Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe
Main Page: Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe
My Lords, I was prompted to speak by a meeting with the impressive Ethical Trading Initiative, an alliance of companies, trade unions and voluntary organisations, which sets out principles on which international trade should be founded and to which companies and their supply chains have signed up.
Businesses alone cannot take the blame for the pressure for cheap-as-chips products. We, as consumers, are helping to drive their business decisions, yet when a disaster occurs, such as the collapse of the garment factory in Dhaka, we are outraged at the loss of life and the conditions of the garment workers. An event such as that makes the ETI principles all the more valid and emphasises the need for them to be underpinned by the UN guiding principles. Therefore, I ask the Minister: when will the Government publish their strategy for implementing the UN principles?
Sound corporate governance is integral to sustainable economic growth and to the delivery of a better society. It helps us to discharge our duty to the disadvantaged, such as the clothing workers in Bangladesh. That is why I hope that the current review of non-financial reporting requirements will produce strengthened social, environmental and human rights commitments.
I also welcome the proposed amendment to the EU accounting directive, which would require companies to account for their impact on society more generally. Can the Minister confirm that the Government will support that amendment?
Finally, closer to home is the CAF/NCVO Back Britain’s Charities campaign, launched in response to a 20% drop in donations when charities face a 67% increase in demand for their services. Businesses are as much a part of their local communities as local government or charities. They have a significant role to play in addressing difficult social issues. Next week, the CAF/all-party parliamentary inquiry on growing giving, chaired by the right honourable David Blunkett MP, starts taking evidence. Can the Minister tell us the Government’s views about encouraging both employers and employees to work together to give more time and money to good causes?