Samsung Electronics manufactures a wide range of consumer and industrial electronic equipment and products, such as semiconductors, personal computers, peripherals, monitors, televisions, as well as home appliances, including air conditioners and microwave ovens. The company also produces internet access network systems and telecommunications equipment, including mobile phones.

Japanese companies, sometimes collectively known as Japan Inc, have made negative headlines of late. While some may argue there is no such thing as bad publicity, the scandals shine a rather embarrassing light on what seems to be routine practice. Several industrial companies, such as Kobe Steel, have been accused of falsifying test results on their products. Before that, car manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda have had to recall millions of their vehicles. And in a case that is still pending a favourable outcome, industrial giant Toshiba came close to bankruptcy following a string of events that included misreported earnings and the failure of its US nuclear power branch.

We intensified our engagement with KEPCO shortly after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. While the damaged nuclear power stations were limited to those of Tokyo Electric Power at Fukushima, the operations of all nuclear power stations in Japan were halted after the disaster. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority introduced new re-starting standards to reflect the lessons learned from the disaster. At the time, nuclear power made up approximately half of KEPCO’s production, which is why we urged the company to come up with alternative business strategies.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is a global healthcare business, with pharmaceutical, vaccines and consumer healthcare divisions. It employs over 100,000 employees and had a combined turnover of £27.9 billion (€31.8 billion/$37.7 billion) in 2016.

Soon after 29 November 1781, the crew of the slaver Zong were running out of water following several navigational mistakes. The ship’s Liverpool-based owners had insured the slaves as cargo – a common business practice. To ensure their own survival, but also to cash in on the lives of the slaves who would perish without water, the crew threw the 133 Africans overboard. Upon reaching port in Jamaica, the owners made a claim on the murdered slaves. But their insurer refused to pay, and the dispute was heard by Lord Chief Justice, the Earl of Mansfield, who deemed the captain and crew at fault. The Zong massacre became the first of several legal cases that led to the abolition of slavery.