The results of the second Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index will be announced in The Sunday Times supplement on March 14, 2004.

The published results will be explored and celebrated at a senior business leaders reception at Lancaster House on 15 March and will then be the focus of a one-day conference on Wednesday 17 March. This will take place at the Millennium Conference Centre, Kensington, London and will look at common trends and threads, explore the key issues identified by companies from a sector and impact perspective and identify current good practice.

Journalists wishing to attend the conference, please contact Claire de la Motte on 0207 566 8794 or e-mail ClaireDelamotte@bitc.org.uk

The World Bank Institute Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Program kindly invites you to participate in the Global e-Conference organized with its partners on The Poverty Challenge in a New Millennium.

This global "e-conference" is modeled on the format of a face to face conference and is open to people from all around the world. Participation is free of charge, and we are particularly encouraging young people to join the
discussion, as we seek to hear their views and ideas on how to reduce poverty. Recommendations made by participants will then be shared with top decision makers at a major World Bank conference on poverty reduction to be held in Shanghai in May 2004.

For further details CLICK here.

How a nation deals with social and environmental issues has a direct impact on its national economic competitiveness and growth prospects. Nations that fail to address Corporate Responsibility issues expose businesses to potential costs such as those associated with corruption and poor health and safety performance. This is the main finding of a new Responsible Competitiveness Index comparing over 50 countries, published this week in a report by AccountAbility the leading international institute and The Copenhagen Centre.

The Responsible Competitiveness Index is the result of eighteen months work including consultations with the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the European Commission. It considers corporate responsibility alongside traditional factors affecting a country's economic competitiveness, and provides a sound basis for understanding the correlation between national competitiveness and corporate responsibility.

The Index identifies 22 countries notably two of the world's largest economic powers, the USA and China, as having a 'responsibility deficit'. Macroeconomic growth in these countries could be compromised by as much as 10% once the effects of Corporate Responsibility are factored in.

Price: £40/€60/$70;
Member/Discounted Price: £20/€30/$35

To order, please visit www.accountability.org.uk

Please find the Free Executive Summary here.

The Index also marks the first output of the Responsible Competitiveness Consortium of which CSM is a founder-member. The Consortium was formally launched along with the Index at the United Nations Global Compact Meeting in Brazil this week.

For further information about the consortium please go to www.responsiblecompetitiveness.net

A new website launched on 10 November 2003 by Accountability and the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College in the USA, in partnership with the Centre for Social Markets, and a group of other likeminded organisations located around the world. The website carries latest news and information about the commercial rationale for corporate responsibility from around the world and complements CSM’s Portal on Corporate Responsibility.

PRESS RELEASE

CSM partner, AccountAbility, has published a new report 'Redefining Materiality'. The report proposes a new approach to defining ‘materiality’ in corporate reporting. It is particularly relevant to the UK Government’s proposed amendments to Company Law. These amendments will require companies to disclose within an Operating and Financial Review (OFR) social and environmental performance relevant to members’ interests arising from stakeholder concerns and actions.

To order report, or for further information, please contact:
Mark Furmston, AccountAbility
Email: mark@accountability.org.uk

Discounts on the report are available for CSM members and partners. Please quote 'CSM Discount' when ordering to avail of the reduction.

CSR is on the hot list of the corporate agenda. One of the key stakeholders in this discussion are the employees of the company and its suppliers. The masterclass will cover the main issues that confront managers in dealing with their employees and their suppliers. The class is aimed at Managers and professionals responsible for: CSR matters, Sustainable Development, Human Resources, Codes of Conduct, Treatment of Suppliers, Investor relations. The masterclass will encourage interaction between the main speaker and the participants with each speaker introducing the subject followed by an open discussion and interaction between participants. The international cast of speakers is world authorities in their respective fields. The masterclass will be held in the stunning Chateau Divonne just outside of Geneva. Presenters include key ILO officials, OECD adviser, and the originator of SA8000.

For more information contact Jawahir Adam at jadam@mhcinternational.com

A new diversity benchmarking group has been launched by specialist consultancy Proactive Reputation Management in association with Complinet, the market-leading supplier of business critical information and software solutions. The group will enable organisations active in diversity to achieve their objectives faster, cheaper and with lower risk. Facilitated by PRM and Complinet, the members will compare and contrast approaches, share experiences and identify good, best and next practice. Both UK and international practices and experience will be explored.

For more information contact:
Mr. Harish Bhayani, Principal, Proactive Reputation Management
Email: harishbhayani@prorepman.co.uk

AccountAbility has released the AA1000S Assurance Standard: Guiding Principles consultation document. The consultation will run until September 2002 and you are invited to take part in the assurance debate by getting involved in AccountAbility discussion forums, downloading documents and giving feedback on the consultation document.

Please visit www.accountability.org.uk for more information.

SustainAbility Ltd has launched the latest report, 'Developing Value: The business case for sustainability in emerging markets'. The report examines the business benefits that companies find from environmental, social and governance improvements in the developing world context. The report, which is based on real life examples from about 240 companies in 60 developing countries and summarised in a easy to use matrix - a number of examples are from India.

Please visit www.sustainability.com/developing-value for more information.

The Forum will be the largest gathering of CSR advocates and CEOs in Asia. Over 50 corporations will present their CSR programs in 17 breakout sessions ranging from education, health, microenterprise development to environment management systems, codes of conduct, community relations and corporate giving. These companies are from India, ASEAN, Korea, Hong Kong, China and the US.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will use the Forum to launch CSR Week in the Philippines. Assistant Secretary-General Michael Doyle of the United Nations will speak on the Global Compact Initiative. Sponsors include Shell, Mirant, AIG and the Philamlife Group, Ayala Corporation, First Generation Philippines and CAL Energy.

The conference will map the route from corporate social responsibility to increased shareholder value. How to manage shareholder and employee expectations? What do consumers think about when making purchase decisions? How can the investment community alter a corporation's ethical stance? These are just a few of the questions scheduled for discussion which will centre around:

- Establishing the sustainable corporation
- Leveraging Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for improved profitability
- The benefits and costs of socially responsible investment (SRI)
- Case studies of successful and problematic CSR strategies
- Meeting investors' demands for sustainable growth.

For more information, please CLICK here or visit at : www.economistconferences.com

CSR Week 2002 is dedicated to highlighting good corporate citizenship, sustainable economic development, community investment, environmental stewardship and much, much more-all in the context of corporate social responsibility.

The aim of CSR Week 2002 is to raise awareness and understanding of CSR with Canadians. Not only does the Canadian public expect business to make profits, pay taxes, create jobs and obey all laws but they also expect businesses to set higher ethical standards and help build a better society.

CSR Week is an opportunity to show just how companies are meeting these expectations.

For more information, please visit the Conference Board of Canada's website at :
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/ccbc/CSR_week/default.htm or email us at beaufort@conferenceboard.ca

Organised by AccountAbility and CIS, the workshop will explore how to compare performance in this area, including AccounnAbility's Gradient approach. It will also explore how socially responsible investment vehicles have and could incorporate these supply chain labour issues.