Accountability, profitability or morality - what's driving corporate responsibility?

摘要

While some went willingly, others were dragged kicking and screaming, but most mining companies have now arrived at a place where they recognise their responsibilities as good corporate citizens according to Professor David Brereton, director of the Queensland University's Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining. Denice Rice spoke with Professor Brereton about what factors are driving that recognition and how mining companies are putting the message into action.Probably more than any other corporate sector, mining has never enjoyed "good press".Many in the industry feel media focus shifts systematically between tales of environmental disaster, corporate greed and human rights abuse, with never a mention of the good deeds performed by many mining companies.In an age when social media and information technology can put the activities of miners in the laps of the masses in minutes, the pressure to "do the right thing" has never been greater.Professor Brereton says that while there is a clear business case for mining companies to be good corporate citizens and to act in a socially and morally responsible way, there are other drivers.