*{Good business conduct is good for business (07-05-2002) [http://www.iccwbo.org/home/denver/denver_rep/corpresp.asp]}

Meeting society's expectations for environmental and social responsibility in business behaviour is an increasingly important part of companies' commercial role. This was one of the main conclusions of a session on    responsible business conduct during which speakers agreed that good business conduct is good for business. 

The session chairman, Rahmi M. Koç, a former ICC President and Chairman of Koç Holding, Turkey, said the concept itself was wide open to interpretation - and much easier to follow in industrialized countries with a strong legal framework than in some parts of the developing world. 

Anthony Ruys, Chairman of Heineken NV, Netherlands, posed a practical dilemma: What does a hypothetical bottling plant in a developing country do when a machine breaks down, bringing production to a standstill and making several hundred employees idle? Getting the replacement through customs is going to require a "facilitation payment" Should the company take an ethical stand and refuse, or should it pay the bribe to stay in business and keep its workers occupied?

Philip Watts, Chairman, Royal Dutch/Shell, said approaches to responsible business conducts should differ, depending a companies' circumstances. No one size should fit all. Responsible business would create its own values and principles, and find the most effective ways to embed them in the company's culture. "It's behaviour that counts, not codes," said Mr Watts.

Baron Paul de Meester, President and Chairman, Société Belge des Bétons, Belgium, said that the issues should not merely be what society should expect from business, but also what business should expect from society. "If we insist on high ethical standards ourselves, we can ask for the same ethical standards from our partners."

Discussing the impact of corporate social responsibility, Jacob Wallenberg, Chairman, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, Sweden, quoted a survey that showed that 50% of customers considered the social behaviour of the companies they buy from, while one person in three had boycotted a product or company.

Mr Wallenberg said that in communicating a company's sense of responsibility, emphasis should be placed on the traditional business values of trust, competence and integrity.

ICC issued a paper at the beginning of the session proposing nine practical steps for companies in making responsible business conduct a management priority. The paper noted: "An increasing number of companies view corporate responsibility as integral to their systems of governance."

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