Komatsu Ltd. last month became a participant of the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary corporate citizenship initiative comprised of 10 Principles in areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.
The initiative was proposed in 1999 by the seventh UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in an address to The World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.
Under the conviction that businesses around the world must work together as global citizens in order to provide solutions to issues such as environmental destruction and poverty in an increasingly globalizing market, more than 6,200 participants worldwide have joined the Global Compact.
The 10 Principles are:
Human Rights
• Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
• Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Labor Standards
• Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
• Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor;
• Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labor; and
• Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environment
• Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
• Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
• Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Anti-Corruption
• Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
According to Komatsu, the 10 Principles above overlap with the contents of its Code of Conduct which management and employees of the Komatsu Group already function under. Komatsu will continue to operate under its Code of Conduct as well as implement The Ten Principles of The Global Compact in its business and operations.
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