abstract:The Sullivan principles are the names of two corporate codes of conduct, developed by the African-American preacher Rev. Leon Sullivan, promoting corporate social responsibility:
At the time, companies defended their engagement with the country in part by embracing the SullivanPrinciples, an acceptable code of conduct for doing business in the country developed by a Philadelphia pastor named Leon Sullivan.
Similarly, principles like those developed by Alexander Slepak should be observed by any Western company operating within the Soviet bloc in the interest of advancing human rights (much as the Sullivanprinciples seek to advance greater equality and human rights in South Africa).
But Sullivan ultimately regretted his principles, which he later said did not go far enough to challenge the regime and which helped, through economic engagement, to keep it legitimate.