Telephony vendor Aastra Technologies has stressed the moral importance, as well as the business benefits, of corporate social responsibility after signing up to the UN Global Compact scheme.

The scheme implores companies to abide by its 10 key principles on issues including human rights, labour, the environment and corruption. Some 3,700 companies worldwide have signed up, including BT, Logica and Computacenter.

The scheme also encourages business to share ideas and best practices, and further the cause of ethical corporate behaviour.

Signing up to Global Compact represents Aastra’s second recent commitment to corporate social responsibility after the launch of its Ethosourcing programme earlier this year, which aims to ensure its manufacturing partners in developing countries abide by stringent ethical guidelines.

Aastra’s vice president of global supply management, Rudy Scholaert, said: “A lot of companies are signing up to this as there is a moral imperative, but it is also good for business. Not only are we signing up, we will make sure that we live it and feel it.”

Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at analyst euroLAN, said: “It is great that companies do take their responsibilities seriously, but they have to see it through, from the manufacturing right through to how they treat their employees.”