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CBI Slowing Down Good Business
2 August 2004
Friends of the Earth today accused the CBI of holding back progress in its calls to slow down the introduction of new corporate reporting laws. The controversy comes as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) closes its consultation on the Operating and Financial Review (OFR) which could force board directors to be more transparent in their annual reports on a range of social, environmental and economic issues.
The Corporate Responsibility Coalition, a broad grouping of environment, human rights and development organisations, think-tanks and trade unions, is calling for the OFR to be strengthened. It wants the Government to tighten up the regulations so that directors must disclose the social and environmental performance of their companies, not just financial performance [1].
But despite the weak nature of the draft regulations, the CBI has launched an attack against it by calling it a "rush to regulate".
Friends of the Earth Corporate Accountability Campaigner Brian Shaad said:
"Once again, the CBI is showing itself to represent the laggards of British industry by calling foul against new regulations that would ensure better practice from UK companies. They have a knee jerk reaction against any form of regulation, even when it's in the long-term interests of business.If the Government is serious about corporate responsibility, it needs to listen less to the CBI and a bit more to common sense."
[1] More information on The Corporate Responsibility Coalition is available at
www.corporate-responsibility.org/
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jun 2008
