Welcome to the EPIC Global Corporate Responsibility Web page This Web page is maintained by the Ethics & Policy Integration Centre to provide a user-friendly resource for tracking emerging global standards in corporate responsibility. While core U.S. standards are included, the emphasis of this service is on emerging global standards, representative examples, and news and resources for busy ethics/compliance/responsibility professionals.

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Access specific topics by clicking on a topic button above. Topic descriptions are given below, and you may access the topics from there as well.

Compliance

Standards defining the circumstances under which an organization can be held responsible for the choices and actions of its employees and other agents for failure to meet government regulations, industry standards, or reasonable stakeholder expectations. See also Management Systems Standards.

Workplace

Standards of conduct for treatment of employees, including issues of compensation, benefits, freedom of association, and employee health and safety.


Marketplace

Standards for how a firm interacts with its customers, suppliers, and other financial stakeholders. Includes issues such as fair competition, quality of goods and services, and supply chain management.


Human rights

Standards covering a firm's obligations to prevent violations of specific Human Rights of its stakeholders during routine operations.


Environment

Standards for how a firm should interact with the natural environment and prevent its degradation.


Public Sector

Standards for a firm's interaction with host governments, including obligations to avoid contributing to corruption: both extortion and bribery.


Community Relations

Standards,structures, and systems for an organization's interaction with local communities, including sensitivity to their culture, context and needs; advancements in civil society, and employee involvement in community programs and socially responsible activities.


Management Systems Standards

The standards, structures, and systems that serve the specific role of ensuring that the decisions and activities of an organization and its employees and agents are in accordance with relevant governmental, industry, and professional requirements.


Corporate governance

Corporate governance: a set of relationships between a company’s management, its board, its shareholders and other stakeholders. Corporate governance also provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set, and the means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance are determined. (OECD Code — 1999).


Reporting

Standards providing guidance to firms who wish to report performance aspects beyond financials.


Comprehensive Standards

Guidelines and standards that attempt to integrate a firm's social responsibilities, ethical conduct and stakeholder relations.


General Resources

General resources about the emerging notions of corporate responsibility.

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