The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Archive for June, 2010

Export Credit Agencies Urged to Strengthen Anti-Bribery Rules

A Transparency International report found that while most export credit agencies have formal policies that prohibit support for bribe-tainted transactions, they do not require applicants to have management controls to deal with bribery and none have issued guidance to applicants describing elements of an appropriate anti-bribery program.

Shareholders Press for Political Spending Disclosure

The Center for Political Accountability, examining results of disclosure proposals for the 2010 annual meeting season, found that shareholder support for disclosure rose to a record 30.25% at 28 meetings.

The Ethical Risk of Business as Usual

Columnist Gael O’Brien wonders what it will take to convince corporate leaders to build into their risk management strategies the capacity to ask crucial questions about ethical liability, as is done with legal liability. Such a step, she says, would be hardly radical and would have the objective of putting ethical conduct on the table as a deliberate outcome.

French Firm to Pay $338 Million to Settle Bribery Charges

French engineering firm Technip S.A. agreed to pay a total of $338 million to settle criminal and civil charges brought by U.S. enforcement agencies for its participation in a scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain more than $6 billion in contracts to build liquefied natural gas facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria.

Supreme Court Ruling Leaves Sarbanes-Oxley “Fully Operative”

The Court ruled that an accounting board created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was unconstitutional but said the board could continue to function as the result of changes stemming from the court’s decision. The justices also ruled that the broader Sarbanes-Oxley Act “remains fully operative as a law.”

The Controversy Over Triclosan in Consumer Products

Anti-bacterial soaps and other products utilizing triclosan may in fact be doing more harm than good for the people who use it regularly. According to the non-profit Beyond Pesticides, triclosan has been linked to various human health problems.

Financial Reform Bill Leaves Proxy Access Rules with SEC

After days of intense political drama, House and Senate negotiators on the financial reform bill agreed to toss a key shareholder governance issue — proxy access — back to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Supreme Court Ruling Narrows Honest Services Law

In a decision with far-reaching implications for the prosecution of corruption and fraud cases in the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government’s “honest services” law could be constitutionally applied only to cases involving bribery and kickbacks. The decision was a partial victory for two high-profile executives – Jeffrey Skilling, former CEO of Enron, and Conrad Black, former chairman of Hollinger International.

NY State Fund Seeks to Lead Class Action Against BP

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, trustee of the $132.6 billion Common Retirement Fund for state employees, said the Fund will seek lead plaintiff status in the class action lawsuit against BP Plc for damages arising from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill

GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novartis Top Access to Medicine Report

The Access to Medicine Index seeks to rank pharmaceutical companies based on their efforts “to enhance global access to medicines.” The report cited particular problematic medical areas including a need for new pharmaceutical products to address neglected tropical diseases and the lack of viable markets for pediatric HIV/AIDS drugs.