Right Corporate Wrongs

Introduction
The Right Corporate Wrongs campaign is calling for the UK Government to amend the Company Law Reform Bill - the biggest reform of company law for 150 years - so that:
 * companies are legally required to report on their social and environmental impacts
 * directors are legally obliged to minimise any damage their company does to local communities and the environment
 * people overseas who are harmed by the activities of a UK company are able to take action against them in a UK court.

The campaign is backed by groups such as ActionAid, Amnesty International, Friends of the Earth and War on Want,

CORE and the Trade Justice Movement are coalitions of development NGOs, environmental organisations, faith groups and trade unions that together represent over 9 million supporters.

9 out 10 people back tougher rules for business
An ICM poll commissioned by the CORE Coalition and the Trade Justice Movement, and published 3 April 2006 to coincide with the campaign launch, highlights public support for the Government to introduce enforceable rules on business in order to help deliver trade justice around the world.

The main results of the poll are:
 * 90% of voters think that "the Government should set out enforceable rules to ensure companies are `socially responsible', for example to ensure companies do not damage the environment."
 * 89% of voters think that "multinationals should be legally obliged to publish reports on a range of issues, including how they treat their employees and how they impact on their local communities."
 * 64% think that company directors "should be legally obliged to minimise the effects of their business to ensure that profits do not come at the expense of the wider community."

Next steps
At the time of the campaign launch, more than 100,000 supporters of the CORE Coalition and the Trade Justice Movement have already written to their MPs, urging them to call on Alun Michael MP, Industry Minister, to amend the Company Law Reform Bill. In the weeks following the launch activists will take the campaign to their MPs with local face-to-face lobbying.

Quotes
Deborah Doane, CORE Coalition Director: "The UK Government's voluntary approach to corporate responsibility has left companies to their own devices, failing millions of people around the world. Markets need rules to ensure that companies do not sacrifice people and planet in the name of profits. The British public are clearly in favour of new rules and now is the time for Government to act on this support."

Glen Tarman, Trade Justice Movement Co-ordinator: "Last year, millions of people supported Make Poverty History with its demand that the UK Government make laws that stop big business profiting at the expense of people and the environment. This year, the Company Law Reform Bill is a specific opportunity for the Government to take concrete action and deliver on its promises to make poverty history and help deliver trade justice. That is why campaigners from across the UK will now start visiting their MPs in the coming weeks to get our message across, with many tens of thousands more contacting their MP. The Government must bring in new laws for trade justice with this Bill."

Reference

 * CORE news release 3 April 2006

Related topics

 * Global connections
 * Live 8 - Making Poverty History?