Why is Corporate Social Responsibility a Quaker issue?
“We see a Europe in which the private corporations strive not only to make profit but also to contribute to the society that makes those profits possible. They have a rightful place in civil society and must contribute to it according to their means, abilities, and talents.” (A Quaker Vision of Europe)
There were many businessmen and entrepreneurs among Quakers in the late 18th and 19th centuries. This may have arisen because Quakers were prevented from entry into other professions due to the Quaker unwillingness to swear oaths. Quakers believe that we should speak truthfully at all times and do not accept the double standard inherent in oaths. However Quakers’ belief in simplicity, hard work and honesty as well as their aversion to indebtedness meant that as the Society of Friends developed, many Quakers were successful in business. However the scrutiny, by individual meetings, of individual Quakers’ business activities continued and the difficulties inherent in business and integrity were frequently tackled. One of the areas that occupied Quakers during the 17th and 18th centuries was that of the slave trade, and many early abolitionists were drawn to the abolitionist cause because of their Quaker values. Many Quaker industrialists of the 19th century were at the forefront of developing ways of working that ensured respect and social provision for their workers. Whilst the methods they employed would be considered paternalistic to us today, it is indubitable that during their own time they were at the forefront of Corporate Social Responsibility as it was then conceived.
Today QCEA has three main areas of work: Peace, Human Rights and Economic Justice. Given the comparative sizes of development aid and Foreign Direct Investment, it seems absolutely necessary that Europe develops ways in which European companies aid the sustainable development and respect for human rights in all of the countries in which they have an influence, both in Europe and in the developing world.
It is both because of the longstanding concern with how to maintain ethical values within business and also because of the importance of harnessing the large influence that business has in the world towards the promotion of peace, human rights and economic justice that QCEA is involved in the issue of CSR at the European level.
If you wish to comment upon this explanation of why Corporate Social responsibility is a Quaker issue then please email QCEA.
Read other people’s comments upon this web page or on the issue of CSR.
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