Rolling off more presses: reports on 'social responsibility'

Brengle: I think they're getting better. But a little context here; this is a new era for transparency. Ten years ago, most companies were not doing this. It's still a voluntary effort in most countries.

Brengle: Credibility buys you investment. Yes, there is a risk to be taken there. But companies like Shell are doing that. They're still profitable and they're still solvent.

Erikson: There's quite often a tension internally between folks who believe that the risks outweigh the benefits and the folks who believe that the benefits outweigh the risks. It's not one or the other. It's a combination of the two. And [the corporate social-responsibility report] is not the only source for investment decisions.... So just because you don't talk about it in the report doesn't mean that it doesn't exist [in other published reports].

Brengle: The actual lawsuit accused the company of false advertising – basically, saying that they were treating employees fairly when in fact there was plenty of documentation in news reports from overseas that factories that supplied Nike did not have very fair labor [practices]. And in fact there were many instances of human rights abuses.

Erikson: There was a concern that the court case would have a chilling effect on transparency. In fact, what's happened is that the courts have left it in a bit of limbo. And Nike has agreed to make some contributions and to get involved in improving labor practices overseas as part of the process. But there hasn't been a chilling effect. There hasn't been a rash of lawsuits. And I think a part of the reason for that is because companies are more careful about being able to back up what they say. And so, you can say [to companies]: You're not going to have a problem if you just tell the truth.

Brengle: A lot of that dynamic still remains. It's more of a hard sell to get a company that isn't a household name, that is more able to hide in the weeds, to produce a sophisticated and in-depth report because they don't have that public pressure.

Erikson: For the last eight years, in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Program, we've been conducting research that looks at 200 to 300 of the leading reports in the world. Interestingly, most of them are European. Out of the top 50, there's five that come from the US. Those five are Nike, Hewlett-Packard, Ford, GE, and the Gap. The leading companies in Europe ... are BT – British Telecom – and Cooperative Financial Services, a privately held bank.

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