Sherpa is an international

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

, founded in 2001. Sherpa carries out advocacy,

strategic litigation Strategic litigation, also known as impact litigation, is the practice of bringing lawsuits intended to affect societal change. Impact litigation cases may be class action lawsuits or individual claims with broader significance, and may rely on st ...

, legal research and capacity building activities, in order to strengthen economic actors’ accountability and build up a legal framework that better protects the environment, communities and human rights.Sherpa Association Web Site
Accessed December 3, 2011 To implement these activities, Sherpa brings together lawyers, legal experts, academics, NGOs, local associations, and many other experts who support its action by putting forward an innovative approach to law. Sherpa has, for example, brought various claims for misleading advertising against the French retailer

Auchan Auchan () is a French multinational retail group headquartered in Croix, France. It was founded in 1961 by Gérard Mulliez and is owned by the Mulliez family, who has 95% stake in the company. With 354,851 employees, of which 261,000 have 5% ...

and the South Korean conglomerate

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

. In both cases, the NGO alleged that the companies did wrongfully claim to be ethical companies.

Actions

Sherpa uses the law to fight economic actors’ impunity and defend globalisation victims . By strengthening economic and financial accountability, Sherpa advocates for an effective legal framework that protects the environment, communities, and workers. The nonprofit initiates strategic litigation and judicial battles against multinationals corporations, and conducts legal research activities allowing it to implement its advocacy activities. Sherpa also leads capacity sharing activities, such as the project “Developing the capacities of civil society in Benin, Togo, and Senegal to ensure that companies respect human rights and environmental law, and to enable the implementation of more protective public policies”. The project involves collaboration with other organizations, such as RSE-et-PED France, RSE Bénin, RSE-et-PED Togo and La Lumière.

References

External links

Sherpa official website (In French)

2011 Annual Report
Business ethics organizations Legal organizations based in France {{Europe-law-stub