Responsabilité sociale des entreprises : notre responsabilité d’y voir clair (in French only)

Author

David Cuming

Organization

Union des consommateurs

Published

2003

Summary

There is growing interest in the social responsibility of corporations in the environments in which they operate. As markets open up through globalization, the attitude of large corporations can vary from country to country. For example, a company that behaves in what is considered a responsible way in its country of origin may, unfortunately, behave differently, not to say unscrupulously, in another country. In the last few years, there have been more and more reports of such behaviour. A number of countries are therefore studying the question of the social responsibility of businesses and corporations, and concrete solutions are being discussed in international forums. An example is the Corporate Social Responsibility and Standards Online Forum, set up in the wake of the 23rd meeting of ISO’s COPOLCO Group. Although this lnternet site and forum for exchange and discussion under the auspices of the ISO-COPOLCO Working Group on Consumer Protection in the Global Market is maintained by the Office of Consumer Affairs of the Government of Canada, few if any Canadian organizations seem to have developed clear positions on the subject or an approach that takes into consideration the concerns and expectations of Canadian consumers. Yet this is a crucial question that could have important implications in the years ahead, in both economic and societal terms. Not only should we be assessing the pros and cons of concrete action in this area, we should also be particularly concerned about the potential transfer to consumers of external factors—health, indebtedness and so on—responsibility for which is now assumed by local communities, for example, and for which transparency requires a full accounting in the operating costs of the business and, ultimately, inclusion in the cost to the consumer. It is therefore urgent and important for information in this area to be gathered, weighed and analysed in accordance with the expectations of Canadian consumers, as well as the actual and expected impact of the establishment of measures to that end. Such an analytical capability in order to draw the necessary conclusions and make recommendations is essential, if consumer representatives are to be in a position to make credible representations to corporations and ensure that their voices are heard by national and international bodies that address such issues.

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French only

OCA Funded Research
This research received funding support through the Office of Consumer Affairs' Contributions Program.

Contact information

Source: Consumer Policy Research Database