Action Briefing Dec 2003 - Jan 2004
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

Bend 'em Like Digby (the Rules that is)

So, just what have we got against the Confederation of British Industry and their relentlessly outspoken Director General Digby Jones? If the dodgy activities of some of its member companies weren't enough, the CBI's continual lobbying against any legislation designed to protect the environment, safeguard human rights or maintain labour standards, and hold businesses accountable for their violations of that legislation, poses a major challenge to environmentalists.

Some of the CBI's lobbying offensives to date include:

• opposing the Climate Change Levy, a tax on businesses’ greenhouse gas emissions to encourage energy efficiency;
  
• trying to weaken the EU draft Liability Directive on oil spills, which would make oil and shipping companies fully liable for oil disaster, and opposing the right for public interest groups and individuals to pursue liability;
  
• pushing for more road building while securing reductions in fuel duty;
  
• undermining communities’ right to oppose new infrastructure developments by helping to establish “business planning zones”, areas in which developers do not need to apply for planning permission;
  
• dodging corporate accountability by favouring voluntary “corporate social responsibility” initiatives, which companies are free to, and frequently do, ignore;
  
• attacking trade union demands for employer compulsion on pensions, securing instead the abolition of the Minimum Funding Requirement for occupational pensions;
  
• attacking the Government for increasing public sector wages by 5.1%;
  
• scuppering the statutory right to part-time working for parents of young children;
  
• making sure that the European Charter of Fundamental Rights was just a watered-down statement of principles instead of a legally binding set of rights;
  
• as part of the UK delegation to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), pressing the Government to ignore calls for a more equitable system of global trade;
  
• promoting destructive airport expansion, ignoring the environmental impacts amid huge local protests. The CBI overstates air transport’s economic importance: in fact the sector contributes about 1% of UK GDP, making it no more important in economic terms than the sewage industry - and arguably far less essential!
  

Sounds like foul play, doesn’t it? In our experience, the CBI’s defence goes somewhat as follows:

"Hang on! We advance environmental protection, human rights and social justice, by promoting Corporate Social Responsibility!"
We could take the CBI’s Corporate Social Responsibility rhetoric seriously if they were willing to see such measures enshrined in international law but instead they always campaign against this in favour of a voluntary approach.

"Naive yoghurt-wearing environmentalists like you have no idea how things work in the Real World. It's all very well to demand the impossible from the comfort of your Newbury treehouses but we've got to keep UK business internationally competitive. It’s got to be a voluntary approach!"
But competitiveness is exactly why it can't be a voluntary approach. No single business will go first in placing environmental and human rights considerations above their profits - they have a 'fiduciary duty' to return a profit to shareholders. This is why equally binding national and international standards are needed.

"It’s you beardy sandal-eating greens and your Red Tape that is killing manufacturing in this country."
Rubbish. What's killing manufacturing in the UK is not 'Red Tape' but globalisation, where companies chase cheaper wages and production costs all over the world. What chance is there of fair “international competition” in a system where a handful of major companies wield a virtual global monopoly?

"It’s jobs or the environment! You choose!"
No, it's jobs and the environment, or neither. And what about labour rights? All over the world, working people are faced with a choice between compulsory overtime, low pay, harsh working conditions, insecurity (never knowing whether you will be working 8 or 80 hours in any given week), or destitution.

"OK, but you'll never convince apathetic Joe Public to do anything about it."
Oh no? Friends of the Earth supports the Corporate Social Responsibility (CORE) Bill, which outlines a set of binding rules for business to ensure people’s rights and the environment are protected. Under CORE, companies would have to work to a comprehensive set of key social, environmental and economic indicators and report on their performance. CORE would also place a specific duty of care for both society and the environment on directors, as well as enable affected communities abroad to seek damages in the UK for human rights and environmental abuses committed by UK companies or their overseas subsidiaries.

Karen Leach

Take Action

1. Write to your MP asking him/her to sign Early Day Motion EDM 113) in support of CORE, and thank them if they have already signed (check if they have at http://edm.ais.co.uk);
   
2. Ask your union, church group, community organisation or trade association to sign up to the CORE Campaign;
   
3. Encourage your business or company to approach CORE and discuss how the proposals can help promote more ethical business practice and reduce costs.