Private initiatives for corporate responsibility have been a major development in international management over the last twenty years. The initiatives include issuance of codes of business conduct, implementation of management systems and broader efforts to improve business accountability. Yet, there is little agreement about what these initiatives mean or how effective they are.
The OECD project on corporate responsibility seeks to shed light on various aspects of the corporate responsibility movement: What are firms and business associations doing? How have governments influenced the initiatives? What contributions, if any, have these initiatives made to improving the business sector’s ability to comply with law and regulation and to respond to broader societal expectations?
The findings of this project have been made available in an OECD publication entitled Corporate Responsibility: Private Initiaties and Public Goals. The contents of this publication have been discussed by the Committee on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises. It has been released on the authority of the Secretary General of the OECD.
