06-07-2007
Britain is 5th most responsibly competitive nation
A recent survey by AccountAbility (a social and ethical research institute based in London) and the Brazilian business school Fundação Dom Cabral, has named the UK in fifth place in the responsible competitiveness index, behind Sweden (1), Denmark, Finland & Iceland.
The index defines responsible competitiveness as markets that reward business for strategies that take account of social, economic and environmental impacts. It ranks the progress of 108 countries using indicators such as government policy, business behaviour in governance, environmental practices and broader social and political events.
Alex Macgillivray, head of programmes at AccountAbility, said Britain scored highly because it has signed up to relevant international treaties such as Kyoto and it adheres to labour rights. British consumers also pushed companies to behave responsibly.
“Britain is a world leader when it comes to coalitions between NGOs and industry,” he said. “And it has very demanding consumers.”
The area where Britain scored less well is in the lack of social and environmental awareness among small and medium sized businesses on issues such as energy efficiency and recycling.
Although many countries may not deem this index worthwhile, it shows an increasing need for all nations, but particularly those with growing economies, to pay more attention to responsible business practices.
Unfettered growth in emerging economies that doesn’t take into account social and environmental implications has it’s drawbacks. China is discovering this first hand as they admitted this week that around a 5th of the domestic products their food safety watchdog inspects fail to reach minimum standards. There are growing concerns over the safety of its exports.
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