ABSTRACT
The high standards of the Global Sullivan Principles (GSP) provide an important model for ethical behaviour of every corporation that operates worldwide. According to the Reverend Leon Sullivan, the aim of the GSP is to encourage companies to ‘support economic, social and political justice wherever they do business’. In 1999, Sullivan launched the GSP after consultation with companies and stakeholders. Several hundred companies around the world have adopted the GSP, including Avon, Chevron, Shell and The Coca-Cola Company. The GSP have also attracted a wide range of small and medium-sized companies in the USA, as well as universities and local governments. The distinguishing feature of the GSP is their aspirational element, which provides vision and leadership. Where some codes of conduct are thought to be too managerialist, the GSP provide a vision of companies as a force for the social justice.
