Read the quote by the former Secretary General Kofi Annan and write an article for your student magazine. In your article, you should: ■■ explain Kofi Annan’s statement ■■ discuss benefits and challenges of globalisation ■■ assess your personal situation as one of the winners or losers of globalisation. Write around 250 words and give your article a title. Writing 14 “First, globalization may have delivered many benefits, but it has also eroded the capacity of societies to determine their own destinies. Many modern challenges – including tax avoidance, organized crime, cyber insecurity, terrorism, climate change, international migration, and financial flows, both licit and illicit – have one thing in common: the traditional instruments of a sovereign state have become inadequate to manage them.” Corporate Social Responsibility CSR stands for Corporate Social Responsibility. What do you think CSR includes? Discuss your ideas in class. Listen to a spokesperson for the European Commission talking about CSR and complete the text. Listening 15 a b 88au5c 44 Corporate social responsibility is defined as “the responsibility of enterprises for their (1) .” The European Commission encourages enterprises to have in place a process to integrate (2) , , human rights and (3) into their business operations. This should be done in close collaboration with their (4) . As evidence suggests, CSR is increasingly important to the (5) of enterprises. It can bring benefits in terms of risk management, (6) , access to capital, (7) , human resource management and innovation capacity. According to a study published at the University of California, Berkeley, sound CSR activities can insure a firm against (8) in the case of adverse events. Many multinational companies have a negative reputation. Can you think of reasons for this? Have you heard criticism voiced in connection with any global company? Discuss together. Read the article on CSR in the fashion industry and answer the questions. 1 What are the characteristics of fast fashion? 2 According to the text, what are the negative environmental effects of the textile industry? 3 Why does it seem easier for small companies to introduce CSR initiatives? Reading 16 a b Fashion industry seeks to shake bad reputation with CSR initiatives The fast fashion industry has something of a bad reputation. Its endless churning to keep up with the demand for new garments every year relies upon two controversial things: cheap labour and disposability. Unlike their ‘slow fashion’ predecessors, clothing produced by today’s high street brands is not envisaged to last for years, but solely until the next trend comes around. In recent years, however, consumers have started to expect more from their clothes. In turn, brands must step up their ethical credentials to keep hold of their valued customer base. With this in mind, many are implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies to transform their business processes. 132 Language skills Extras Explore 10 Trading with the world Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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