Law Commons^™

Trends In The Social [Ir]Responsibility Of American Multinational Corporations: Increased Power, Diminished Accountability, Cynthia A. Williams, John M. Conley

Fordham Environmental Law Review

The purpose of this invited essay is to assess the future of the CSR performance of American multinationals in light of several ongoing trends. These trends include companies’ voluntary CSR programs and the global self-regulatory standards for responsible company activities that are developing in almost every industry. Moreover, the decade-long project at the United Nations to identify multinational companies’ responsibilities with respect to international human rights, ultimately spearheaded by Special Representative John Ruggie, has for the first time established global expectations of responsible corporate activity. At the same time, however, legal developments in the United States may be trending in …