SUBMISSION TO LOCAL NETWORK

A. HISTER CADBURY AUSTRALIA HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS 04/09/2010

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CONTENTS

OUR MISSION.........................................................................4 RECOMMENDATION I.............................................................5 RECOMMENDATION II............................................................6 RECOMMENDATION III...........................................................7 5 BENEFITS FOR LOCAL NETWORK MEMBERS.........................8 5 BENEFITS FOR KEY STAKEHOLDERS......................................9 CHALLENGES AND RISKS........................................................10 WHY IT WILL WORK..............................................................10 REFERENCES..........................................................................11

OUR MISSION
Cadbury means quality; this is our promise. Our reputation is built upon quality; our commitment to continuous improvement will ensure that our promise is delivered.
This statement not only applies to our products but extends into our responsibility to secure the quality of life for those affected by Cadbury. For nearly 200 years, we at Cadbury have prided ourselves on our corporate citizenship and feel it is what makes us stand out from the over saturated business market. This submission hopes to continue our ongoing commitment towards an improved global community by engaging other corporations to follow in our footsteps and also learn from our mistakes. In this proposal we intend to address two of the ten principles of the UN Global Contract:

PRINCIPLE 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally protected human rights. PRINCIPLE 8: Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.
In order to uphold these principles we believe the following steps need to be taken: The introduction of policies which further investigate the impact of corporations at all levels of their supply chain Education programmes established between third world producers and manufacturers The creation of a specialised committee to ensure that companies are held accountable for all environmental damage they have contributed to.

RECOMMENDATION I
CORPORATE POLICIES BE IMPLEMENTED TO INCREASE AWARENESS THROUGHOUT SUPPLY CHAINS AND INVESTIGATE THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS
IMPLEMENTATION Our experience in West Africa has shown how negligence within a supply chain can lead to the abuse of human rights. We encourage other multinational corporations to learn from our mistakes and adopt policies that ensure business managers are fully aware of all human rights issues that may be encountered during any stage of production. By introducing policies that further investigate the impact of corporate decisions on the wider community it becomes harder for private corporations to turn a blind eye to third party human rights abuse. This in turn encourages responsible corporate governance allowing businesses to support Principle 1 of the UN Global Contract.

A primary stakeholder affected in Cadburys supply chain (Cocoa Campaign) 4

RECOMMENDATION II
BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS BE ESTABLISHED AND EMBEDDED IN ALL TRADE AGREEMENTS

IMPLEMENTATION Although we have found that our current agreement with Fairtrade has improved the quality of life for our primary stakeholders in Western Africa, we believe that this agreement can be improved. By establishing a regulatory body in conjunction with local foreign communitys we can ensure that only suppliers who adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be eligible for compensation. As stated in Article 26 of the declaration (Universal Declaration of Human Rights n.d.), this includes the right to education and any suppliers found denying any persons of an education will become ineligible for any price floor agreement. Education is integral in breaking the viscous cycle of human rights abuse and therefore it is important that basic education requirements are developed and agreed upon to implement in community development programmes.

Secondary stakeholders, a local community in Ghana (African School) 5

RECOMMENDATION III
A SPECIALISED REGULATORY BODY ESTABLISHED TO ENSURE PRIVATE CORPORATIONS ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

IMPLENTATION To minimise the impact corporations have through agricultural endeavours, we propose that permits which can be bought and sold domestically entitling the holder to use specified areas of land for specified agricultural purposes need to be created. Through co-operation between the UN and local governments, the amount of permits for each country can be globally agreed upon and handed out, similar to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS n.d.). Not only will this help contain deforestation but will also limit the amount of negative agricultural harvests present. This will in turn increase the price of such produce and make it a less attractive alternative for manufacturers, as we found with palm oil.

Palm Oil plantation in Indonesia (Indonesia Fastest Forest Destroyer) 6

5 BENEFITS FOR LOCAL NETWORK MEMBERS

1. POSITIVE PUBLICITY
Local Members will be seen as taking a proactive approach to social issues.

2. IMPROVED COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Improved relationships with local communitys supports future endeavours within that region.

3. SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS OPERATIONS

By bettering the local environments and communities where currently operating, corporations are investing into the foundations of a sustainable business.

4. PUBLIC IMAGE
By paying more attention to the issues at hand members will be seen as good corporate citizens.

5. INCREASED CONSUMER MARKET

Members can capitalise on being a green company and appeal to a wider range of consumers.

5 BENEFITS FOR KEY STAKEHOLDERS

1. LOWER POWER DISTANCE
Secondary stakeholders such as WWF will have a lower power distance between themselves and private corporations.

2. GREATER QUALITY OF LIFE

Communities which aid local network members will experience a better quality of life.

3. INCREASED LIVELIHOOD
Increased opportunities for sustainable jobs.

4. INDEPENDANCE
Communities will be better educated and will not rely solely on agricultural activities.

5. SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
Communities will benefit from a sustainable environment and in turn livelihood.

CHALLENGES AND RISKS

As of current times there is a great power distance between multi-national corporations and developing countries and communities. For this reason a third party regulatory body needs to be formed to provide an unbiased decision making framework. As some corporations seem to have an almost limitless financial supply, penalties which extend beyond economic disincentives need to be enforced, by international courts, upon private corporations. This could take the form of name and shame publications or sanction s against businesses which do not show adequate corporate social responsiveness. Private businesses will initially have a higher expenditure but this can be seen as an investment into a sustainable future. The risk to corporations who do not join are maximised by those who do.

WHY IT WILL WORK

BOTH COMMUNITIES AND PRIVATE CORPORATIONS HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN EACH OTHERS PARTICIPATION
The above issues not only relate to Cadbury but widely express community values across the globe. By endeavouring to create a symbiotic relationship between communities and corporations, where both parties benefit from the others involvement, the interests and values of either can be addressed responsibly and with due diligence. We hope that this proposal will be carefully analysed and hope to receive a draft of actions from Local Network Members in the near future. Yours sincerely,

A. HISTER
A. Hister Cadbury Head of Communications 9

REFERENCES
African School. Image. 2005. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/ 2005/05_may/26/africa_four.shtml (accessed September 28, 2010)

Cocoa Campaign. Image. n.d. http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/cocoa-campaign (accessed September 28, 2010)

CPRS. n.d. http://www.climatechange.gov.au/government/initiatives/cprs.aspx (accessed September 29, 2010)

Indonesia Fastest Forest Destroyer. Image. n.d. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/ 05/indonesia_faste.php (accessed September 29, 2010)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights. n.d. http://www.un.org/en/documents/ udhr/index.shtml (accessed September 28, 2010)

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