Our work
What CORE does
We put pressure on the UK Government to take action to minimise the negative human rights and environmental impacts of UK-based companies and to ensure access to justice for people harmed by corporate malpractice. We go beyond naming and shaming to come up with innovative policy proposals to reshape corporate culture in a lasting way.
We are calling for a UK Commission on Business, Human Rights and the Environment to set standards for UK companies operating abroad, and to offer a forum where allegations of harm can be investigated and remedied appropriately, as an alternative to legal action. Read more about this campaign
We want the laws that oblige companies to report on their social and environmental matters to be clarified and properly enforced, to make businesses more transparent and accountable for their impacts.
How we work
- Lobbying and political influencing – CORE provides regular briefings to parliamentarians and policy makers, coordinates joint responses to Government consultations and proposes amendments to legislation to strengthen corporate accountability. In parliament, we work closely with the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Corporate Accountability.
- Research and policy development – CORE has produced reports on company reporting, the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises and the governance gaps which make it virtually impossible for companies to be held to account for human rights and environmental abuses. Along with the University of Essex, CORE is a partner in a major three-year research project led by Melbourne University looking at non-judicial redress mechanisms.
- Media work – we raise the profile of corporate accountability issues and put pressure on politicians to act.
- Networking – we bring together organisations to co-ordinate lobbying and public campaigning activities.
- Influence international debates on corporate accountability – CORE is an active member of the European Coalition on Corporate Justice (ECCJ) and has close links with the U.S.-based International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR).
Our successes
CORE’s campaigning was instrumental in creating the legal requirement included in the Companies Act 2006, for company directors to consider the impacts of business operations on the community and the environment. This was the first time a piece of legislation included such a requirement. Read more about this campaign
We have monitored the implementation of the Companies Act, showing how failure to properly implement the new law has stalled progress on corporate accountability and transparency. CORE’s concerns led the coalition Government to review the company reporting requirements included in the Act.
CORE has secured a commitment from the UK Government to implement the UN Framework and Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the authoritative global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of human rights abuses linked to business activity.
Our lobbying for amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill to protect access to justice for overseas victims of UK-based corporate abuse generated a groundswell of parliamentary support.