With others, however, there is a danger that as consumers we may overlook and fail to support genuine initiatives in a determination not to be outwitted by the more cynical side of corporate Public Relations. This is a problem both for companies and campaigners. Although it will be a while before independent audits appear in a form which will satisfy all the major players, campaign groups and large accountancy firms are already putting teams together to take the first few steps. The speed at which all these new developments are taking place is encouraging. But corporate-responsibility campaigners and ethical consumers are only beginning to skim the surface.
Much global business remains mercilessly unethical at heart.
In the past year, for example, we have been made aware of the links between the horrific human-rights abuses of military governments in Burma, Nigeria and Colombia and the oil companies Total, Shell and BP, respectively. Taking ethics to the heart of the global economy is an enormous task. Its sheer scale means that it is important at this stage not to be distracted by companies making misleading ethical claims. For example, general claims such as 'environmentally friendly' and 'this company always operates with respect for human rights' are far less likely to be honest than a specific, verifiable claim such as 'made without CFCs'. A far greater problem is the attitude of many millions of companies who have yet even to acknowledge that it is their responsibility to be addressing ethical issues at all.