Consumers are more and more interested in issues such as transparency, corporate governance and social responsibility.

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At home, we have similar goals -- to bring more responsibility to our societies, and to bring transparency and accountability to our governments.

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The companies that are supporting this lawsuit risk losing not only the confidence of investors and the consuming public, but also fighting a battle against a fast-evolving and increasingly coordinated movement to push broader disclosure, to bring enhanced transparency to corporate practices and decision-making and to ultimately make companies practice corporate social responsibility throughout their operations and decision-making.

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And while employers should be happy and relieved to gain this new level of transparency, it also comes with some added responsibility.

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But he has said that it is "unacceptable in a time of difficulty when people at the top of our society are not showing signs of responsibility" and said the government was consulting on measures to "make sure we get transparency in terms of boardroom pay, proper accountability and more power for shareholders".

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