The Taskforce on the Churches and Corporate Responsibility, along with equivalent bodies from the United States and United Kingdom, created a framework for analyzing how corporations perform on a variety of socially responsible factors. Released in 1995, Bench Marks – Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility – sets down comprehensive criteria for a corporation's commitment to its principles and bench marks for companies measuring their performance.
Bench Marks covers all areas of corporate responsibility including care of local ecosystems and communities, shareholder engagement and employee relations and finances. They can be used by NGOs, corporations and stakeholders to assess business conduct.
The taskforce was motivated to create Bench Marks when in 1992, the UN Centre on Transnational Corporations proposed an international code of conduct for businesses. When announced, it was blocked by governments, including Canada, in favour of voluntary initiatives proposed by transnational corporations. – Taskforce on the Churches and Corporate Responsibility
