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>>> Sustainable Governance; Global Environmental and Sustainability Politics at the Dawn of the 21st Century
>>> Sustainable Governance or the (Re-) Conquering of Politics
>>> Environment and the World Trade Organization
>>> Responsible Corporate Governance
Intoductory Literature
Deutscher Bundestag:
Schlussbericht der Enquete-Kommission "Globalisierung der Weltwirtschaft – Herausforderungen und Antworten".
BT-Drucksache 14/9200, Berlin: Deutscher Bundestag, 2002.
The report summarizes the current level of discussion of the central asspects of globalisation. It is based on a large number of expert's reports and positions which might not altogether be fully representative but non the less well-chosen. Including the topics of finance-, goods-, service- and labour markets, the global knowledge society, gender justice, resources, sustainable development, world population and global governance, it covers the main aspects of globalisation.
Kaul, Inge et al (eds.):
Providing Global Public Goods – Manging Globalization.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
The publication summarizes the discussion of global public goods, shows the diversity of the concept and tests its consistency on a range of policy fields.
Cavanagh, J., Mander, J. (eds.):
Alternatives to Economic Globalization. A Report of the International Forum on Globalization.
San Francisco: Barrett-Koehler, 2002.
The International Forum on Globalization (IFG) answers the question of "Which is the alternative?" that the movement for an alternative globalisation asks. Which are the visions that could possibly lead to a democratic globalisation, orientated towards fairness, justice and the environment? And which institutional changes are necessary in order to move towards a de-globalised world order, towards responsibility and accountability of companies, resource-saving economic practices, as well as towards a fair trade regime? Although the text cannot deny giving a certain impression of being "work in progress", it must be regarded as an indispensable guide to the intellectually orientated globalisation critique.
WBGU:
World in Transition 2. New Structures for Global Environmental Policy.
Download at http://www.wbgu.de/wbgu_download.html
The expert's report provides a good example for a concrete and far-reaching reform program of an Environmental Global Governance. The report suggests not only institutional reforms but also the improved integration of science into international political processes and a reform of the international financial and ordinary development assistance flows.
Malhotra, Kam:
Making Global Trade Work for People.
London: Earthscan, 2003.
Orientated towards the concept of "human development", Malhotra gives a non-technical overview to the conflicts, institutions and agreements of world trade. The author extensively analyses the strenghts and weaknesses of the different WTO agreements and and outlines some short- and long-term perspectives for possible reforms.
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Sustainable Governance: Global Environmental and Sustainability Politics at the Dawn of the 21st Century
Beck, Ulrich (Hrsg.):
Politik der Globalisierung.
Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1998.
The articles focusses on globalisation, the decline of the nation state and the democratic deficits within a transnational context.
Dahl, Robert A.:
A Democratic Dilemma: System Effectiveness versus Citizen Participation
In: Political Science Quaterly 109: 1, (1994), S. 23-34.
Dahl discusses the democratic deficit arising with the reduction of the political, economic, social, and cultural autonomy of nation states as caused by globalization.
Deutscher Bundestag:
Schlussbericht der Enquete-Kommission "Globalisierung der Weltwirtschaft – Herausforderungen und Antworten".
BT-Drucksache 14/9200, Berlin: Deutscher Bundestag, 2002.
The Enquete Commission's final report provides a good overview of the debate of "global governance" and makes proposals for possible solutions.
Keohane, R. / Levy, M. (eds.):
Institutions for Environmental Aid.
Cambridge, Mass. : The MIT Press, 1996.
The publication represents an approach of regime theory with a specific view of environmental problems. Specific attention is given to the effectiveness of institutions like the GEF, Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund and others.
Reinicke Wolfgang H.:
Global Public Policy. Governing without Government?
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 1998.
Reinecke analyses the role of global public policy networks in controlling globalization.
Wettestad, Jorgen (ed.):
Designing Effective Environmental Regimes. The Key Conditions.
Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 1999.
The articles focus on the impact and design of international environmental regimes. The authors address regimes from a conceptual and theoretical point of view as well as using comparative empirical evidence from issue areas such as global climate change, ozone layer depletion, acid rain and marine pollution.
Kaul, Inge et al. (eds.):
Global Public Goods. International Cooperation in the 21st Century.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Although there is a recent publication on Global Public Goods which Kaul has prominently shaped, this book may well be regarded as the one that has extensively grounded the topic and helped put it on the international agenda.
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Environment and the World Trade Organization
>>> Impact Assessments
>>> Environment and WTO
>>> Multilateral environmental agreements and the WTO
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Esty, Daniel C.:
Greening the GATT. Trade, Environment, and the Future.
Washington D.C.: DC: Institute for International Economics, 1994.
Esty was the first to offer a systematic survey on trade and environment. Still, it is one of the most important books concerning this topic.
Könz, Peider et al (eds.):
Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development. Views from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. A Reader.
Geneva: International Centre for Trade & Sustainable Development & UNU/IAS, 2000, S. 375-403.
This anthology presents a systematic approach to the WTO. It contains several essays about the relationship of the WTO to civil society and about multilateral environmental agreements as well as regional (Latin-America, Africa) and sectorial (agriculture, fisheries) approaches. All essays are written by authors from developing countries.
Nordström, Hakan; Vaughan, Scott:
Trade and Environment. WTO Special Studies No. 4.
Geneva: WTO, 1999.
This study was conducted by the WTO to present an overview of global environmental problems and the relationship between the environment and trade. The authors focus on questions of growth and environment as well as the WTO internal discussion of environmental measures. The annex contains some central WTO-documents.
Senti, Richard:
The Present Legal Basis of the World Trade System.
In: Wohlmeyer, Heinrich und Theodor Quendler (Hrsg.), The World Trade Organisation, Agriculture and Sustainable Development, Sheffield: Green Leaf Publishing, 2002.
This is a good introduction to the legal system of the WTO, its institutional setting and trade agreements. The chapter also highlights some of the main issues of trade and sustainable development.
United Nations Environment Programme, International Institute for Sustainable Development:
Environment and Trade - A Handbook.
Winnipeg,Canada: IISD, 2000.
This is a comprehensive overview of the relationship between environment and trade concerning economical, juridical, institutional and physical aspects. The main focus is on the WTO, but regional free trade agreements are discussed as well.
Arrow, Kenneth, u.a.:
Economic Growth, Carrying Capacity, and the Environment.
In: Ecolocigal Economics 15 (1995), 91-95.
Critical assessment of the Environmental Kuznet's Curve.
Moltke, Konrad von:
After Doha.
IISD Commentary, Januar 2002,
http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2002/trade_qatar_viewpoint5.pdf.
The author critically assesses the mandate of the Doha Declaration to negotiate environmental aspects in the next round.
Spangenberg, Joachim H.:
The Environmental Kuznet's Curve – a methodological artefact?
In: Population and Environment 23 (2001), 2, S. 175-191.
Critical assessment of the Environmental Kuznet's Curve.
Tarasofsky, Richard G.:
The WTO Committee on Trade and Environment. Is it making a difference?
In: von Bogdandy, Armin, Wolfrum, Rüdiger (eds.), Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations law, vol. 3. London: Kluwer Law International, 1999, S. 471- 488.
Summary of the CTE-discussions from 1994 – 1998. The author describes each issue in some detail followed by an assessment of the CTE as a whole.
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Impact Assessments
Moser, Susanne:
Impact Assessments and Decision-Making: How do We Connect the Two?
White paper prepared for the SLR impact assessmernt workshop in Charleston, SC, January 31 –February 3, 1999. Global Environmental Assessment Project, Environmental and natural Resources Program. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1999.
This Paper questions whether assessments can make any difference in decion-making at all. It argues that it is necassary to change the way of thinking about assessment processes, and that impact assessments, correctly used and conducted, can serve as a bridge between scientists and decision makers.
George, Clive / Nafti, Rachid / Curann, Johanna:
Capacity Building for Trade Impact Assessment: Lessons from the Development of Environmental Impact Assessment.
In: Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal 19 (2001), 4: S. 1-9.
This paper examines difficulties in creating capacity to undertake impact assessments of trade policy and possible approaches to overcoming them, particularly in developing countries. It especially focusses on the integration of the impact assessment process into policy- formulation and decision-making mechanisms. It reviews experiences made in accordance to Environmental Impact Assessments and considers how the lessons learned might be applied within initiatives to build capacity for the impact assessment of trade policy.
Kirckpatrick, Collin / Lee, Norman / Morrissey, Oliver:
WTO New Round. Sustainable Impact Assessment Study.
Phase One Report. IDPM.University of Manchester, 1999.
This paper describes an evaluation technique for the promotion of sustainable development in national and international policy-making, which is based on a programme of work being undertaken for the European Commission, to carry out Sustainability Impact Assessments of the current round of WTO Trade Negotiations.
Richardson, Sarah:
A "Critique" of the EC's WTO Sustainability Impact Assessment Study and Recommendations for Phase III.
IDPM.University of Manchester, March 2000.
This paper summarises comments and critique on the Sustainability Impact Assessment as it has been developed for the consideration of sustainability Aspects in WTO Trade Negotiations. Comments have been structured around four key components of assessments:
(i) Scope and structure (ii) Timing (iii) Sustainability Indicators (iv) Policy Measures.
Verheem, R.A.A./ Tonk, J.A.M.N.:
Strategic Environmental Assessment: One Concept Multiple Forms.
In: Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal 18 (2000), 3: 177-182.
Brown, A.L. / Thérivel, Riki:
Principles to guide the development of strategic environmental assessment methodology.
In: Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal 18 (2000), 3: 183-189.
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Multilateral environmental agreements and WTO
Biermann, Frank:
Internationale Umweltverträge im Welthandelsrecht.
WZB Discussion Paper FS II 99-403. Berlin: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, 1999.
Biermann divides multilateral environmental agreements into two different groups regarding their status of international law. He analyses possible conflicts, outlines several solutions and discusses their potential for political realization.
Moltke, Konrad von:
Whither MEAs? The Role of International Environmental Management in the Trade and Environment Agenda.
Winnipeg, Canada: IISD, 2001.
Analysis of the relationship between Multilateral Environmental Agreements and the WTO.
Neumayer, Eric:
Trade Measures in Multilateral Environmental Agreements and WTO Rules: Potential for Conflict, Scope for Reconciliation.
In: Aussenwirtschaft, 55 (2000), 3, S. 403-426.
and
Yu, Vice:
Discussion Paper on the World Trade Organization and Multilateral Environmental Agreements.
Discussion paper, Geneva, March 2002.
Both Neumayer and Yu provide an in-depth analysis of potential conflicts of important multilateral environmental agreements and the WTO. They also point out which environmental agreements are more likely to come in political and juridical conflict than others.
Wofford, Carrie:
A greener future at the WTO. The refinement of WTO jurisprudence on environmental exceptions to GATT; in: Harvard Environmental Law Review, 24 (2000), 2, S. 563-592.
Wofford studied the latest lawsuits in the WTO and analyses the dispute settlement process. She found out that there has been a certain change in the jurisdiction since the foundation of the WTO.
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Responsible Corporate Governance
>>> Resposibility and NGOs
>>> Financial Markets and Sustainability
>>> Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Citizenship
Responsibility and NGOs
Cavanagh, J. and Mander, J. (eds):
Alternatives to Economic Globalisation. A Better World is Possible. A Report of the International Forum on Globalisation.
San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002.
Members of the International Forum on Globalisation state their propositions for alternative systems, which would be tagged by them to be much more responsible and sustainableand aimed against the consequences of corporate globalisation. Specifically, the chapter on "Corporate Structure and Power" provides a spectrum of actions that might be taken to attempt to control corporate behaviour and change many structural elements, emphasizing size, ownership and accountability. Suggested infrastructure changes point at rearrangements of macro level institutions, which would then have implications on the corporations. However, the reader shall not expect a well-thought road map, which would come over the difficulties of realizing suggested changes, which would require considerable amount of time and global collective effort.
Friends of the Earth International:
Towards Binding Corporate Accountability - FoEI position paper for the WSSD 2002.
Available online at
http://www.foei.org/corporates/towards.html
This briefing is the position paper of the Friends of the Earth (FOE) for the WSSD introducing a legally binding framework for corporate accountability and liability going beyond voluntary corporate responsibility initiatives. This reading is compelling in order to get an insight about the macro-level top-down NGO position on "corporate accountability".
Friends of the Earth (FOE):
Failing the Challenge – The Other Shell Report 2002, 2003.
This report is a stakeholder statement by Friends of the Earth (FOE) on the activities of a multinational company, Shell. Following their international position, FOE’s main argument is that local communities shall be allowed to hold corporations accountable for their impacts on people and the environment. The report lucratively demonstrates problems of social and environmental accountability through seven cases in which local NGOs were actively involved; however, a proposition for a concrete follow-up action plan in order to address such problems is still to be anticipated.
Greenpeace International:
Corporate Crimes - The need for an international instrument on corporate accountability and liability, 2002.
Available online at
http://www.greenpeace.it/inquinamento/corporatecrimes.pdf
International Federation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU):
A Trade Union Guide to Globalisation.
Brussels: ICFTU, 2002.
Aimed at trade union leaders and members, "The Guide to Globalisation" gives a tour of the wide array of new approaches in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility from international agreements to concerns of major investors. Illustrations of ways in which unions are working together to establish a framework for social justice in international economic relations are provided.
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Financial Markets and Sustainability
Forum for the Future:
Sustainability Pays, 2002.
The document gives an overview of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) focusing on three main pillars, namely ethical investing, positive screening and shareholder engagement. The business case for SRI is discussed as well as shareholder engagement case studies of companies in the UK are presented and analysed in terms of their effectiveness, i.e. how to create impact on corporate action.
Jeucken, M.:
Sustainable Finance and Banking – the Financial Sector and the Future of the Planet.
London: Earthscan, 2001.
This book is a valuable source for grasping the possible role of the banking sector in sustainable development. It updates the reader on the current sustainability initiatives within the financial markets and discusses the business case for them listing down best case applications.
UNEP (ed.):
Industry as a partner for Sustainable Development: Finance and Insurance - UNEP's Finance Industry Initiatives.
Paris: UNEP, 2002.
The document provides a range of suggestions seeking an answer to the question of "How can world financial institutions, international capital markets and supporting national and regional components of the world's financial architecture be motivated to find workable sustainability solutions?". Chapters of the paper present actions taken by the asset management, the insurance and the lending sectors.
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Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Citizenship
OECD (ed):
Corporate Social Responsibility - Partners for Progress.
Paris: OECD Publications, 2001.
These are the proceedings of the roundtable conference "Partners for Progress - Towards a New Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility" jointly organized by the OECD LEED Programme and the Philip Morris Institute. The book provides a good overview on the CSR debate making references to regional perspectives, the business case for SMEs, set up of partnerships and the financial sector's contribution.
Starkey, R. and Welford, R. (eds.):
The Earthscan Reader in Business and Sustainable Development.
London: Earthscan, 2001.
This is a collection of milestone readings in the discussion of the role of business in sustainable development. It starts with Stuart L. Hart's "Beyond Greening" and further complies articles by Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Forest Reinhardt, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins. The book also reflects the recent debate on sustainable consumption and implications for business via an article by Nick Robins and Sarah Roberts.
Swift, T.; Zadek, S.:
Corporate Responsibility and the Competitive Advantage of Nations.
Copenhagen: Copenhagen Centre and Accountability, 2002.
Swift and Zadek reflect their views on the CSR development, which they see as a response to the imbalances resulting from the acceleration of the globalisation process. They list down the elements of CSR, policy challenges, generations of CSR and implications of CSR for nation’s economic competitiveness.
Turnbull, S.:
A New Way to Govern – Organisations and society after Enron.
London: New Economics Foundation, 2002.
Turnbull argues that the recent corporate accountability crisis signals a wider crisis in corporate governance. He suggests that "network governance", which would decentralize decision-making and involve stakeholders in self-regulation, could humanise globalisation and make organisations of all sorts genuinely accountable.
Utting, P.:
Business Responsibility for Sustainable Development.
Geneva Occasional Paper No. 2. Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), 2000.
Peter Utting makes a good demonstration of both sides of the CSR coin by assessing the current state of the play. He discusses the shortcomings with the scale of change, the Northern nature of codes of conduct and the high degree of "public relations" involvement as opposed to requirements for significant changes in the social and environmental impact of a company’s activities. At the end of the paper, suggestions for strengthening voluntary initiatives and partnerships are listed.
Waddock, S.; Bodwell, C.:
From TQM to TRM. Total Responsibility Management Approaches.
In: Journal of Corporate Citizenship 7 (2002), 3, S. 113-126.
In this article, Waddoock and Bodwell outline a Total Responsibility Management approach for companies to manage the ever-increasing demands and complexities in the business environment. They identify three major elements, namely (1) inspiration or vision setting and leadership systems, (2) integration of responsibility management into strategies and (3) innovation and improvement, including assessment and measures and learning systems. Even though a concrete picture is not drawn, systematic thinking is the strength of the paper.
Warhust, A.:
Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Social Investment – Drivers of Tri-Sector Partnerships.
In: Journal of Corporate Citizenship. 1 (2001), 1, S. 39-55.
Warhust draws on the current business practices in terms of the global drivers for tri-sector partnerships and case-specific drivers of tri-sector partnerships across oil, gas and mining sectors. The paper is valuable in terms of understanding the trends for partnerships, which is an instrument to manage the environmental, social and economic impacts of corporations. It draws the conclusion that there is a need for sustainability performance indicators and tri-sector partnership models to effectively reach sustainable development goals.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD):
Corporate Social Responsibility: Making Good Business Sense.
Geneva: WBCSD, 2000.
This is a report by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development reflecting the results of their finding from a two-year program aimed at providing a better understanding of what CSR means and what represents good practice. In the last part of their report, they offer a navigator to guide companies in their implementation of CSR. Explaining the navigator, some CSR performance indicators are also suggested.
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