Congress enacted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (“FCPA”) largely in response to disclosures in the early 1970s of widespread bribery of foreign officials by United States business interests. Congress resolved to prohibit such bribery, not just because it is morally and economically suspect, but also because it was causing foreign policy problems [...]

More evidence has emerged of the steamrollering effect of China’s tightening grip on the economic life of Burma. A watchdog report alleging land theft and intimidation of local people by a major Chinese corporation comes on top of a report by an international human rights agency expressing concern at China’s growing control over Burma’s natural [...]

Geneva-based Covalence is publishing today its quarterly ethical reputation ranking, giving the best ranked companies as well as those companies which have made the most progress in the 3rd Quarter of 2008. An overview of emerging and decreasing topics is also given. The main results across sectors are: IBM enters top 10 EthicalQuote score across [...]

Harington Investments, with the support of Boston Common Asset Management, has proffered a shareholder resolution that requests Cisco “amend the company’s bylaws to establish a board committee on human rights that is authorized to review the implications of company policies, above and beyond matters of legal compliance, for the human rights of individuals in the [...]

Wal-Mart’s push to make its stores and suppliers in China more environmentally-friendly cuts to the heart of one of the big debates these days: Is a “green economy” the antidote to or a potential victim of the economic crisis?  Wal-Mart’s drive to make its Bejing stores more energy-efficient and to force local suppliers to comply [...]

Le groupe américain eBay a annoncé mardi qu’il allait totalement interdire à partir du 1er janvier les ventes d’objets en ivoire sur son site d’enchères en ligne, sous la pression des défenseurs des animaux, afin de lutter contre le commerce illicite d’espèces menacées. Cette annonce est intervenue quelques heures après la publication d’un rapport du [...]

Greenwire: Third World water projects are attracting increased attention and cash from corporate charitable efforts. Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo Inc. committed millions for water projects last month at the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting. The company plans to spend $18 million for safe drinking water in the developing world and to raise awareness about [...]

If there’s one thing I hate about modern gadgets, it’s all the plastic. I’ve long looked back at wooden electronics wishing you could still find up-to-date versions of the sophisticated designs. Plus, there’s the fact that so many plastic gadgets contain toxic materials, and all that plastic ends up getting thrown away. [...]

Greenpeace salue la prolongation du moratoire sur l’attribution de nouveaux titres forestier, mais s’inquiète de la poursuite des pratiques destructrices des industriels du bois. Avec deux ans de retard, les résultats de la révision de la légalité des titres forestiers en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), processus financé par la Banque Mondiale, ont été rendus [...]

I steadfastly write about one of my major pet peeves: marketing junk food to children who are extraordinarily susceptible to the health-hazardous messages companies download into their brains. It’s not a purely American phenomenon. A new investigation by Consumers International (CI), a global federation of consumer organizations, reveals the extensive lengths to which food and [...]