United Nations Global Compact and Global Reporting Initiative. Why Essay

United Nations Global Compact and Global Reporting Initiative. Why Corporate Social Responsibility Matters - Essay Example Investors in corporations are not held accountable for whatever wrong or right decisions the group as a whole would do, since their liability is limited to their investments. Thus, whether the corporation does more harm than good or not by the products that they sell, it can be sued by its own entity alone, but the owners and investors would not be affected under state laws. These corporations will continue to exist as long as the customers choose to patronize their products. But during the recent decades, there has been some changes happening to the structures of some corporations. Many start to fall if they didn’t give back to the people that help them get established. Also, doing harm just to gain profits becomes a bad norm, thus the creation of a system that would balance quality of life within owners and stakeholders of corporations as well as the people they serve. This method of doing business is called Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR. By the definition of Kotler and Lee (2005), â€Å"corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources.†... By the definition of Kotler and Lee (2005), â€Å"corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources.† They mentioned â€Å"discretionary† since it would still be the choice of corporations as to whether they will voluntarily commit to implement CSR in their business or not. A related term to CSR would be CSI, or corporate social initiatives. These are major activities undertaken by corporations to support social causes and to fulfil commitment to CSR (ibid.). With such ideals, it is portrayed that CSR would not only benefit the corporations, but also the government, its people and the environment. In this report, two examples of large groups that promote CSR around the world would be presented. First is the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and second is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Both groups believe that sustainability and development can be attained by having corporations to voluntarily have transparencies in their company regulations and business plans as well as the development of beneficiary communities through transactions that promote social empowerment. The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) The United Nations Global Compact or UNGC was launched in July 2000. It is the largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative in the world, with over 8,500 signatories in 135 countries. The primary goal of the UNGC is to advance two complementary objectives (UNGC, 2011): To mainstream the ten business principles in business activities around the world; and Catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) By