Strategic choices on global sourcing from emerging markets

When: Thursday 8 February 2007
Where: Copenhagen Business School, Solbjerg Plads Building Room,
Frederiksberg, Denmark

Do codes of conduct do more harm than good?

On 8 February 2007 in Copenhagen a workshop on codes of conduct was convened by The Copenhagen Centre as part of the CSR Platform Project, Europe's first and largest ever CSR coordination project involving 13 partner organizations led by EABIS, the European Academy of Business in Society.

Peter Lund Thomsen (Visiting Researcher, The Copenhagen Centre & Assistant Professor, Copenhagen Business School), set the scene for the workshop by presenting five “myths” that characterize the current CSR and codes of conduct debate:

Myth No. 1 – CSR is widespread in the developing world.
Myth No. 2 – Engaging in CSR is the key challenge for global sourcing companies and their suppliers in the developing world.
Myth No. 3 – If developing country suppliers comply with codes of conduct, they will surely improve workers conditions and reduce environmental pollution.
Myth No. 4 – Audition helps us understand the effects of codes on workers’ conditions and the environment.
Myth No. 5 – Exclusion of non-complying suppliers is an effective way of securing compliance with codes and, in turn, of improving workers’ conditions and the environment.

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