Our Mission & VISION
Corporate Accountability Lab unleashes the creative potential of the law to protect people and the planet from corporate abuse.
Our vision is of an equitable, inclusive global economy that prioritizes human thriving and a healthy planet over private profit.
About us
CAL was founded in 2017 in response to the crisis of widespread corporate abuse of human rights and the environment and disappearing legal tools to hold corporations accountable. In the midst of this ongoing crisis, public interest lawyers and the broader social justice community are too often overburdened with work and lack the time, resources, and space to come up with creative strategies for broad impact. CAL aims to change that.
We research and map human rights violations. To develop ideas that work, CAL focuses on understanding the many facets of a problem involving corporate abuse of rights. We use our human-centered design to innovate and develop new legal strategies. This process allows us and our partners to come to the table with a problem or question—be it working with a community that has tried legal options that are not working, or figuring out how a particular statute might work for people rather than corporations—and gives us a process by which we can dig in and get creative, coming out on the other side with new solutions.
CAL does this work in collaboration with partners and allies across the globe. From our legal interns to local activists to advisors to supporters like you, it takes all of us to protect people and the planet from corporate abuse.
A NOTE ON CAL Policies
As a human rights and corporate accountability organization, CAL has codified its commitment to integrity and transparency in funding our work. CAL does not accept funding directly from corporations or corporate-aligned foundations. We never have, and we never will. While this limits our potential funding opportunities, it is more important that we avoid the influence of corporate interests in our work pursuing justice for workers.