ToBI Plan of Action 1998

prepared by Jeffrey Barber, ISF

November 7, 1997

The Need for Corporate Accountability

It is government’s responsibility to hold a business or industry accountable for any practice threatening the health and well-being of citizens and communities. However, with the globalization of corporate power, governments are increasingly pressured to relinquish this responsibility. In order for government to properly ensure corporate accountability, NGOs and citizen/consumer organizations must work together to assert the interests of community, health and environment. ToBI’s mission is to help NGOs to promote and implement corporate accountability.

APPROACH

Aims of ToBI

Overall, to promote the concept and implementation of corporate accountability, within government, business and civil society. To do this, ToBI aims:

• To examine and promote progress by business and industry towards greater responsibility and accountability.
• To examine and promote progress by government towards ensuring greater responsibility and accountability of business and industry.
• To help build alliances, capacity and effective strategies among NGOs to better understand and help implement corporate accountability in the larger society.

The ToBI Agenda

In its Statement on Corporate Accountability, presented to the UN General Assembly Special Session, ToBI highlighted seven "steps" for governments to take to make sure corporations are accountable to society. These steps include

1. acknowledging the importance of corporate accountability;
2. monitoring and assessing corporate practices;
3. strengthening public access to information;
4. sending the right message to industry by eliminating unsustainable subsidies and tax breaks and making wrongdoers liable;
5. empowering local communities;
6. making clean production the standard; and
7. reducing the political influence of corporations on government.

At the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), in meetings with national governments, and in other fora, ToBI will continue to assert this agenda and government’s responsibility to ensure corporate accountability.

A Public Dialogue on Corporate Responsibility and Accountability

In the spring of 1997, ToBI and other NGOs attending the fifth session of the CSD, called for a Subcommission on Corporate Accountability – a formal and ongoing dialogue among governments, business, and NGOs on what is necessary to ensure that business and industry operate responsibly and in the interest of society. The larger objective is to institute a larger public dialogue on corporate responsibility and accountability, defining the proper roles and responsibilities of business, government and civil society to ensure progress towards a just and sustainable society. Such a dialogue is necessary not only for the sustainability of society but to the future of democracy.

TASKFORCE STRUCTURE

In its second year of operations, the work of the NGO Taskforce will be taking on new and more complicated commitments. To do so effectively we will need to set up a number of new structures. In particular, we need to set up (1) a steering committee, to develop strategies and make decisions on future activities; (2) an advisory board, to provide expert opinions and advice on relevant policy issues, (3) a lobbying group to promote decisions and policies by government and international institutions emphasizing accountability of business and industry, and (4) issue- and/or industry-based working groups, to address specific tasks.

Steering Committee

A Steering Committee will be created, consisting of at least five but no more than 12 NGOs involved in corporate accountability issues, allowing for a reasonably balanced representation of NGOs from different regions internationally. No more than one person from an organization will be on the Committee, and that person must clearly identify the constituency and interests which they will represent. Each Steering Committee member will have a single vote on the decisions before the Committee.

Each Steering Committee member must agree to commit themselves to the common interests of the larger Taskforce members and not use the Taskforce or name of the Taskforce to advance their personal aims or the individual aims of their organization, outside the commonly held interests and agreements of the Taskforce.

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board will consist of individuals from around the world identified as experts within the various areas of concern and activity of the Taskforce. Members of the Steering Committee may nominate individuals to be invited to join the Advisory Board, but this nomination must be agreed upon by the entire Steering Committee before issuing an invitation.

Advisory Board members will provide their opinions and information on the various issues which the Taskforce must address. The Steering Committee is responsible for making sure these opinions and information are made available to the full Taskforce membership.

Lobbying Group

A lobbying group of volunteers among ToBI membership will be organized to promote decisions and policies by government and international institutions emphasizing accountability of business and industry. The lobbying group will develop strategies and implement actions at key international and national events, such as at CSD and the Environment for Europe meeting..

Working Groups

Over the course of the coming year we will seek to organize a series of working groups focusing on different issue areas of ToBI’s corporate accountability work. One idea is to develop working groups of member NGOs focusing on specific industries. For example, those NGOs working on agriculture, pesticide and food industry issues could form one working group; others dealing with oil and mining companies could form another working group. Another approach might be to form a working group dealing with political influence of corporations, or one on subsidies and tax breaks.

ACTION

Three objectives

ToBI has three objectives for the next year (in realizing the above three aims):

1. to monitor and assess corporate practices, public policy and agreements, and efforts within government, civil society and business to promote or undermine corporate responsibility and accountability,
2. to continue advocating for corporate accountability in public fora, and
3. to promote alliances and capacity-building among NGOs, community organizations, researchers, and members of government in the effort to institutionalize appropriate accountability mechanisms.

Each of these objectives involve a number of tasks.

Monitoring and assessment

1. Develop research capacity within ToBI, involving information gathering and analysis drawing upon the experience and capabilities of the Advisory Board and other Taskforce members.
2. Establish linkages with other NGOs, government and business to monitor and assess corporate practices (e.g., investment screening by Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) organizations).
3. Specify criteria for assessing corporate practices.
4. Support and publicize corporate monitoring work conducted by ToBI members.
5. Develop and publish case studies of both responsible and irresponsible practices within different industries (e.g., energy, chemicals, food), including efforts to influence government policy (e.g., the oil industry’s lobbying efforts around climate change policy).
6. Prepare articles on the above monitoring and assessment activities, for Northern Lights, the CSD NGO Steering Committee newsletter Outreach, the CAPSCAN newsletter, the Citizens Network newsletter, the Journal for Sustainable Development, among others.
7. Assess government policies and agreements which promote or undermine corporate responsibility and accountability (e.g., the current negotiations on the Multilateral Agreement on Trade).

Advocacy

1. In preparations for CSD and other upcoming events, organize a ToBI lobbying team to work with other NGOs, government officials, and responsible business partners to promote appropriate policies and issues critical to ensuring corporate accountability.
2. Raise the topic and issues of corporate accountability in the two-day Industry Sector discussions at CSD-6 this February during the Intersessional and next April at the 6^th Session of CSD. In particular, coordinate the Working Group on Responsible Entrepreneurship to (1) gather NGO input and (2) produce a 10-page paper on this topic, and (3) organize NGO presentations during the Industry Session in April. Coordinate other activities (e.g., a one-day ToBI strategy workshops before the Intersessional and CSD6) to supplement the Working Group effort.
3. Continue campaigning for the Subcommittee/Panel on Corporate Accountability, or other ongoing formalized dialogue at CSD to explore accountability issues and possible corrective actions. Raise this issue in public and private meetings with government delegates and UN officials (including Industry Session at CSD). Prepare statement on this topic. Seek greater active support by other NGOs.
4. Prepare and distribute one or more issue papers the important ToBI agenda items to be submitted to these workshops.

Alliance- and capacity-building

1. Strengthen ties with individual Taskforce members, improving communications and greater member involvement in Taskforce activities. Develop and field a short questionnaire on member concerns, needs, priorities, and suggestions.
2. Strengthen the capacity of the Taskforce and its members through improved internet and postal communications, posting news and information on a ToBI website of member campaigns, activities and perspectives.
3. Organize public workshops to further highlight key corporate accountability issues: (1) during or before the CSD, and (2) during or before the Environment for Europe Meeting in Aarhus, Denmark in June 1998.
4. Develop media strategy and actions to get greater coverage of accountability issues; distributing press releases and organizing press conferences; distributing articles and information to journalists.
5. Develop a strategic relationship with different NGO Caucuses at CSD and other fora, (e.g., with the Sustainable Production and Consumption Caucus, the Sustainable Food Systems Caucus, the Fresh Water Caucus), elucidating the corporate accountability issues involved in other sustainable development issues.
6. Organize an NGO Caucus on Corporate Accountability at the CSD and gain membership to NGO Steering Committee.
7. Examine the feasibility of organizing an international conference on corporate accountability, following CSD6 or just before CSD7.

TIMELINES FOR 1998/1999