gelya promoter: 9th Forum on Business Ethics and CSR in a Global Economy ...

In the past two editions of the Politeia Forum we have analyzed the evolutions of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and of the role of multinational corporations (MCNs). The Ninth Politeia Forum on? Corporations and Global Justice: Should Multinational Corporations be Agents of Justice? will seek to contribute to the international debate on the grounds and scope of the duties of MNCs. Global justice demands traditionally concern the duties of states and of their citizens; however, today there is a debate on whether such demands concern MCNs too. While it is widely recognised that the latter have the negative duty not to engage in harmful activities, it is less clear whether, and to what extent, they have the positive duty to remedy global injustices, by translating the respect of the UN Global Compact principles into an action aimed at fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals. Development will depend on the degree of cooperation between governments, international organizations, civil society, and business.

Aim of this edition is to frame the role of MCNs in the quest for global justice. At present, international CSR standards constitute a global ?institutional infrastructure? designed to help MNCs put into practice principles of global justice in their worldwide operations; however, a critical analysis of such standards is needed in order to assess the benefits and limits of their adoption. Moreover, the very concept of CSR appears to be insufficient to address the issues of global justice, as it generates only little impact on the structural root causes of injustice.

An alternative perspective based on justice could account better for the increasingly prominent political dimension of corporate responsibility: in this alternative view, responsibility is? shared among all relevant actors according to their different power, influence and capabilities. However, the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights seem to require a weak commitment to corporations, as they provide for the fulfillment of just the most? basic expectations of society in MCNs? respect. In fact, international human rights law require more than just avoiding the infringement of human rights, as it compels both states and the private sector to actively contribute to the fulfillment of socioeconomic rights. Thus, a better consideration of MNCs? positive obligations is needed, in order to alleviate poverty and inequality on a global scale. As a consequence, when linking global justice to corporate responsibility, it seems all the more necessary to better specify the fundamental? purpose of MCNs and in general of for profit corporations. One of the Forum?s main aims will be to show how a perspective based on global justice entails a new reflection on the purpose of for-profit corporations.

The Forum is organized by the Research Centre Politeia in partnership with the University of Milano ? Department of Social and Political Sciences, the? Dublin City University? ? Institute of Ethics, and the Global Compact Network Italy, and is supported by a Promoting Committee of several well-known Italian companies and organizations. Aim of Politeia is to organize a Forum in which managers of national and international companies and experts in business ethics and CSR from the most prestigious national and international research centres will have the opportunity to discuss the emerging ethical issues in the global economic system.? This way, it aims at increasing the awareness and knowledge of the ethical and social responsibilities of economic organizations, and at filling the gap between ?practitioners? and ?experts?.

PROGRAM

Friday, December 14, 2012

9.00 Registration

9.30 Welcome Addresses

Francesca Magliulo (Head of Corporate Responsibility, Edison)
Nicola Pasini (Professor of Political Science, Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Milano)
Emilio D?Orazio (Director, Politeia)

9. 45 I. Ethics and Economic Success

Chair: Alberto Martinelli (Chairman, Fondazione AEM)

Florian Wettstein (Director, Institute for Business Ethics, University of St. Gallen)?Waiting for the Mountain to Move: the Role of Multinational Corporations in the Quest for Global Justice

Margot E. Salomon (Senior Lecturer in Law, Centre for the Study of Human Rights/Law Department, London School of Economics)?Beyond ?Basic Expectations?

11.00 Open Discussion

11.30 Coffee Break

11.45 Panel:?The Role of Business in Development

Emanuele Buonocore ( Anti-Corruption Legal Assistance Manager, eni)?The Role of the Private Sector in the Fight Against Corruption: eni?s Experience in?Setting out and Implementing the Antibribery Compliance Program

Davide del Monte (Project Officer,?Transparency International Italia)?Exporting Corruptions? How corporations?can support international anticorruption?efforts

Gabriele Galante (President, IMF Group)?CSR and Internazionalization of Business

Ludovica Lardera (Head of Sustainability?Unit, UniCredit)?Human Rights: from Analysis to Implementation.?Raising awareness as a first step to generate a?cultural change

Moderator: Lucina Mercadante?(Directorate of Prevention, Inail)

13.00 Lunch Break

14.15 II. Ethical Values in Global Business
Chair: Emilio D?Orazio (Director, Politeia)

Nien-h? Hsieh (Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, Wharton School of?Business, University of Pennsylvania)?Corporate Responsibility:?Purpose, Institutions, and Global Justice

Simone de Colle (Lecturer in Business?Ethics, Institute of Ethics, Dublin City University)?Implementing Global Justice: a Critical?View on International CSR Standards

15.30 Open Discussion

16.00 Coffee Break

16.15 Panel: The Role of Business in Development

Giacomo Befo (Group Sustainability, Telecom Italia)?The Role of the Telecommunication Sector?in the Child Online Protection: Maximising?the Positive Aspects and Minimising the Risks?of the Web

Maurizio Gubbiotti (Head of International?Department, Legambiente Onlus)?Environmental Justice as a Challenge to?Build a New Season of Rights in the World.?Which are the Main Actors?

Francesca Magliulo (Head of Corporate?Responsibility, Edison)?Energy Infrastructures: public-private?synergies for a sustainable development. The experience of Edison in South-East?Europe

Giulia Mezzetti (Politeia)?Migrations, Brain Drain and Global Justice:?what Role for Corporations?

Fulvio Rossi (CSR Manager, Terna)?Electricity Grid as a Sustainable?Development Enabler

Moderator: Sabina Ratti (Sustainability?Senior Vice President, eni)

17.45 Concluding Remarks

18.00 Close of the Confer

? prevista la traduzione simultanea.

La partecipazione ? gratuita previo invio a Politeia?della scheda di iscrizione e ricevimento di conferma dell?iscrizione da parte della segreteria organizzativa

Per informazioni: Politeia, via Cosimo del Fante, 13 ? 20122 Milano
e-mail: info@politeia-centrostudi.org;?Tel: 02-58313988; Fax: 02-58314072