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Business ethics and corporate social responsibility

As recently as a decade ago, many companies viewed business ethics only in terms of administrative compliance with legal standards and adherence to internal rules and regulations. Today the situation is different. Attention to business ethics is on the rise across the world and many companies realize that in order to succeed, they must earn the respect and confidence of their customers. Like never before, corporations are being asked, encouraged and prodded to improve their business practices to emphasize legal and ethical behavior. Companies, professional firms and individuals alike are being held increasingly accountable for their actions, as demand grows for higher standards of corporate social responsibility. This page lists and rates valuable Internet resources related to business ethics, ethical business and corporate social responsibility.

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Last updated April 22nd 2005

no star: Average ; Fair ; Good ; Very good ; Excellent ; Outstanding

Sites are reviewed individually and rated mostly according to content depth and value added, while also considering ease of navigation and speed of loading. For each category best resources are listed first.

Complete Guide to Ethics Management This guide is a straightforward and highly practical tool designed to help leaders and managers implement comprehensive ethics management systems in their workplaces in order to deal with the complex, ethical issues that can occur in the day-to-day realities of leading and managing an organization. It provides guidelines for managing ethics, identifies key roles and responsibilities, provides instructions for setting up a code of ethics and a code of conduct. Excellent site. Business Ethics Links Library The Business Ethics Links Library (BELL) from the university of Colorado at Boulder is a comprehensive starting point for research in corporate ethics and social responsibility. The database provides access to codes of ethics for U.S. companies and trade and professional associations, ethics sites at college and university business programs, industry information resources, and company promotion of social responsibility. Excellent meta index and search engine. Do not miss the online ethics publications. Small Business Journey This site from the UK outlines corporate social responsibility as it relates to small and medium sized enterprise. It provides a roadmap for a business on how to be socially responsible. It is about direction- how you create products and services people value; culture- the way you do things in your business; policies- how you define policies and turn them into practice; relationships- how people relate to your business. Excellent site. Do not miss the how to guides and the resource centre and its 10 pages of research papers. ECS2000 The Ethics Compliance Management System Standard (ECS2000) is a guideline for corporations and other organisations which are endeavouring to conduct business in an equitable and responsible manner. The ECS2000 standard has been made publicly available by the Business Ethics Research Project at the Reitaku Centre for Economic Research. Very useful document for any organisation which aim to establish, apply, maintain and consistently improve an ethical-legal compliance management system. Caux Round Table The Caux Round Table (CRT) is an international network of principled business leaders working to promote a moral capitalism. The CRT advocates implementation of the CRT Principles for Business through which principled capitalism can flourish and sustainable and socially responsible prosperity can become the foundation for a fair, free and transparent global society. Very rich and interesting site. Do not miss the section on resources and the summaries of selected corporate responsibility codes and standards. Canadian Business for Social Responsibility Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) is a non-profit, business-led, national membership organization of Canadian companies working to improve their social, environmental and financial performance. They have developed the GoodCompany Guidelines for Corporate Social Performance which are a set of guidelines that outline what companies can do to become more socially and environmentally responsible. Excellent site. Do not miss the SME resource database and the report Engaging Small Business in Corporate Social Responsibility. E-Ethics Centre The e-business ethics center from the University of Colorado provides a source of information on business ethics, corporate citizenship and organizational compliance. The goal of the e-business ethics center is to create a virtual community of organizations and individuals that share best practices in the improvement of business ethics. Excellent site with a very rich resources section. I particularly liked their examples of codes of conduct. Business for Social Responsibility Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) is a global organization that helps member companies achieve success in ways that respect ethical values, people, communities and the environment. BSR provides information, tools, training and advisory services to make corporate social responsibility an integral part of business operations and strategies. The site includes a section on Business Ethics. Do not miss the Issue brief library which covers the full spectrum of corporate social responsibility issues. Excellent site. OECD Principles of Corporate Governance The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance were endorsed by OECD Ministers in 1999 and revised in 2004. They cover six key areas of corporate governance : ensuring the basis for an effective corporate governance framework; the rights of shareholders; the equitable treatment of shareholders; the role of stakeholders in corporate governance; disclosure and transparency; and the responsibilities of the board. Essential document. Do not miss the Frequently Asked Questions and the Policy brief which is even more interesting than the principles themselves. European Corporate Governance Institute The European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) is an international scientific non-profit association which provides a forum for debate and dialogue between academics, legislators and practitioners, focusing on major corporate governance issues and thereby promoting best practice. Excellent and very rich site. Do not miss the section on codes where corporate governance codes on a country by country basis can be downloaded. The section on working papers is also interesting although much more technically focused. International Business Ethics Institute The International Business Ethics Institute promotes business ethics and corporate responsibility through two key program areas. First, it works to increase public awareness and dialogue about international business ethics issues through such educational resources and activities as the Roundtable Discussion Series, the International Business Ethics Review and their website. Second, the Institute works closely with companies to assist them in establishing effective international ethics programs. Excellent site. Do not miss the Business Ethics Primer in the resources section and the articles of the International Business Ethics Review in the publications section. I am also looking forward to their Comprehensive Guide on Developing Global Codes of Ethics which should be published in 2005. Ethics & Policy Integration Centre The Ethics & Policy Integration Centre (EPIC) is an ethics and policy research effort based on the belief that applying the principles and practices of organizational ethics is an eminently practical part of organizational life. Very interesting site with a rich resource section. Do not miss the section on small and medium enterprises and also Business Ethics: a manual for managing a responsible business enterprise in emerging market economies. Strategis / Corporate Social Responsibility This site from Industry Canada, a department of the federal canadian government, addresses the issue of definition, outlines tools that can be employed by businesses, presents best practices on the subject, and describes what it does to support corporate social responsibility. Excellent site. Do not miss the section on lessons learned and also the CSR monitor 2004 which is a survey of public opinion on corporate social responsibility. International Business Ethics Forum Built by MBA students at the Joseph M Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, under the direction of Assistant Professor Bradley Agle, the site contains information pertaining to the business ethics climate in a number of countries in every region of the world. For each country covered, the information is divided into 5 topics: cultural religious beliefs and traditions; law, adjudication and enforcement; stakeholders priotities and corporate social responsibility; major business ethics cases; major multinational firms operating in the country. Excellent site. UK government gateway to CSR The UK government has an ambitious vision for corporate social responsibility: to see UK businesses taking account of their economic, social and environmental impacts, and acting to address the key sustainable development challenges based on their core competences wherever they operate. The site includes sections on definition of CSR, policy and legislation, projects and programmes, practice, resources, etc. Very interesting site. Do not miss the international strategic framework on corporate social responsibility and the section on resources which provides access to a number of publications. Better Business Bureau The North American BBB system is an important force for marketplace ethics, operating a range of programs and services to promote ethical business conduct. These programs include voluntary standards and codes of practice, dispute resolution processes, and information and education programs. The site includes a code of advertising and a code of online business practices. Codes of conduct This website presents examples of codes of conduct ( a formal statement of the values and business practices of a corporation). Interesting site. Do not miss the section on interest groups which presents codes of conduct developed by NGOs and the section on government which includes guidelines for multinational companies. Center for Corporate Citizenship The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College is a membership based research organization which works with global corporations to help them define, plan and operationalize their corporate citizenship. Their goal is to help business leverage its social, economic and human assets to ensure both its success and a more just and sustainable world. Very interesting site. Do not miss the section on publications where there are many documents available for download, and the section on corporate citizenship links which is very good. EthicsCentre.CA EthicsCentre.CA (Canadian Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy) is an independent ethics centre dedicated to promoting and maintaining an ethical orientation and culture in Canadian organizations. Its mission is to champion the application of ethical values in the decision-making process of business and other organizations. Very interesting site. Do not miss Management Ethics which is a quarterly publication featuring topics of interest to the business community, and also the numerous articles and speeches included in the Resources section. Ethics Resource Center The Ethics Resource Center (ERC) is a nonprofit organization whose vision is a world where individuals and organizations act with integrity. Interesting site which includes a monthly newsletter and some free publications. Do not miss the Ethics toolkit and the publication on Ethics and compliance in a global economy. Center for Ethics and Business The Center for Ethics and Business at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles aims to provide an environment for discussing issues related to the necessity, difficulty, costs and rewards of conducting business ethically. Recognizing the special challenges connected with discussing ethical issues on a multicultural planet at the dawn of the 21st century, the Center encourages a secular and philosophical approach to these matters. Interesting site. Do not miss the Ethics toolbox and the section on links. Codes of Ethics Online The Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions from the Illinois Institute of Technology has put their extensive collection of codes of ethics on the web. This includes codes of ethics of professional societies, corporations, government, and academic institutions. The Codes of Ethics Online site includes an index and a search engine. Center for Business Ethics The Center for Business Ethics at Bentley College is a nonprofit educational and consulting organization whose vision is a world in which all businesses contribute positively to society through their ethically sound and responsible operations. The site houses studies and surveys as well as the Ethics Matters Magazine. Do not miss the list of ethical newsletters in the resources section. Global Compact The Global Compact is an international initiative that will bring companies together with UN agencies, labour and civil society to support nine (now ten) principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment, and anti-corruption. It seeks to advance responsible corporate citizenship so that business can be part of the solution to the challenges of globalisation. Interesting site. Do not miss the Chatham House report which explores the policy options for implementing the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) commitments on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR Europe CSR Europe is a non-profit organisation that promotes corporate social responsibility. Its mission is to help companies achieve profitability, sustainable growth and human progress by placing corporate social responsibility in the mainstream of business practice. The site includes an extensive list of publications on CSR as well as a very large list of links. Do not miss the section on CSR general information. International Society of Business, Economics, and Ethics The International Society of Business, Economics, and Ethics (ISBEE) is a professional association focusing exclusively on the study of business, economics, and ethics. The site includes a newsletter, documents and the papers from their world congress. Council for Ethics in Economics The Council for Ethics in Economics is a worldwide association of leaders in business, education, and other professions working together to strengthen the ethical fabric of business and economic life. The site includes the quaterly publication Ethics and Economics. Do not miss the 1998 publication on competitive intelligence where are the ethical limits? World Council for Corporate Governance The World Council for Corporate Governance is an independent, not for profit international network aimed to galvanise good governance practices worldwide. It was established at the first International Conference on Corporate Governance held in January 2001 in New Delhi. The site includes past conference reports. Institute for Global Ethics The Institute for Global Ethics' mission is to promote ethical behavior in individuals, institutions, and nations through research, public discourse, and practical action. Interesting site but limited. Do not miss the Ethics Newsline. Ethical Corporation Ethical Corporation is an independent publisher on business ethics and corporate responsibility. Interesting site which combines daily news and a monthly magazine. With the exception of the daily news and corresponding newsletter most of the information is accessible only if you are a paid subscriber. EthicScan Canada EthicScan Canada Ltd is a synthesis of three different services : an ethics consultancy, Canada's first corporate social responsibility research house, and a clearinghouse or resource centre for consumer and corporate ethics. Interesting site but most of the reports available have to be purchased. Do not miss the FAQs and the extensive list of links. Business Ethics Magazine Each issue of Business Ethics, the magazine of corporate responsibility, carries news and analysis of cutting edge topics in corporate social responsibility, business ethics, and social investing. Two articles of the current issue can be read online. Interesting site but limited. Do not miss the section on resources. Ethikos Ethikos is a bi-monthly publication that examines ethical and compliance issues in business. A sample issue is available as well as selected articles from past issues. You need to be a subscriber to access all the information. European Business Ethics Network The European Business Ethics Network, EBEN, is an international network dedicated to the promotion of business ethics in European private industry, public sector, voluntary organizations, and academia. The site includes a newsletter and a discussion forum but you need to be a paid member to access them. Interesting set of links.