CorporateSocialResponsibilityandGovernment-Cre

MILLERREPORTINGCO.,INC.7358thSTREET,S.E.WASHINGTON,D.C.20003-2802(202)546-66661THEBROOKINGSINSTITUTIONABrookingsPressBriefingCORPORATESOCIALRESPONSIBILITYANDGOVERNMENT:CREATINGAMARKETFORVIRTUEWednesday,November02,200510:00a.m.to11:30a.m.SteinRoom,2ndFloorTheBrookingsInstitution1775MassachusettsAvenue,NWWashington,DC20036[TRANSCRIPTPREPAREDFROMATAPERECORDING.]MILLERREPORTINGCO.,INC.7358thSTREET,S.E.WASHINGTON,D.C.20003-2802(202)546-66662AGENDANovember2,2005PAGEModerator:AnnFlorini,SeniorFellow,ForeignPolicyStudies;Author,TheComingDemocracy:NewRulesforRunningaNewWorldPanelists:DavidVogel,Author,TheMarketforVirtue;Professor,UniversityofCalifornia,BerkeleyLorenYager,Director,InternationalAffairsandTrade,U.S.GovernmentAccountabilityOfficeSusanArielAaronson,SeniorFellow,KenanInstituteattheUniversityofNorthCarolinaMILLERREPORTINGCO.,INC.7358thSTREET,S.E.WASHINGTON,D.C.20003-2802(202)546-66663PROCEEDINGSMS.FLORINI:Goodmorningandwelcome,everyone.I'mAnnFlorini.IamaSeniorFellowhereattheBrookingsInstitution,andonbehalfofBrookings,I'dliketowelcomeyoutothismorning'ssessiononCorporateSocialResponsibilityandGovernment.Thisisaverybroadrangingtopicthatwe'redealingwith.Thewholeconceptofcorporatesocialresponsibilityhasreallygainedagreatdealmoreprominenceinrecentyearsbecausewe'regrapplingwithawholesetoffundamentalquestionsaboutgovernanceandtheroleofcorporationsintheworld.Who'sresponsiblefordealingwiththekindsofexternalitiesthatcorporationsproduce?Who'sresponsibleforproducingglobalpublicgood?Thesearequestionsthattheworlddoesnotyethavegoodanswersto,andmanypeoplehavebeengrapplingwiththequestionofwhatisthedirectresponsibilityofcorporationsbeyondthethingsthatgovernmentslegallyrequirethemtodo.Weareveryluckytodaytohavethreeoutstandingpaneliststoaddressthesesetsofquestions.We'regoingtostartwithDavidVogel,who'saprofessorintheDepartmentofPoliticalScienceandtheHaasSchoolofBusinessattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.Davidiswellknowntoanyonewhodoesworkinthissetofissues.Hisbiohasaverylonglistofpublicationsinthearea,manyofwhichI'vebeenprivilegedtoread.He'llbetalkingtodayspecificallyabouthismostrecentbook,TheMarketforVirtue:ThePotentialandLimitsofCorporateSocialResponsibility,whichIhavereadcovertocover,andIcanverystronglyrecommend.IwastellinghimbeforeMILLERREPORTINGCO.,INC.7358thSTREET,S.E.WASHINGTON,D.C.20003-2802(202)546-66664thetalkthathisbookisgoingtomakeitpossibleformetodiscardthemanypilesofpapersthathavepileduponmydeskoverrecentyears,becausehehaspulledtogethersuchawidesetofinformationandcrystallizeditsowellthatIcangetridofallthefilesandjustkeephisbook.Sowe'redeeplygratefultoDavidforthat.OursecondspeakerisLorenYager,who'stheDirectorofInternationalAffairsandTradeTeamattheU.S.GovernmentAccountabilityOffice,wherehe'sresponsibleforinternationaltradeandrelatedissues.HepreviouslyservedasActingChiefEconomistfrom1998to2000,wherehewasresponsiblefordirectingtheeffortsoftheOfficeoftheChiefEconomist.PriortojoiningGAO,hewasanEconomicAnalystattheRandCorporation,whereheauthoredstudiesonhightechnology,trade,andU.S.-Japantradepolicyissues.He'salsoheldpositionsasaneconomistwiththeAerospaceIndustriesAssociationandtheBureauofLaborStatistics.Andhe'sgoingtobetalkingtoustodayaboutastudythatGAOdidrecentlylookingspecificallyattherelationshipbetweengovernmentandcorporatesocialresponsibility.OurfinalpanelistforthedaywillbeDr.SusanAaronson,who'saSeniorFellowandDirectoroftheGlobalizationStudiesattheKenanInstitute,butshe'sbasedhereinWashington.Shedirectscurrentlyamajorstudyonglobalcorporatesocialresponsibility,whichisfundedbytheFord,U.N.,andLeviStraussFoundations.ThatprojecthassetupadiversestudygrouptomakerecommendationstotheU.S.governmentonhowpublicpoliciescanpromoteglobalcorporatesocialresponsibility.AndtheprojecthasworkinggroupsontradeandCSRandonCSRinMILLERREPORTINGCO.,INC.7358thSTREET,S.E.WASHINGTON,D.C.20003-2802(202)546-66665China,whichIthinkisoneofthemostimportantquestionslookingforward—istheroleofChina.LetmestartwithDavid.MR.VOGEL:Goodmorning.Iwanttobeginbyexplainingthetitleofthebook,whichIthinkprovidesausefulframeworkforthinkingaboutcorporatesocialresponsibility.TheMarketforVirtueasksthequestion:Towhatextentarecompaniescapableofrespondingtoavarietyofsocial,environmental,humanrightsconcernsasaresultofmarketpressures?Thatistosay,towhatextentcancompaniesself-regulate,changetheirsocialenvironmentalpolicieswithoutthethreatandcoercionofgovernmentregulation?Andobviouslytheanswertothatquestionhastodowithmarketpressuresthemselves;thatistosaycompaniesareinbusinesstomakemoney,andtotheextentthatengaginginmoreresponsiblesocialconductmakesbusinesssense—thatistosay,meetsamarkettest—onecanexpectcompaniestocommitmoreresourcestothoseefforts.Andtotheextenttowhichitdoesn'tmeetamarkettest—thatistosay,whichthemarketforvirtueislimited—companiesarelesslikelytoengageinthesevariousprograms.Soitseemstomeausefulwayofthinkingaboutthisistolookfromthecorporation'spointofviewandtoaskthequestion:Whatmakesbusinesssenseintermsofthesesocialissues?Theseconddimensionofthemarketforvirtueismuchmor