Companies and their legal advisers should engage constructively with the United Nations (UN) in attempts to set global ethical business standards, rather than simply trying to kill off any proposals, a leading proponent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) said last week.

Sir Geoffrey Chandler, a former director of Shell International who for ten years was also chairman of the Amnesty International UK business group, criticised the negative approach taken by bodies such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to the UN's draft norms on business and human rights.


At its annual meeting in April, following sustained opposition from the ICC and others, the UN asked the High Commissioner for Human Rights to compile a report on initiatives on business responsibilities for human rights.


'Will we see lawyers as the bastions of an unsustainable present ... or can they be the architects of a viable business future?' Sir Geoffrey asked delegates at the Amsterdam conference (see ' In-house CSR should top firms' agendas, says Sieben ').


But Martin Mendelson QC, a tenant at Blackstone Chambers, criticised the drafting.

'My objection is not that there isn't a need for corporations to do better, but from a technical point of view it is a poor job.'