The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is generally understood to mean that corporations have a degree of responsibility not only for the economic consequences of their activities, but also for the social and environmental implications. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘triple bottom line’ approach that considers the economic, social and environmental aspects of corporate activity.
Various terms are used to describe CSR initiatives, including ‘Corporate Responsibility,’ ‘Corporate Accountability’, ‘Corporate Citizenship’ and ‘Sustainability.’
The meaning and value of CSR may differ in various contexts, depending on local factors including culture, environmental conditions, and the legal framework.
Human rights are relevant to the economic, social and environmental aspects of corporate activity. For example, labour rights requiring companies to pay fair wages affect the economic aspect. Human rights such as the right to non-discrimination are relevant to the social aspect. And the environmental aspects of corporate activity might affect a range of human rights, such as the right to clean drinking water.
So, while the primary responsibility for the enforcement of international human rights standards lies with national governments, there is a growing acceptance that corporations also have an important role to play.
Corporations impact on human rights in significant ways. These impacts have increased over recent decades as the economic might and political influence of corporations has grown, and as corporations have become more involved in delivering services previously provided by governments.
Corporations have come to recognise that part of being a good corporate citizen includes respecting the human rights of those who come into contact with the corporation in some way. This might be direct contact (for example, employees or customers), or indirect contact (for example, workers of suppliers, or people living in areas affected by a corporation’s activities).
Corporations are also responding to the fact that many consumers and investors expect corporations to act in a socially responsible manner. The extent to which a company implements a comprehensive CSR program can influence consumer and investor decisions.
Over the past decade, the international community has made significant advances in examining and clarifying the links between corporations and human rights.
A wide variety of voluntary initiatives have been developed by individual companies, industry bodies, NGOs, inter-governmental bodies and multi-stakeholder groups.
These initiatives include voluntary guidelines and codes of conduct, monitoring and reporting procedures, and socially responsible reporting indexes.
Under such initiatives, hundreds of corporations worldwide have publicly committed to uphold specific human rights standards. This illustrates the growing acceptance of the need for corporations to simultaneously protect the interests of their shareholders, employees, customers and the community in which they operate.
Some prominent examples of international standards and initiatives regarding corporations and human rights include:
The United Nations is further developing the expertise on corporations and human rights. In 2005, the UN Secretary-General appointed Professor John Ruggie as his Special Representative on business and human rights. One of the Special Representative’s main tasks is to “identify and clarify standards of corporate responsibility and accountability for transnational corporations and other business enterprises with regard to human rights.”
In 2006, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services and the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee conducted inquiries into various aspects of corporate responsibility in the Australian context. Both committees agreed that this was an increasingly important area for the corporate sector.
A range of Australian laws currently require corporations to comply with human rights standards. While these laws are not always framed in human rights language, the standards they stipulate are in fact based on human rights. Examples include:
In addition to the human rights standards which Australian companies are legally obliged to comply with under domestic laws, there is a broader range of human rights that are relevant to corporate activity. Depending on the specific activities carried out by a corporation, these might include:
Many Australian companies incorporate into their CSR policies the human rights standards they must comply with under Australian law. Some Australian companies go beyond domestic legal requirements and participate in voluntary initiatives on CSR and human rights, including the United Nations Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative.
The Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) is Australia’s national human rights body, responsible for monitoring the implementation of a range of international human rights standards that have been agreed to by the Australian government.
In the past, the Commission projects have touched on various aspects of corporate responsibility and the links between corporate activity and human rights, in particular in relation to labour rights, workplace practices, and resource development on Indigenous land. Some examples of the Commission’s work include:
In addition, many aspects of the Commission’s everyday work relate to the links between corporate activity and human rights. This includes conciliating complaints regarding discrimination in the workplace or in the provision of goods or services; considering applications made by companies for specific exemptions under anti-discrimination laws; and intervening in court proceedings involving human rights complaints lodged against companies.
In 2008, the Commission embarked on a project focusing on the role of Australian companies in promoting and protecting human rights. Some of the questions the Commission focused on as part of this work included:
Deakin University Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation – Corporate Citizenship Research Unit