Human Rights: Corporate Morals In The Globalocal Theater - enlisting corporate assistance in the fight for international human rights

Whole Earth, Summer, 1999 by Morton Winston

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL-USA 1615 L Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036. 202/682-7048, tiusa@aol.com, www.transparency-usa.org.

Transparency International was established to take on corruption in international business transactions. A nonprofit NGO, TI calls for increased government accountability, encouraging international and national coalitions to establish effective legislation and anti-corruption policies.

SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM

(See also Whole Earth No. 92: "Soul & Money," including "Shareholder Activism," page 84; "Banking on Natural Capital," page 90; and shareholder activism resources, page 86.)

INTERFAITH CENTER ON CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 550, New York, NY 10115. 212/870-2295, info@iccr.org, www.domini.com/ICCR.html.> This oldest and best-known NGO galvanizing shareholder activism is a coalition of 275 mainly faith-based institutions whose combined investment portfolios are worth an estimated $90 billion. Each year ICCR initiates or co-sponsors shareholder resolutions for US corporations, dealing with global codes of conduct, sustainable living wages, environmental concerns, contract-supplier demands, and human-rights issues--and backs them up with its own business-conduct standard: "Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility: Benchmarks for Measuring Business Performance." Originally a member of the Apparel Industry Partnership, ICCR dropped out over the issue of living-wage standards in developing countries.

SOCIAL INVESTMENT FORUM 1612 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006. 202/872-5319, info@socialinvest.org, www.socialinvest.org.

Invest in a responsible future! This network of investment professionals publishes an authoritative directory of socially responsible investment vehicles.

TRILLIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT CORPORATION (FORMERLY FRANKLIN RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT) 711 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02111. 800/548-5684, 617/423-6655, www.trilliuminvest.com.

This newly re-named firm pioneered socially responsible investing. Heavy on research, Trillium explores company practices and advocacy work, directing investments into under-served communities and using its stakeholder role as leverage to effect positive change in targeted companies. It also advocates against investment in repressively governed countries such as Afghanistan.

KINDER, LYDENBERG, DOMINI & Co. INC. Russia Wharf, 530 Atlantic Avenue, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02210. 617/426-5270, sri@kld.com, www.kld.com.

This investment management firm maintains an index for measuring the performance of socially screened portfolios. It publishes a guide to socially responsible investing: "Mission-Based Investing: Extending the Reach of Foundations, Endowments, and NGOs," available by request without charge. It bears mentioning that the staff at KLD was delightful when we called.

ECONOMIC PRESSURE

UNION OF NEEDLETRADES, INDUSTRIAL AND TEXTILE EMPLOYEES (UNITE) 1710 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. 212/265-7000, webmaster@uniteunion.org, www.uniteunion.org/index.htm.> This aggressive four-year-old union negotiated the first code-of-conduct agreement with employer associations in powerful northeastern markets, and established a community-based initiative to organize immigrant workers in the New York area. UNITE, like the Interfaith Center, separated from the Apparel Industry Partnership in protest over the Partnership's track record on living wage.