Ethics

The hill that prays, 14 Feb 2007, By imoisan, Flickr, Creative Commons

The notion of sustainability though is not an objective one. It is a conceptual framework which is constantly under construction. The framework requires of us that we take a stand, that we uphold values and are open to scrutiny. For this reason we invite the users of this database to share with us their knowledge and insights on the cases that we present, and in particular to guide us to relevant additional sources of information pertaining to the sustainability of the projects in the database.  You can do this by posting comments in connection with the individual cases.

We aim to uphold certain standards when it comes to the projects we collect, select and disseminate through this database. And we aim to uphold certain standards when it comes to the way in which we go about our business as such.

Thus DAC Danish Architecture Centre is a part of the United Nations Global Compact which was created by the then General Secretary of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, in 2001 to promote corporate social responsibility and oblige companies to work for global development, for global reduction of poverty, the fight against diseases, inequality and the negative consequences of globalization.

By affiliating with United Nations’ worldwide corporate initiative, Global Compact, companies commit themselves in their day-to-day management activities to supporting 10 internationally recognised principles on CSR.

The 10 principles are founded on:

• United Nations’ Universal Declaration on Human rights
• Labour rights as defined by the International Labour Organisation
• The global fight against corruption
• Environmentally sustainable production and application of clean technology

The UN Global Compact principles are:

• Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
• Principle 2: To make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
• Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the 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; and
• Principle6: The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
• Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
• Principle 8: To undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
• Principle 9: To encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
• Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

You can read more about UN Global Compact here [1].