask [the US] Congress to pass carbon cap legislation, for example; others are demanding that governments of developing countries where they operate allocate certain percentages of the oil revenues they collect for social services... [As] businesses become more directly involved in social and health problems around the world, some are adding their voices to activist calls for a recognized international standard to avoid arbitrary interpretations of their obligations... The issue, therefore, becomes one of defining the minimal obligations and ethical mores to which businesses will be held... The answers to these questions are emerging from several directions. One is ISO 26000, a corporate social responsibility standard, currently under development... Another is the work of U.N. Special Representative John Ruggie, who will release his final report in the spring of 2007. A third is the Global Reporting Initiative, which was recently released in its third iteration... [New] questions and concerns will emerge... Among these will be arguments, already being voiced in some circles, that corporations' involvement in social issues should remain limited: Corporations are powerful actors but cannot be held accountable by democratic processes. Therefore, as the business human rights debate wanes, a debate about the relationship between business influence and political power may come into its prime.