More than 90 percent of the world’s 2,000 most influential companies, including Amazon, BMW, Nestlé, Rio Tinto, Pfizer, Shein and Standard Chartered, are failing to meet society’s expectations regarding human rights, working conditions and to business ethics, a first-of-its-kind assessment found.
Despite generating revenue equivalent to 45 percent of the global economy, the world’s leading companies are missing the opportunity to positively affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people, the nonprofit World Benchmarking Alliance said in a report released Tuesday. fair.
“Companies have resources and influence equivalent to some of the largest countries, impacting more people than the populations of many nations. The fact that 90 percent of these companies are unable to act in line with fundamental social expectations shows the state of the private sector,” said Namit Agarwal, social transformation lead at WBA, which tracks companies’ commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.
“Demonstrating leadership in creating an equal, inclusive and fair world could significantly help governments eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and ensure access to decent work for all. Regulation, guidance and external pressure are needed to guide companies in the right direction,” Agarwal added.
The WBA Social Benchmark assessed companies’ commitment to “acting ethically, providing and promoting decent work and respecting human rights”.
At least 30 percent of companies scored between 0 and 2 out of 20 possible points, with a clear “mismatch between what companies disclose about decent work and the expectations that society has of them,” said the WBA, which receives funding from the Union European Union and the governments of Canada, the Netherlands and Denmark.
While more than 60 percent of companies disclose some information about wages and at least 45 percent report some information about work hours, only 29 percent monitor the health and safety of suppliers’ workplaces, according to the WBA.
Only 20% perform human rights due diligence on their supply chain partners and just 4% are committed to a living wage, according to the nonprofit.
Most companies also fell short in the area of corporate responsibility, with just 10% disclosing their tax payments and 9% describing how they interact with stakeholders such as workers and unions, according to the index.
The WBA stated that only 5% of companies surveyed revealed their spending on corporate lobbying, despite their outsized economic influence.
“The lobbying efforts of the world’s 2,000 most influential companies, representing $45 billion in revenue, can make or break sustainable development. Currently, however, there is no way to know which direction companies are heading. Most companies are not transparent about their political engagement strategies or spending,” the nonprofit said.
Of the 14 sectors surveyed, clothing and footwear, ICT and retail ranked highest in terms of meeting society’s expectations, with scores between 28 percent and 33 percent, compared to the average score of 23 percent.
The funds and financial services sector scored the lowest, with 11 percent, followed by the transport industry with 14 percent and real estate with 16 percent.
By region, companies based in Asia Pacific scored the highest, with an average score of 35%.
However, the WBA said this was due to Australia’s outsized impact and its commitment to disclosing tax payments.
The region was followed by Europe with 33% and North America with 24%.
The Middle East scored lowest at 11 percent, behind South Asia and East Asia at 14 percent each.
The WBA said the private sector will have to take greater responsibility for the economic and social conditions it helps create if the world is to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including halving poverty by 2030.
“The protest movements that have emerged around the world over the past decade are a visible indication that people want an economic system that works for the poorest majority and not the richest few,” the nonprofit said.
“Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires companies to adopt socially responsible business conduct, including respect for human rights, providing decent work with decent wages and a fair and safe environment, and acting ethically, paying their fair share taxes and lobbying responsibly.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
