All three are relevant to business. They are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labor Office's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and the Rio Declaration on Sustainable Development. Senior corporate executives noted with satisfaction that Kofi Annan made no vague call to companies to take on unlimited responsibilities to solve the world's problems, but that the appeal was realistically focused on the private sector's own sphere of influence. Throughout his address, the UN Secretary General made clear that he was asking companies to promote these values in their own corporate sphere. There is an added dimension, of course.
Business creates wealth.
Jobs and living standards depend on companies' success in the market place. Robust economic growth and expanding trade and investment will create the conditions in which the UN's ideals can best be fulfilled. Poverty is the enemy of human rights, of decent labour standards, and of progress in environmental protection. That is why business places a fourth value alongside the three cited by Mr Annan - the economic responsibility of any company to its customers, to its employees and to its shareholders. That fourth value is indispensable, for unless a company can make a profit it cannot remain in business, and therefore cannot contribute to the other three.