Many have commented on the role lobbying plays in society and the need for lobbying to be done responsibly. These are some of our favourite quotes.
WHAT THEY SAY
“Business must restrain itself from taking away, by its lobbying activities, what it offers through corporate responsibility and philanthropy.”
“We still see a widespread disconnect between businesses’ aspirations towards responsible corporate citizenship and their own lobbying efforts. It is precisely this lack of consistency that can undermine the credibility of corporate responsibility and diminish its benefits.”
“Lobbyists are often tasked with representing the interests of their employers or clients without considering the consequences for the environment and the health and safety of the public.”
“Conducted in the right way, and for the right reasons, corporate political activity can be positive; however when corporate resources are deployed to seek political influence there is also potential for abuse. …… Consequently, it is a matter of good corporate governance for companies to ensure that any political involvement is both legitimate and transparent, and that companies and their boards are held properly to account for their political activities.”
“The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order … comes from an order of men, whose interest is never exactly the same with that of the public, who generally have an interest to deceive and even oppress the public, and who accordingly have, upon many occasions, both deceived and oppressed it.”
“If you aren’t at the table, you’re probably on the menu.”
“Whether it is by consumers, investors or other businesses, companies are being tasked to disclose more about how they go about their business. As companies navigate their role in creating a resilient and sustainable world, responsible and transparent lobbying is vital. Lobbying is an essential part of any democracy, but without transparency over who is lobbying for what, public trust is undermined and there is a much greater risk that important decisions are taken to benefit private interests rather than the common good. Our report, Open Business, provides guidance for companies on how to be more transparent across a range of anti-corruption themes including corporate lobbying. We welcome the Responsible Lobbying Framework as a practical tool to help companies delve deeper and improve their standards in this vital area.”
SUPPORTERS
All of the organisations below support the Responsible Lobbying Framework; they either intend to use it themselves or encourage others to use it to assess their lobbying practices.
ShareAction
As an organisation that works to reform the financial system and business practices to deliver positive environmental and social change, we believe that good governance, accountability and transparency are critical to that mission. We therefore strongly welcome the Responsible Lobbying Framework as a tool that investors and civil society can use to press companies to devote their substantial lobbying power to supporting laws, regulations and standards that deliver a sustainable and just future.
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
We strongly welcome the development of the Responsible Lobbying Framework and will share with our members. It will facilitate a consistent approach to this important topic and provide a basis for comparing companies’ performance and measuring their progress towards more responsible lobbying.
Access To Nutrition Initiative (ATNI)
Since inception in 2013, the Access to Nutrition Indexes have assessed food and beverage manufacturers’ policies, practices and disclosure on lobbying. We believe this is an important topic and one that many stakeholders, particularly investors, are paying increasing attention to. We strongly welcome the development of the Responsible Lobbying Framework. We envisage being able to use it for our Index methodology and other accountability tools to assess, for example, the commitments, management systems and transparency of major baby food companies in this area.
Feed the Truth
Corporations and their industry associations exert enormous political influence which they use to advance their interests, often to the detriment of consumers, workers, public health and the environment. This influence is often unseen and obscured, and creates an imbalance of power between industry actors and those who serve the public interest. As governments throughout the world grapple with major economic and social upheavals and a global environmental crisis, the need for transparency and accountability around corporate lobbying has never been greater. This framework for responsible lobbying provides a first-of-its-kind roadmap for companies interested in doing right by their shareholders and stakeholders.