Look at the highlighted expressions and make sure you understand them. Use an online dictionary for help. Work in A/B pairs. A, read the newspaper article on p. 218 and answer the questions. B, read the article on p. 220 and answer the questions. Inform your partner about the contents of your article. What would be a good initiative to protect the rights holders in each case? CSR stands for Corporate Social Responsibility. Use the information from above. What does CSR include? Discuss your answers in class. Listen to a spokesperson for the European Commission talking about CSR and complete the text on the next page. c 17 a b Language focus Corporate Social Responsibility 18 a b vx98x3 42 According to Evans, these multi-stakeholder initiatives have a “tricky relationship” with governments, which frequently interpret their existence as evidence that abuses are being “taken care of”. In reality, the exact opposite needs to happen. Governments must recognise that if there’s an initiative in place, it means that human rights abuses are occurring and they are obligated to take action. The “multi-stakeholder” element of these initiatives derives from participation of civil society organisations, government agencies and other groups. While cross-sector dialogue is generally positive, most initiatives tend to support corporate interests. According to the research, only 13% of the initiatives analysed include affected populations in their governing bodies and not even one has a majority of rights holders on its board. This results in almost one third of the initiatives offering no grievance mechanism whatsoever to workers or other affected parties. The frequent absence of victims’ voice speaks to a wider concern about the use of certification schemes and similar voluntary standards to slow down progress on human rights and safeguard the status quo. Even the monitoring is a “flawed concept” as third-party auditors are typically paid by the corporations they are hired to assess, creating a clear conflict of interest. In addition, few if any protections are given to critics or whistleblowers, thus limiting the incentive for victims to speak out. Below-cost prices, fast turnarounds and other aggressive procurement practices by multinational buyers are also widely overlooked. Indeed, of the eight initiatives linked most closely to supply chain issues, only two explicitly state the need for responsible purchasing. In light of this critique, MSI Integrity warns that consumers “can’t rely” on the claims made by many ethical labels. Not only are abuses continuing to occur, but generic terms such as “fair” and “sustainable” can be misleading. As Evans says, “The risk is that these initiatives are legitimising abusive behaviours by failing to detect them.” In response to the report, a spokesperson for Fairtrade International highlighted the fact that the organisation was among the highest scoring certification schemes examined by the report. “Tackling some of the issues raised in the report – such as farmers and workers having unequal power in trade – is precisely why Fairtrade was set up, with rights holders (producers) having 50% ownership and voting power in the Fairtrade International General Assembly, and being consulted on all Fairtrade Standards and pricing reviews. Yet the wide issues reflected in the report must be addressed collectively. We agree that no initiatives should ever be seen as the replacement for the rule of law which is why we believe in and call for regulation aimed at preventing human rights abuses.” Language skills Extras Explore 10 Trading with the world 131 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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