Case Story Details

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Organization Name

Westpac Banking Corporation

Case Story Title

Compact Learning Forum Business Case Study - Westpac Banking Corporation

Case Story Date

2006/01/16

Issues Addressed

• Principle 1 - Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights
• Principle 2 - Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses
• Principle 3 - Businesses should uphold freedom of association & effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
• Principle 4 - The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour
• Principle 5 - The effective abolition of child labour
• Principle 6 - Eliminate discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
• Principle 7 - Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges
• Principle 8 - Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility
• Principle 9 - Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies
• Principle 10 - Businesses should work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery.

Case Story Category

Partnership Project

Countries of Impact

Australia

Case Description

This business case study presents an analysis of the journey towards global corporate citizenship at Westpac Banking Corporation. Westpac joined the Global Compact in January 2002 when it had already been on this journey for five years, following a tumultuous period in Australian banking. This study examines the internalisation of the Global Compact principles at Westpac by focusing on the catalysts for the journey both before and since joining the Global Compact. It then focuses on how Westpac has responded to the first of the Global Compact’s principles, that businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights. In doing so, this case study responds to the implicit challenge of a recent evaluation of the Global Compact’s impact (McKinsey&Company, 2004) that found some OECD country participants find “formal consideration of human rights policies are relatively novel” (p.7). The case study explores the question, “How does Westpac learn about human rights?” through examining a unique partnership with indigenous communities in Cape York, the north-east tip of Australia. The case study aims through this analysis to understand how a company in a country with a strong rule of law and social safety nets can interpret and apply the Global Compact’s core values in the area of human rights.

File

• Case Story Attachment (pdf)

Authors

Dr Leeora Black, Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility

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Contact Person

None

Note: Responsibility for the content of Case Stories and any other public communication related to the Global Compact principles and their implementation lies with participants themselves and not with the UN Global Compact Office.