No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Is There a Need for a Safe Harbor for Aspirational Corporate Codes of Conduct?

Abstract

In the wake of Enron, Worldcom, and Tyco, there has been a renewed interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR), particularly as it is might be embodied in corporate codes of conduct or codes of ethics. Some organizations and groups have attempted to encourage U.S. corporations to adopt codes of conduct that commit the corporations to aspirational standards of conduct with regard to their stakeholders, rather than codes that merely reiterate the corporations' existing obligations under the law.