hidden_voices

Hidden Voices: The CBI, corporate lobbying and sustainabilityContentsI. About this report...............................................................................................................4II. Forword .............................................................................................................................6III. Executive summary ..........................................................................................................71. Unravelling the CBI.........................................................................................................131.1. Membership .............................................................................................................131.2. Formulating and promoting policy............................................................................151.3. Influence on Government policy ..............................................................................182. How the CBI operates.....................................................................................................202.1. Profit and the free market ........................................................................................202.2. Red tape and taxes..................................................................................................202.3. Common business lobby tactics ..............................................................................212.4. The environment – ‘not our problem’ .......................................................................222.5. Self-regulation – the limits of the voluntary approach ..............................................242.6. The regulatory burden – perception or reality? ........................................................262.7. Why the anti-regulatory stance is flawed .................................................................292.8. Regulation to support environment can drive innovation .........................................312.9. The real crisis – the state of the environment ..........................................................312.10. Political responsibility...............................................................................................322.11. Socially responsible lobbying...................................................................................333. Case studies....................................................................................................................353.1. Minimum wage.........................................................................................................353.2. Climate change ........................................................................................................363.3. Operating and Financial Review ..............................................................................383.4. Environmental regulation .........................................................................................413.5. Summing up.............................................................................................................464. Conclusions and recommendations.............................................................................484.1. Giving business a real voice ....................................................................................494.2. Further reading ........................................................................................................505. Appendix: The voices of business................................................................................515.1. Other traditional business lobbyists .........................................................................515.2. Pro-environment business lobbyists ........................................................................536. References ......................................................................................................................55Box 1: CBI Energy Policy Committee ................................................................................15Box 2: CBI Environmental Affairs Committee ....................................................................16Box 3: Corporations and tax? ............................................................................................21Box 4: The business lobbyist toolkit...................................................................................22Box 5: Dissenting voices within business ..........................................................................23Box 6: Key flaws with industry claims on the cost of regulation.........................................28Box 7: The benefits of UK environmental regulation .........................................................44Table 1: Dissent between CBI and members’ positions.......................................................17Table 2: CBI claims versus what actually happened ............................................................46Figure 1: CBI membership by industry sector compared to total private-sector workforce byindustry sector........................................................................................................145