3 Media houses embrace Business Code

Story: Boahene Asamoah
THREE media houses have signed up to the Ghana Business Code, a set of ethical business principles based on the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).
They are the Business and Financial Times, Citi FM and TV3 Network.
At a short ceremony to present their certificates in Accra, the Co-ordinator of the Business Sector Programme Support at DANIDA, Mr Lars Jespen, said the code was modelled on the UNGC and had been largely accepted by stakeholders in the country.
“The Business Code is all about promoting work for the practice of corporate social responsibility and focuses on labour practices, human rights, environmental management and transparency in business,” he stated.
He said the code was not in any way against profit but noted that “if any business is unable to generate profit, it is a measure of its misuse of the society’s resources”.
Mr Jespen stated that the code also provided for the recognition and appreciation of all stakeholders in business.
He said an effective evaluation and certification system called the Ghana Business Clearing House would be developed to ensure that companies which signed on to the code did, indeed, practise the principles of the code.
“An effective clearing house and good business practices by members are the surest means to increase the brand value of the code brand name,” he stated.
The Executive Director of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Mr Cletus Kosiba, in a speech read on his behalf, stated that the three media houses signing on to the code was a significant encouragement to its initiators.
That, he said, was because the media played a key role in educating the public; also it would get more people to sign on to the code.
He urged the companies to publicly endorse the code through their communication channels.
He said the idea of having a code of ethics demonstrated the private sector’s commitment to the growth of Ghana’s business sector and showed a conviction that business had evolved from solely concentrating on profits to paying great attention to the key issues of corporate social responsibility.