SULLIVAN, LEON HOWARD, 1922-
Leon Howard Sullivan papers > Sullivan Principles

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of correspondence and subject files on the Sullivan Principles from 1971-1999. Developed in 1977 by Reverend Sullivan, the Sullivan Principles are corporate codes of conduct designed to promote corporate social responsibility. The original Sullivan Principles targeted U.S. corporations in South Africa, aiming to end apartheid through economic pressure. The Global Sullivan Principles, which went into effect in 1999, aim to promote corporate social responsibility on the international level.

The general correspondence (1971-1995) mainly includes correspondence between Sullivan and corporations that were signatories to the Sullivan Principles, as well as a smaller amount of correspondence with various other organizations involved in apartheid.

Sullivan kept two types of subject files: materials concerning politics and social justice in South Africa, which he kept in chronological files by year (1971-1997); and subject files on the administration of the Sullivan Principles, from his announcement of the Principles in 1977 through the development of the Global Sullivan Principles in 1999. The South Africa subject files contain reports, notes, clippings, and brochures related to events or organizations with which Sullivan was not directly involved. The majority of the material concerns the effects of apartheid on employment, housing, and education. Some material pertains to the effects of the Sullivan Principles on corporate practices in South Africa. The administrative subject files include correspondence and printed material pertaining to operations of the committees, organizations, and conventions that regulated the Sullivan Principles. Sullivan also wrote a number of speeches and articles on the Sullivan Principles; for these, refer to the writing series.

Arrangement Note

Arranged by record type.