Government regulation and corporate governance

Companies based in Switzerland account for a considerable share of total global activities in mining, trading, and refining of metals. That is, even though Switzerland is a small country, it is an important global player in this area. While various international standards for responsible business conduct have emerged in recent years, Switzerland has adopted very little formal regulation concerning the activities of Swiss firms abroad.

Governments typically regulate the activities of firms on their own territory, but there is increasing demand, particularly from civil society actors, to impose stricter environmental and social/human rights rules with respect to the activities of Swiss firms in other countries. Adopting and implementing such rules poses new challenges for firms, government/regulators, and citizens who, in system of direct democracy, often have the last word on key policy decisions. This is why, in this project, we focus on interactions between government regulation, corporate self-governance, and public opinion.

• Companies based in Switzerland extracting, trading, or refining metals differ a lot with respect to voluntary CSR standards they have adopted. We study how variation in such voluntary standards and measures affects public pressure for stricter government-imposed rules for the conduct of Swiss firms abroad.
• As public pressure for more government intervention to regulate the metals extracting, trading, and refining sector are growing, we study what sets of policy measures Swiss citizens would prefer and support, and why.
• Switzerland is likely to hold a national vote in 2019/20 on stricter regulation of activities by Swiss companies abroad (the Responsible Business Initiative). We study how Swiss citizens are forming their preferences with respect to this proposal, based on differing information about cost implications and policies adopted by other countries. 

References

• European Commission. 2011. “COM 681: A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for Corporate Social Responsibility”. Brussels.
• Fastenopfer. 2016. “Die Menschenrechtspolitik der Schweizer Konzerne: Eine Bestandsaufnahme”. Bern.
• Federal Council. 2015. “Gesellschaftliche Verantwortung der Unternehmen: Positionspapier und Aktionsplan des Bundesrates”. Bern. external pagewww.konzern-initiative.chcall_made
• Stöhr, Petra and Adrian Michel. 2015. “Corporate Social Responsibility aus Sicht der Unternehmen”. Economiesuisse. Zürich.
• OECD. 2005. “Environment and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises: Corporate Tools and Approaches. Paris.
• United Nations. 2011. “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”. New York and Geneva.