Clear Profit event: Corporate responsibility and democracy
19th October 2006, 11 Tufton Street, Westminster, London SW1P 3QB

A unique event which explored the contribution corporate and investor responsibility make to democratic governance.

Baroness Gibson and Lord Holme with editor Phil Cain

This highly-focussed, independent event was split into a series of interactive, expert-led sessions followed by a lively BBC 'Question Time' -style debate in which delegates had an unique opportunity cross-examine an elite panel of politicians on issues raised throughout the day.

Please note: Audio files of the first and last sessions have been made available to download free from this page. Please scroll down and click on on the links. A report on the event was included in the November 2006 issue of Clear Profit. To subscribe, free, please apply here

Key topics included:
- The place of corporate responsibility in democracy
- Bribery and corruption and its risks
- The investors' role in development
- Investor responsibility and the democratic crisis
- Political solutions offered by parliamentarians

Programme

10.30 Welcome refreshment

11.00 'Corporate responsibility: inherently inefficient and undemocratic' journalist and commentator Philippe Legrain argued that big companies should not be pursuing social and environmental aims which should really be set by democratically-elected parliaments and apply equally to all. Download speech

11.50 'Corporate responsibility and the erosion of democracy', Professor Jeremy Moon of Nottingham University, cast doubt on conventional attacks of corporate responsibility, but raised further questions about corporations and power through the metaphor of citizenship. Download speech

This was followed by questions, answers and a debate from the floor. Download debate

12.40 Informal lunch in the crypt of St John's, Smith Square

13.45 'Corruption, governance and the private sector': David Murray is an independent consultant and former deputy chairman of the UK branch of anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International and an independent consultant. He outlined the findings of the recent 'Bribe Payers Index' and the developments on the multi-stakeholder Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in which companies and governments work with civil society at global and national levels.

14.45 'Bribery and corruption: a key risk for investors', Franziska Jahn, senior analyst at investment research provider EIRIS, charted the development of criteria on bribery and corruption, and explained how initial findings show corporate practices vary by sector and region.

15.45 Tea and discussion

16.00 'Investors and sustainable development', Dr Rory Sullivan, head of investor responsibility at Insight Investment, described and assessed the strategies used by investors to encourage higher standards of corporate governance and corporate responsibility. He went on to reflect on the role of public policy in encouraging investors to play a more active ownership role in their investments and in providing appropriate signals to the market.

17.00 'Investor responsibility: Democracy in crisis', Alex van der Velden executive director of investor responsibility campaign group FairPensions discussed how the lack of investor responsibility provides a free license for company misbehaviour. Investors are the key to improving company responsibility, but only if investors themselves become transparent and actively exercise their legal shareholder power to hold companies to account, he argued.

18.00-19.00 'Question Time' style debate Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen and Lord Holme of Cheltenham took part in a lively panel, fielding questions from the floor. Download audio file