Compliance of Businesses with the Principles of United Nations Global Essay - 1

Compliance of Businesses with the Principles of United Nations Global Compact - Essay Example Alcoa Inc., being an international organization with 31 headquarters all over the world and working in all the major aspects of its industry (developing technology, performing mining, refining, smelting, fabricating, and recycling of aluminum), believes it has enough expertise and experience for making recommendations to the Australasian Local Network. Furthermore, these particular principles are a basis of our Vision & Values statement, which makes us responsible for protecting and promoting â€Å"the health and well-being of the individual and the environment† (Vision & Values 2011). Alcoa Foundation, one of the largest corporate foundations in the U.S., is an outstanding project of our company, the activities of which are aimed at supporting our host communities worldwide (Alcoa Foundation 2011). The organization works as an independent foundation for addressing both global and local challenges of the communities. These activities are consistent with the vision and mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of supporting â€Å"economic and social well-being of people around the world† (OECD 2011), and of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in regards to â€Å"promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights† (ILO 2011). Therefore, on the basis of our experience working towards the outlined above principles, we would like to propose the following recommendations: 1. Design, implement and control the fulfillment of a statement of protecting human rights in all the communities the company operates in (Global Compact Principle One 2011). Benefits & Implications: The company’s vision regarding human rights protection is clearly outlined and, thus, it is easier to develop corresponding structures and policies Communities differ and, therefore, some general and universal principles should be outlined in the statement instead of those to which a particular l ocal community is accustomed. A unified statement, being fulfilled, will not only promote human rights protection within the community but will also help to educated communities on what they should claim from organizations in terms of respecting and supporting people’s rights. Lessons Learnt The statement of protecting human rights of Alcoa Inc. now includes only the points regarding paying employees guaranteed minimum wages and prohibiting slavery (Health 2011), and we are working on improving this aspect. This shortcoming of ours has caused many problems in the past – we have even been blamed for putting corporate interests above the interests of people, governments or the planet. There, however, already exist good examples: the Human Rights Policy Statement of Continental Airlines, for instance, deals with such issues as ethical business conduct, as well as protection of the rights of co-workers and children (Continental Airlines, Inc. 2011).