Technology is changing the way we work, live, play, and learn. These changes challenge us to rethink our understanding of control, influence, and responsibility.

Currently, public expectations of what a corporation’s contribution to society should be seem continually to expand. As a corporation that seeks to be a socially responsible public citizen, we grapple with the following set of questions on a regular basis:

• At what point and to what extent during the design, development, marketing, sales and support process is a company responsible for a broader impact of its people, products and operations or the applications of those products or technologies?
• To what extent can, and to what extent should, a company be expected to monitor, manage, or control the positive, neutral, or unjust use of its products or services by its direct customers or its customers’ end users?

Understanding the complex nature of these emerging issues requires input from various stakeholders within our business ecosystem and the global community. The complexity of responsible technology has led to cross-sector partnerships that address pressing questions related to human rights within the supply chain, the environmental impact of information technology (IT), and other emerging issues. Collaborative innovation and dialogue such as the Equatorial Principles for Banking that help govern responsible banking, the Electronic Industry Code of Conduct (EICC) that helps unify the responsible management of the IT supply chain, and other such voluntary initiatives represent important first steps in the development of shared governance models for the emerging issues companies face in their attempts to balance responsibility, profitability, and sustainability.