Spring 2009 Newsbriefs: Co-op Matters

Measuring Global Citizenship

Many multinational businesses say they want to be good corporate citizens. But how good are they? Up till now, there’s been no objective measure. But that’s changing, thanks in part to Carolyn Hunt ’09, the inaugural Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) fellow at Oxfam America. Last fall, Hunt assisted Oxfam staff in constructing a poverty footprint study — one that evaluates corporations’ impact on poor people in countries where they sell or produce goods.

“Similar to companies measuring their carbon footprint, the poverty footprint will help companies look at the social and economic influence they have in a given country,” Hunt says. “Over the next few years, Oxfam America will partner with several multinationals, helping them examine everything from where they buy corn to where they pay taxes.”

Oxfam America is PHRGE’s newest partner, joining the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty as fellowship sites. PHRGE fellows receive stipends to co-op at these organizations, with four fellows rotating through the position each year. The arrangement benefits both students, who can build on their fellow predecessor’s work, and organizations, which can engage fellows in the full range of their missions.

“At Oxfam, Carolyn has worked with some of the leading legal advocates in corporate responsibility and had the opportunity to think through connections between corporate policy and human rights,” says professor of law and PHRGE program director Martha Davis. “We’re particularly proud that, through the ongoing placement of PHRGE students, we’ll not only be training the human rights lawyers of the future, but also will collectively make a significant contribution to Oxfam’s work.”

— Maura King Scully

PHOTO: JODI HILTON