Making multilateral rules

It is difficult to get agreement on international binding standards capable of moving society towards sustainability. Governments are increasingly unable to influence corporate behaviour at the national level. In this situation, multilateral codes may provide an interim measure to provide an interim measure to provoke the use of efficient mechanisms to implement what should later become binding standards.

The multilateral governmental process, although the preferred solution, is politically incapable of setting standards which are both sufficiently high and far-reaching to achieve sustainability. An interim, second-rate solution might be multilateral governmental non-binding codes of conduct, but which progressively become legally-binding regulatory instruments. However, opting for non-binding measures must continue to be regarded as a second-rate choice, because victims of environmental and social crimes can seek little comfort in 'non-binding agreements', whether they be broken or fulfilled in some vague way. But the interim benefit is that high targets can be set in a non-binding and non-threatening environment, and through corporate innovation and the creativity of other societal groups, solutions can be found to meet the targets.