EMBARGOED 21st August 2006, London and Washington DC

AccountAbility Establishes Permanent North American Presence

AccountAbility, best known for its work on sustainability standards, stakeholder engagement and responsible competitiveness, is establishing a permanent presence in North America, based in Washington DC.

The venture will be led by newly-appointed Steve Rochlin, until recently Director of Research and Policy Development at the Centre for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College. Commenting on his new role:

“I’m thrilled to be joining AccountAbility – an organization that has established a premier reputation for thought and practice leadership among business, government, and NGOs. Our presence in Washington DC enables us to build upon AccountAbility’s growing work in North America. Our presence in North America will enhance what currently makes AccountAbility a global leader. Namely, AccountAbility’s innovations in accountability systems, tools, and standards that can be practically and effectively applied to drive sustainable development; and our international reach and convening power to bring together key players from business, civil society and governments to better understand and shape business strategy and public policy.”

Simon Zadek, AccountAbility’s Chief Executive, explained the thinking behind the establishment of the North American venture:

“Demands for greater accountability are challenging business, NGOs and governments. North America can take leadership in embracing innovations in accountability that support sustainable development. Our aim is to support these developments in North America, catalyzing innovations and linking it to international experience.”

AccountAbility’s mission is to promote accountability innovations that advance responsible business practices, and the broader accountability of civil society and public organizations.

Anwar Ibrahim, Honorary President of AccountAbility, and previously Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, summed up our mission in delivering the World Bank Presidential Fellows Lecture on June 19th, 2006:

“The world is awash with accountability. Yet some of our greatest achievements in civilising power are in decay. Our task must be to reinvent accountability for the 21st century. I hope in my role to contribute to AccountAbility’s continued leadership in furthering this agenda.”

AccountAbility’s innovations in sustainability standards, responsible competitiveness and stakeholder engagement have supported the development of responsible business practices. Headquartered in London, AccountAbility works globally, often with many members, partners and supporters across North America including Nike, Gap and Microsoft, the Maquila Solidarity Network, the World Bank and the United Nations, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Clinton Global Initiative and Harvard University.

Hannah Jones, Nike’s Vice President Corporate Responsibility:

“Nike’s evolution of a responsible approach to its practices has benefited from a decade’s engagement with AccountAbility’s thoughtful insights and practical tools and standards.”

Jane Nelson, Director of the CSR Initiative at Harvard’s Centre for Government and Business:

“Our research on the most effective partnership approaches to international development has benefited enormously from AccountAbility’s ground-breaking work on partnership governance and accountability.”

Nigel Twose, Manager of the World Bank’s Foreign Investment Advisory Services:

“AccountAbility’s leading edge work on responsible competitiveness has helped to shape our work in promoting national competitiveness by advancing responsible business practices.”

Paul Kapelus, CEO of the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship:

“AccountAbility’s presence in Washington provides a powerful voice and opportunity to promote accountability frameworks to government and corporate centres of power, and so enhancing their potential for contributing positively to international development.”

Bradley K. Googins, Executive Director, Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College said:
“Steve’s well-earned stature in the field led to this natural next step. He played an important role in helping The Center grow during his 11 years of service. We wish him great success in this new venture and expect to continue working with him and AccountAbility toward our shared objective of having a positive influence on the changing role of business in society.”

About AccountAbility:

AccountAbility is a non-profit, membership organization established in 1995 to promote accountability innovations that advance responsible business practices, and the broader accountability of civil society and public organizations.

Its 350 members include businesses, NGOs and research bodies, and elect our international Council, which includes representatives from Brazil, India, North America, Russia, South Africa and Europe.

AccountAbility’s leading-edge accountability innovations have included several ‘world first’s’: the AA1000 Series Sustainability Assurance and Stakeholder Engagement Standards, the partnership governance and accountability framework, the Responsible Competitiveness Index covering the links between responsible business practices and the competitiveness of over 80 countries, and, in collaboration with CSRNetwork, the Accountability Rating, of the world’s largest companies published annually with Fortune International.

AccountAbility is Convenor of the MFA Forum, an international alliance of business, international development agencies, NGOs and labour organizations working on the links between national competitiveness and labour standards in global supply chains.

AccountAbility and the Centre for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College are co-founders and convenors with IBM and GE of the Global Leadership Network, an international network of leading businesses committed to building alignments of corporate responsibility to business strategy by advancing joint learning and relevant analytic tools and benchmarking.

Media Enquiries:

Giulia Cosulich, AccountAbility, London
+ 44 (0) 20 7549 0400
giulia@accountability.org.uk

James Thellusson, Glasshouse Partnership, London
+ 44 (0) 20 7079 9212
JamesT@glasshousepartnership.com