Corporate Social Responsibility and Conflict Areas: SodaStream a Case Study
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2023-05-29
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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to review and compare international Corporate Social Responsibility standards through the case study of SodaStream. There are three main international organizations that are compared; the United Nations' "Guiding Principles on business and Human Rights"; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development "Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct" and World Trade Organization's regional trade agreements. The main critique for these guidelines is that they are voluntary for both states and their corporations that operate outside their jurisdiction. I examine the case study of SodaStream because the Israeli company operated in West Bank, in internationally recognized illegal Israeli settlements. The company claimed that it was operating out of West Bank as a means to economic cooperation of the region and provide well paid employment to Palestinians. However, the company faced backlash from the international community due to claims that SodaStream was not treating employees fairly and that the company was detrimental to the establishment of a two-state solution. International standards and reporting of corporate social responsibility could play an important role in examining the impact that the behaviour of SodaStream had on the region. This paper lists four recommendations to for the international community to consider: 1. Increase publicly available research on the impact of corporations and corporate social responsibility in conflict regions 2. Develop more specific and standardized corporate social responsibility indicators 3. Establish Funding requirements returned to the community 4. Create more legally binding corporate social responsibility provision through trade agreements.
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Suchotzky, S. (2023). Corporate Social Responsibility and Conflict Areas: SodaStream a Case Study (Unpublished master's project). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.