Ethical Corporation has published list of the 15 best ethical leaders for 2007. In the Business leader category, the number one spot goes to Stuart Rose, CEO of Marks & Spencer, UK. In the Unsung heros category, Chris Harrop, Marketing director of UK Stone Company gets first mention. Under Civil society and media we have Chris Avery, Founder of Business-humanrights.org, and under Politicians the top spot goes to Neelie Kroes, the European Union Competition Commissioner. And oh yes, Bill Clinton is on the list. A special mention is made of Al Gore. Full list and justifications for their choice here.
More interestingly, if you look at the stats of where they are working / come from: 6 come from the UK, two each from the US, Holland, and Australia. One from the Philippines, one from Hong Kong and one from France. Are we looking at an English speaking, anglo-saxon, protestant bias here ? Do we really have the lead in US, UK, Australia and Northern Europe (Scandinavia and Holland) in CSR ? Do we not have good coverage of the press in other places and so no examples from Africa, South America or most of Asia. Maybe we need to look harder... But inspiring choices nevertheless, and a good read.