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From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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FROM POVERTY TO POWERimportance in China; however, it was little in evidence in the other‘BRIC’ country, Russia. 114 In Hong Kong, <strong>Oxfam</strong> is in regular dialoguewith clothing companies that have regionalised and now run garmentfac<strong>to</strong>ries in Cambodia and other countries in the region. In Indonesia,Unilever conducted groundbreaking research with <strong>Oxfam</strong> <strong>to</strong> understandits ‘poverty footprint’, exploring its impact on small farmers,suppliers, and distribu<strong>to</strong>rs, as well as employees. 115Transparency: For firms <strong>to</strong> be accountable, they must first provideinformation on issues such as their social and environmental policiesand impacts. Nike broke new ground in 2004 when it published a lis<strong>to</strong>f its supplier fac<strong>to</strong>ries worldwide. There are numerous initiatives <strong>to</strong>codify how data should be collected and reported. The GlobalReporting Initiative, in particular, has become increasingly sophisticatedand is now commonly used by leading companies across variousindustries. 116 The general principle of transparency should also beextended <strong>to</strong> corporate lobby activities at both national and internationallevels.Moni<strong>to</strong>ring and verification: If companies are <strong>to</strong> be transparent, theymust have something worth reporting. In many cases, corporationsare only now learning how <strong>to</strong> gather relevant social and environmentaldata (it <strong>to</strong>ok one major European garment retailer two years just <strong>to</strong>establish where its clothes were being made), and there is a clear need<strong>to</strong> develop robust systems for doing so. Learning from peers and otherexperts is crucial. The Ethical Trading Initiative brings <strong>to</strong>gethercompanies (mainly from the supermarket and garments sec<strong>to</strong>rs),trade unions, and NGOs <strong>to</strong> promote, moni<strong>to</strong>r, and independentlyverify labour rights throughout global supply chains. 117Legal reporting requirements: Efforts <strong>to</strong> improve corporate performance(and curb abuses) can be greatly helped by home-countrygovernments passing legal requirements on companies <strong>to</strong> moni<strong>to</strong>r theimpact of their activities and <strong>to</strong> publish reports of their findings.In the UK, changes in the law requiring companies <strong>to</strong> publish theirassessments of so-called ‘non-financial risks’ have galvanised effortsby long-term inves<strong>to</strong>rs such as pensions funds <strong>to</strong> ensure that thecompanies in which they invest are not risking reputational damage,or endangering their long-term survival, by cutting corners on socialand environmental issues.348

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