Who We Are
The Caux Round Table for Moral Capitalism (CRT) is an international network of principled business leaders working to promote a moral capitalism. The CRT advocates implementation of its Principles for Business through which principled capitalism can flourish and sustainable and socially responsible prosperity can become the foundation for a fair, free and transparent global society.
At the company level, the CRT advocates implementation of its Principles for Business as the cornerstone of principled business leadership. The Principles apply fundamental ethical norms to business decision-making. A specially designed process for incorporating the Principles into the culture of a corporation is available for companies to use. Ethical training for corporate boards of directors and new ethics curriculum for business schools are being developed.
To promote better outcomes for globalization, the CRT is working to raise the level of awareness of senior business leaders, thought leaders and elite opinion around the world about new opportunities to attack global poverty. These include legal and regulatory changes in developing countries that will improve the environment for productive investment of foreign and domestic equity capital. The CRT is working in alliance with global business leaders, international institutions and policy makers to improve investment environments in selected developing countries by also suggesting certain principles for government and the adoption of the 12 core “best practice” standards for transparent management of national financial institutions.
Brief History
The CRT was founded in 1986 by Frederick Phillips, former President of Philips Electronics and Olivier Giscard d’Estaing, former Vice-Chairman of INSEAD, as a means of reducing escalating trade tensions.
At the urging of Ryuzaburo Kaku, then Chairman of Canon, Inc., the CRT began focusing attention on the importance of global corporate responsibility in reducing social and economic threats to world peace and stability.
The CRT Principles for Business were formally launched in 1994 and presented at the U.N.’s World Summit on Social Development in 1995. The CRT Principles for Business articulate a comprehensive set of ethical norms for businesses operating internationally and across multiple cultures. The CRT Principles for Business emerged from a series of dialogues during the late 1980s and early 1990s. They are the product of collaboration among executives from the U.S., Europe and Japan and were fashioned, in part, from a document called “The Minnesota Principles.”
The CRT Principles for Business have been published in twelve languages, reprinted in numerous textbooks and articles and utilized in business school curricula worldwide. The Principles are recognized by many as the most comprehensive statement of responsible business practice ever formulated by business leaders, for business leaders.