Caring for friends or relatives is part of daily life for many, and employers as well as their employees have much to gain if the needs of carers become part of corporate responsibility. Many of us are caring for an elderly parent, a disabled or seriously ill loved one, or a neighbour.

Most large companies now have some board oversight of their commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainability.

José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, British foreign secretary William Hague, US secretary of state Hilary Clinton and most recently American president Barack Obama have all visited Burma in recent months.

Modern chief executives need to be more than business leaders. And their wider responsibilities are something to be supported, not begrudged. At the 2012 Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Summit, I interviewed Paul Walsh, the long-serving chief executive of Diageo.

In the midst of the Euro-zone crisis, it would have been easy to miss the recent publication of the new Communication on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)from the European Commission. Publication had been delayed several times as rival camps battled over the text.