26 July 2006

Corporate Executive Touts Benefits of Social Responsibility

Global Sullivan Principles offer solid development guide for Africa

 

Logo of Leon H. Sullivan Summit (Sullivan Summit photo)

By Charles W. Corey
Washington File Staff Writer

Abuja, Nigeria -- The General Motors Corporation (GM) is striving to "do good and do well" through the everyday application of the Global Sullivan Principles (GSP) throughout its worldwide operations in 200 countries on six continents.

Roderick Gillum, vice president for corporate responsibility and diversity at GM, a U.S. corporation, made that point July 19 at the Leon H. Sullivan Summit VII in Abuja, Nigeria.

The GSP, eight principles designed to promote economic opportunity, social justice and human rights, grew out the Sullivan Principles developed by the late Reverend Leon Sullivan for GM's operations in South Africa during the era of apartheid. At the time, GM was the largest private employer in South Africa.

"If you look at what society is asking of various companies, it begins with a barrage of concepts: that you be environmentally responsible; that you demonstrate integrity; that you contribute to your community; that you encourage safety and that you are also transparent," Gillum said.

Core consistency is essential, especially for large corporations, he added.  "More and more, because of the speed of communications, you cannot operate differently in different parts of the world," Gillum said.

Gillum reminded the delegates that Sullivan was the first African American on the board of directors of General Motors.  The success of the Sullivan Principles in South Africa led to development of the GSP, which aim to address a broader set of issues throughout the world.

The principles support universal human rights; promote equal opportunity; respect an employee’s right to freedom of association; call for fair compensation for employees and a safe workplace; promote fair competition and respect for intellectual property rights; and promote work to improve lives within communities.

The GSP initiative was launched by Sullivan at the United Nations in 1999 in concert with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and more than 180 companies and organizations that pledged to implement the principles.

GSP-INSPIRED PARTNERSHIPS

As an embodiment of the GSP, Gillum said, GM partners with organizations like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to provide vehicles for medical professionals working to provide crucial services.  GM cannot stop malaria and HIV/AIDS, he said, but can help those working to eliminate such maladies.

"So our relationship with the Centers for Disease Control, which operates in 43 countries, has resulted in General Motors providing vehicles in locations such as Kenya, Angola and Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, in order for the CDC to carry out its work and address emergent disease diagnosis and assessment."

He said GM employees in East Africa and South Africa also are working in concert with the Global Sullivan Principles to improve the lives of everyday people.

At GM East Africa, a team of volunteers known as "HIV/AIDS Busters" is working to sensitize colleagues and the community about HIV and AIDS. GM East Africa also provides free anti-retroviral drugs to its HIV-positive employees and their dependents and is the largest corporate blood donor in the region.

GM East Africa, according to the GM Web site, also supports the Junior Achievement Program for students interested in professional careers, sponsors "good student" awards across the region and is involved in reducing poverty by building housing with Habitat for Humanity Kenya.  In addition, GM employees help Habitat Build, a program that seeks to empower communities by developing resources and building affordable housing.

Additionally, GM East Africa supports a broad range of other charitable children's operations such as Operation Smile, Wind in the Trees and the Nyumbani Children's Home, and assists in the resettlement of displaced families in Northern Uganda.

The company's Delta Foundation, according to GM, is a key sponsor of the Effective Housing Provision Initiative -- which assists low-income South Africans in their land restitution claims and housing needs in South Africa.

Many employees of GM South Africa serve on a wide array of community boards. The company also continues to provide critical logistical support to Operation Rachel, an initiative geared towards removing and destroying weapons in Mozambique.

"This whole notion, of doing good and doing well, is very much expected of a major corporation ... and is in line with the Global Sullivan Principles, which drives GM operations around the world," Gillum said.

CALL FOR BROAD APPLICATION OF THE GSP

"In Africa and elsewhere, companies more than ever, are contributing to economic development," said Witney Schneidman, director of GSP at the Sullivan Foundation and a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for African Affairs.

Increasingly those companies that are having a positive economic impact are partnered with NGOs and local governments to observe the Global Sullivan Principles, he told summit delegates.

Schneidman called on companies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and governments to endorse the Global Sullivan Principles and establish a common framework for social accountability and cooperation.

"Not only will this … form a common framework for accountability, but a common language for cooperation, that has not really existed between corporations, NGOs and local governments when it comes to economic development and corporate social responsibility."

The principles "are intended to be a catalyst and compass for corporate responsibility and accountability, Schneidman said.

The July 17-20 Leon H. Sullivan VII Summit had as its theme: Africa: A Continent of Opportunities: Building Partnerships for Success." (See related article.)

The full text of the Global Sullivan Principles is available on the Web site of the Leon Sullivan Foundation.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)