1.1.2 Globalisation as a societal phenomenon and its consequences

Economic globalisation has made some believe that the Earth is flat, meaning that through economic development we all want the same and follow the same path.1 History has been there before. Gray disputed the reflections of Friedman and brought his readers back to the scientific notion that the world is round.2 Indeed, except for the fact that Coca-Cola and Shell products are available nearly everywhere, and that aircraft bring us around the globe in a night and a day, local economies and cultures are still very different. Islamic bankers make different calculations than Western bankers due to different underlying values, Chinese businessmen attach other values to written contracts than American businessmen. Local education varies greatly as is the level on which people resort to corruption.3 Environmental ethics and social legal standards diverge enormously and so do doctors' and religious' prescriptions.

As pointed out above, the Internet is one of the key factors through which economic globalisation took place at an ever increasing speed because it connects people on a global scale. However, it has also created global transparency regarding government and corporate conduct. It made visible that standards and norms vary, e.g. that the salary level of a Dutch employee differs substantially from that of a Vietnamese employee. Undeniably, differences in the cost of labour have always been one of the very reasons for outsourcing production. To a certain extent these differences can be explained by pointing to the fact that also the cost of living differs greatly. Nonetheless, the international emailing societies incubated by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have made it clear that - besides paying different levels of salaries - MNCs also apply different standards in respect of personnel safety measures, environmental precautionary standards and the compliance with law including anti-corruption laws.4 The dissemination of this type of information produced quite some turbulence among consumers in Western markets. Through signing campaigns petitions and boycotting certain products, consumers have made it clear that they want their favourite brands to behave

'well'.5

Not only did NGOs circulate information about social wrong doings, they also engaged with companies. Firstly, to denounce abuses in an anecdotal way, later to collaborate with the corporate sector in order to find structural solutions.6 This has led to the emergence of the terms 'stakeholder management' and ' multi-stakeholder initiatives' (MSIs). Companies have been challenged to take into consideration not only the concerns of in-company stakeholders such as employees, shareholders and - to a certain extent -creditors, but also those of outside stakeholders. This group includes people who do not participate in the corporate activities but are impacted by them, and organisations representing the ' common goods' such as nature conservation and human rights defenders.

Why would companies take nature conservation into account? The reason is that companies are discovering that their very livelihood depends on the well-functioning of biodiversity and ecosystem services. For instance, without a healthy fish stock, the market for fish products disappears. Were it not because of the services of bees, apple juice would not exist. And Coca-Cola is based 100 per cent based on water.7 Over the years, companies, side by side with governments and individuals, have been polluting eco-systems and overusing ecosystem services such as water and timber. Furthermore, mainly due to land conversion, biodiversity has dramatically decreased. Natural regions are often sacrificed for the development of economic activities, even high-biodiversity or protected areas frequently face this destiny. For all of these reasons, conservation NGOs currently actively engage with the business sector to find mutually beneficial solutions.8

How could companies be involved in human rights intrusions? Companies often pursue business for which cooperation with the local authorities is necessary, e.g. in obtaining a licence for exploration or the exploitation of natural resources, to buy or lease land, to build roads or ports, or to sell products to governments including weapons. If local authorities do not protect human rights, or even worse, transgress those rights, the chances are high that a company collaborating with such authorities will become caught up in spiteful situations. To make companies aware of these risks, NGOs and knowledge institutes have developed so-called 'Human Rights Impact Assessments' (HRIAs), targeted at clarifying corporate impact on human rights.9

Globalisation and outsourcing have also contributed to employment opportunities in many developing countries. People in Indonesia and Bangladesh are now making T-shirts and skiwear for famous American or Italian brands, whereas no more than one or two decades ago these products were produced in Europe and the United States, on the doorstep of the users of those products. Producing cotton as the raw product for textiles was the only service deployed in Pakistan and India. Because of the transfer of the production process from Europe and North America to this region, textile manufacturing processes were set up which contribute extra economic value to the local communities. Mangos and papayas were not common products in the Northern hemisphere markets; now they are. Tropical fruit growers in Africa have found new export markets. Consumer choices have expanded tremendously.

A consequence however, is that the increase in transport implies an extra burden for the environment: shrimp are flown in from Thailand to the Netherlands, Dutch shrimp are transported to Morocco for the peeling process, and back to the Netherlands from where they are transported by road throughout Europe; The Dutch are flown into Thailand for two weeks of sunbathing on the Thai beaches or fly to Morocco to see their families; potatoes are harvested in the North of Italy and are carried by van to the South of Italy where they are mashed, and then transported back to the North from where distribution starts around Europe.10 The increased transportation in cargo and people transport adds to the climate change resulting from an ever increasing world population, a rapidly computerising economy, and an increasing standard of living. Considering the faster pace in which forests and other natural areas ubiquitously are converted into areas put to economical use, the mounting economic globalisation will make it even more difficult to reduce the effects of climate change.