Codes of Conduct

Voluntary codes of conduct were created at the initiative of individual corporations, single and multi-industry groups, and regional and global [Page 122]organizations in response to globalization and the gap between existing regulatory regimes and the scope of corporate conduct that regulations are intended to cover that arises from the growth in the number of multinational corporations.

From the perspective of public policy and corporate strategy, voluntary codes of conduct allow companies to create a proactive stance as to how they plan to address issues pertaining to environment and sustainability, social aspects of human resource utilization, and governance—specifically the transparency and accountability of corporate actions. The primary focus of these codes of conduct is to (a) address public concerns and build further trust in corporate assertions and ...