Brian Lowry Archives

USCIB Is Gearing Up for This Year’s Big UN Nutrition Conference

Published on March 21, 2014

foodsThe Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) will take place from November 19 to 21 in Rome with the participation of heads of state and government. Organized by two UN specialized agencies, the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization, the event will address major nutrition challenges over the coming decades.

According to Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director of product policy and innovation, the conference is expected to result in a concise, action-oriented outcome document, identifying public policy priorities at the national and global levels to address malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity, with a view to achieving agreed global nutrition targets by 2025.

“This will be a watershed event, the first high-level intergovernmental conference on nutrition since the First International Conference on Nutrition was organized by FAO and WHO in 1992,” Medina said. “That conference resulted in a World Declaration and Plan of Action for Nutrition which called on governments to take action toward improved nutrition at the national level, and to establish institutional infrastructure to implement these plans.” She said two documents are expected to come out of the ICN2: a high-level outcome document and a more detailed framework of action for its implementation.

Fostering the private sector’s contributions to improved nutrition

Medina attended last year’s technical meeting that lay the groundwork for the conference. This year, USCIB continues its involvement in the preparations for ICN2, including by highlighting how the private sector is contributing to nutrition through the FAO online consultation on the draft outcome document. Click here to read USCIB’s comments.

In its comments, USCIB recommended that the document recognize the private sector’s contributions to improved nutrition through innovative products, scientific and technological know-how, and improved production and management practices. These can all be increasingly harnessed through effective partnerships with research institutions, farmers, policy-makers and civil society, USCIB said.

Furthermore, the private sector can play a critical role in further strengthening markets, spurring economic growth and improving livelihoods, USCIB said. The comments observed that, while private-sector involvement is critical, there is also a need for government collaboration, particularly in helping to ensure sensible policies, such as reducing barriers to trade, that do not impede the private sector’s potential contributions to the shared societal goal of improved nutrition.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Health Care Working Group

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FAO Principles for Responsible Agriculture Investment

Published on March 5, 2014

FAO BuildingsHelen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation, has been working with the International Agri-Food Network (IAFN) to provide input into the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) set of Principles for Responsible Agriculture Investment (RAI) in the context of food security and nutrition.

The objective of the principles, as requested by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), is to promote responsible investments in agriculture and food systems that contribute to food security and nutrition and support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security. The principles address all stakeholders that are involved in, benefit from, or are affected by investments in food systems.

Most recently, Medina posted comments on behalf of USCIB to the FAO’s Forum on Food Security and Nutrition. USCIB will continue to monitor progress, as well as provide comments to the Committee on World Food Security’s consultative process, in conjunction with its partner, the IAFN. The Committee on Food Security’s RAI principles will be presented and negotiated at a plenary session in May in Rome.

Thus far, USCIB has made several recommendations in regards to the agriculture investment principles, including on the role of the private sector, and in the areas of investment and the environment, and monitoring and evaluation of implementation of principles. USCIB has had concerns in regards to the monitoring and evaluation, as well as the roles and responsibilities. Furthermore, the principles do not address the question of who will monitor progress, or whether there will be an entity to which companies and countries will report.

USCIB supports the following messages:

  • The principles should be forward thinking and encourage the right actions in a manner that respects the broad diversity of the agri-food system.
  • One investment cannot achieve all things. For instance, we want to encourage linking to smallholders, but not every investment is in primary production. It may be further down the value chain or it may not be particularly relevant in that geography.
  • Environmental impacts of investment projects should be assessed and measures taken to encourage sustainable resource use while minimizing the risk of negative impacts and mitigating them.
  • Good governance structures are required; domestic markets and foreign investment require the same conducive operating environment, including: peace and stability, the rule of law, good governance with accountability and transparency, the absence of corruption, adequate infrastructure, an educated workforce, clear property rights, open markets and trade, and enforceable contracts.
  • Clearly articulated national priorities for development can help guide investment and assess the most suited investment proposals.
  • Investments should take place in: sustainable agricultural practices; rural infrastructure, storage capacities and related technologies; research and development on sustainable agricultural technologies; developing strong agricultural cooperatives and value chains; reducing post-harvest and other food losses and waste throughout the food supply chain.
  • All stakeholders involved and affected by large scale investments should be part of the consultation and assessment process.
  • Both public and private sector investment can contribute to develop a robust agricultural sector and value chain – both need the same conducive operating environment, offering predictability, transparency, accountability, and stability.

 

Staff contacts: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Food and Agriculture Committee

USCIB Takes Part in APEC Chemicals Meetings

Published on February 25, 2014
Sarah Green, senior science advisor with the State Department, and USCIB’s Helen Medina (right) at the APEC Chemicals Dialogue steering group meeting in Ningbo, China.
Sarah Green, senior science advisor with the State Department, and USCIB’s Helen Medina (right) at the APEC Chemicals Dialogue steering group meeting in Ningbo, China.

Earlier this month, Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation, took part in the APEC Chemical Dialogue Steering Group and related meetings in Ningbo, China. The sessions were held in concert with the first APEC senior officials meeting of China’s host year.

The goal of the steering group meetings was to prepare for the upcoming APEC Chemical Dialogue meeting in August, which will take place in the northern Chinese city of Harbin.

The Chemical Dialogue is an important forum in which APEC officials and industry representatives come together for public-private dialogue on chemical issues in the Asia-Pacific region. It affords industry representatives an opportunity to work with regulators and trade officials from the APEC economies on a variety of project-based issues.

Prior to the steering group sessions, there was an industry meeting in which industry participants gathered to discuss their priorities going forward and to formulate industry-wide positions, which were then discussed with their government counterparts. During the discussion about the types of outcomes industry is seeking, Medina made an intervention about the importance of having the downstream user’s perspective in the work.

Medina also suggested that, in order to promote the common goal of regulatory coherence throughout the economies participating, it would be useful to identify the projects that each of these initiatives is undertaking that relates to the regulation of chemicals, and to describe the work that is being done.

The major themes of the steering group meeting dealt with regulatory cooperation and concrete projects. One item of particular importance to USCIB members is how confidential business information is being treated in APEC economies. USCIB has taken a lead by developing a survey to address this question.

Medina presented the objectives and importance of the survey. She reminded participants that no other international governmental organization, such as APEC, is discussing this topic and that the chemical dialogue has the opportunity to produce a work project to better understand how APEC economies are sharing information.

Once information has been gathered from the survey, the goal would be to foster a discussion on how the Chemical Dialogue can work to converge on how economies protect confidential business information, and what type of information is considered confidential. The analysis of the results will be reported in Harbin later this year.

Other items discussed included a proposal for a workshop on regulatory cooperation at the Harbin meeting, which won wide support. The goal is to highlight issues to consider when implementing best practices for chemical management. USCIB will volunteer to be on the steering committee which will develop the workshop.

Another item, which comes under the theme of sustainability, was related to a Cooperative Activity in the Asia-Pacific on Marine Debris. The idea is to a establish a work stream to promote regional awareness and adoption of strategies to effectively manage and extract value from municipal solid waste, and to energize collaborative approaches to reducing plastic marine debris, including efforts to reduce plastic packaging through innovative product. This work could also contribute to broader APEC work on ocean issues.

Finally, Medina updated APEC members on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) UN Environment Program-led project on Chemicals in Products. She highlighted industry’s concerns with the project and urged Chemical Dialogue members to get in touch with SAICM representatives that are involved. Given the importance of the project, participants agreed that it is imperative to keep this item on the agenda for the Chemical Dialogue in Harbin.

At the end of the meeting, Ryan Macfarlane, the State Department’s principal APEC coordinator, was formally introduced as chair of the Chemical Dialogue, succeeding Barbara Norton of USTR, who has retired.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Product Policy Working Group

Business Will Be at the Table in Lead-Up to Global Nutrition Conference

Published on November 15, 2013

28 July 2006, Rome - A general view of FAO Headquarters.USCIB is participating in preparatory meetings for the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), which will take place in the fall of 2014, at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s headquarters in Rome. The conference will be convened by FAO and the World Health Organization. Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation, sends along the following report from the field.

During the meetings, delegates discussed the lessons learned from implementing nutrition-enhancing policies for the food system, economic development and poverty alleviation. They further debated which policies should be implemented to advance nutrition goals and address challenges such as malnutrition, “over-nutrition,” and non-communicable diseases – including those related to obesity – that are impacting countries at various stages of development.

Medina and other business representatives have met with government delegates from Brazil, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as with David Nabarro, the UN’s special representative on food security. The core business message underscores the private sector’s know-how in the areas of innovation, science and technology, as well as good production and management practices. This expertise can increasingly be harnessed through effective partnerships with research institutions, farmers, policymakers and civil society.

Furthermore, the private sector plays a critical role in further strengthening markets, economic growth and livelihoods, Medina said. While private-sector involvement is key, there is also a need for government collaboration, particularly in helping ensure greater policy coherence, such as reducing barriers to trade.

Initially, USCIB and other business groups were only invited to the first two days of preparatory meetings, but not to the closing session, which takes place today. However, several government delegates and civil society representatives expressed concern at this decision, saying the meeting needed to be inclusive and transparent during the plenary sessions and the overall process.

Medina said many delegates, including those from the Netherlands and Germany, emphasized that a multi-stakeholder approach – including the private sector and civil society – is needed to deal with today’s nutrition challenges, and that these groups should not be excluded from any part of the ICN2 technical discussion or any further talks on the subject.

In response to this strong reaction from the member countries in support for all stakeholders to be included, FAO and WHO reversed their decision and announced Thursday evening that all stakeholders would be able to take part in final discussions to prepare for ICN2.

As business representatives got ready to deliver a statement to the final day of discussions, Medina said the private sector applauded the decision. She said business has worked throughout the meetings to press for ICN2 organizers to develop mechanisms for the private sector to work with other stakeholders to map out a “farm to fork food system,” and to identify ways the private sector can utilize its tools, capabilities and expertise to contribute to advancing global nutrition.

Medina reports that the conference concluded today with a commitment by the FAO and WHO to propose a roadmap leading to ICN2 in November 2014 that will be inclusive of all stakeholders.

Key Results

The Rome meeting, which had the overall goal of preparing for ICN2 next year, reaffirmed the following:

  • ICN2 participants will need to build a common vision for nutrition at all levels.
  • Building institutional capacity and building nutrition as a national priority across all government sectors is needed.
  • Better data is needed for better policy making.
  • Inserting the idea of better nutrition along the value chain is important.
  • Aligning nutrition priorities with the priorities of a government’s food and agriculture system is key.

Steps that can be taken at the national and local level include:

  • Experimenting with different approaches to finding solutions.
  • Government should put emphasis on small scale projects that can be scaled up.

Outcomes of the meeting:

  • Member states have requested that they be more involved in the ICN2 process going forward.
  • In the next several weeks, the WHO/FAO will produce a “road map” for the process going forward.
  • The preparatory meeting did not fully review all the information that has been generated on the topic of nutrition.
  • The ICN2 process needs to take into account all stakeholders including the private sector and civil society.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Food and Agriculture Committee

More on USCIB’s Health Care Working Group

ICC Launches Research Papers on Innovation and Intellectual Property

Published on October 31, 2013

The International Chamber of Commerce unveiled the first in a series of research papers on the interface between innovation and intellectual property (IP) today at a conference in Brazil co-organized by ICC and the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI).

The series of five research papers will provide insights on how IP interacts with decisions, transactions and processes related to technology development and dissemination.

Daphne Yong-d’Herve, chief intellectual property officer at ICC, said the research project aims to contribute to a better and more concrete understanding of the innovation-IP interface. “An improved understanding of how IP is actually used in innovative processes will help inform discussions taking place today among governments, businesses and other stakeholders on how to design frameworks and measures that will help stimulate innovation and growth,” she said.

The first paper, “Enhancing IP Management and Appropriation by Innovative SMEs,” addresses how innovative small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can improve their performance through better management of their intellectual assets.

Further papers will explore issues relating to: innovation and knowledge exchange through global networks and partnerships, the evolving geography of innovation, IP in innovation for non-commercial purposes, and diffusion channels for technology and know-how.

Read more on ICC’s website.

More on USCIB’s Intellectual Property Committee

USCIB Briefs Senior Executives on Global Product Policy

Published on October 23, 2013

Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation, was the keynote speaker at a recent meeting of senior product stewardship executives organized by the Conference Board, at the headquarters of PPG Industries in Pittsburgh.

Medina addressed emerging global discussions that will impact product stewardship, highlighting our work on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Environment Program’s work on chemicals in products, and OECD discussions of green economy topics.

USCIB is a leader in monitoring and influencing international discussions of chemicals and product policy issues, complementing business advocacy efforts in specific countries.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Product Policy Working Group

ICC Welcomes EU Report on IP, Urges Stepped-Up Protection

Published on October 3, 2013

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has hailed the release of a new European Union report revealing that intellectual property-intensive industries generate almost 40 percent of total economic activity and create 26 percent of all jobs in the EU – but cautioned the bloc’s leaders to act on the findings to strengthen intellectual property.

Compiled by the European Commission, the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market and the European Patent Office, the report – comparable to a 2012 study on the impact of IP industries in the United States – leaves no doubt that IP-based industries are a cornerstone of the European economy. It confirms ICC’s longstanding position that IP and IP rights drive economic growth, investment and employment, and underpin vibrant, innovative and growing economies.

Welcoming the report findings that IP is a critical asset for businesses and economies around the world, ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier said: “Coming at a time when Europe is facing unprecedented economic challenges, this report demonstrates to European policymakers that if they want to stimulate economic growth and employment, they must support innovative companies that drive the economy. This can be achieved by promoting effective IP systems, and putting in place measures to protect their IP rights.”

 

Read more on the ICC website.

More on USCIB’s Intellectual Property Committee

The Private Sectors Contributions to Improved Nutrition

Published on September 30, 2013

4608_image001Last week, USCIB submitted comments to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition on the contribution of the private sector and civil society to improve nutrition. This online consultation will feed into the Second International Conference on Nutrition Preparatory Technical Meeting (November 13-15 in Rome).

In the submission, USCIB stressed that advancing health and nutrition requires a multi-stakeholder approach that reflects the complexities of the issues. There is no quick or simple solution to addressing challenges such as obesity, under-nutrition and disease, we said.  While we believe that the private sector has a role in producing healthy and nutritious food, it is equally important to address issues that impact the community’s ability to thrive such as poverty, hunger, gender inequality, water access and sustainable agriculture.

It is within this context that USCIB shared some examples of programs and approaches that reflect this complex reality. The submission highlights several successful private sector initiatives already in place, including programs by Coca-Cola, CropLife, General Mills, McDonalds, Monsanto, Nestle, and PepsiCo.

“USCIB believes that private-sector know-how in the areas of innovation, science and technology, as well as good production and management practices, can be increasingly harnessed through effective partnerships with research institutions, farmers, policy-makers, and civil society,” according to Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation

“Furthermore, the private sector plays a critical role in further strengthening markets, economic growth and livelihoods. While private sector involvement is key, there is also a need for government collaboration, particularly in helping ensure greater policy coherence, such as reducing barriers to trade.”

The Rome meeting will be a high-level ministerial conference which will seek to propose a flexible policy framework to adequately address the major nutrition challenges of the next decades. It will also seek to identify priorities for international cooperation on nutrition in the near and medium-term.

 

Staff contact: Helen Medina

 

More on USCIB’s Product Policy Working Group

BIAC Nanotechnology Committee to Meet in Washington DC

Published on September 9, 2013

As nanotechnology continues to rapidly develop in a wide range of different sectors, governments, business and international organizations are increasingly focusing on how to stimulate its development while at the same time considering potential environment, health and safety issues.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) advises on emerging policy-relevant issues in science, technology and innovation related to the responsible development and use of nanotechnology, and also addresses the safety of manufactured nanomaterials. It also helps ensure that the approaches for hazard, exposure and risk assessment for manufactured nanomaterials are of a high quality, science-based and internationally harmonized. Since the establishment of the OECD nanotechnology program, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) has been an active partner, including in the OECD Sponsorship Program for the testing of selected manufactured nanomaterials.

As the OECD work continues to expand, the BIAC Nanotechnology Committee will have its annual Committee meeting in Washington, D.C. on September 19-20. The meeting will include a strategic discussion on challenges and opportunities our members encounter at the national or regional level, next steps with regard to the OECD sponsorship program, the future orientations of work related to science, technology and innovation as well as cross-cutting issues and work in other international organizations.

Speakers at the meeting, which will include a review of the first round of U.S.-EU talks under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, include Rachel Shub, senior director for EU regulatory affairs at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and Julia Doherty, USTR’s senior director for technical barriers to trade.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Nanotechnology Committee

USCIB Weighs in on Nutrition Enhancing Agriculture and Food Systems

Published on August 5, 2013

foodsAccess to high-quality, reliable food supplies is a major challenge for the 21st century. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently announced that the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), a high-level ministerial conference to address the major nutrition challenges of the next decades through proposing a flexible policy framework and identifying priorities for international cooperation, will take place in November 2014 at its Rome headquarters.

A preparatory meeting will be held this coming November to identify themes to be addressed at the ICN2 conference. USCIB has contributed to an online FAO discussion to prepare for this fall’s meeting. The discussion, “Nutrition-enhancing agriculture and food systems,” was created to share evidence and exchange views on ways to improve policies, programs, interventions and methods of evaluation for making agriculture and food systems more responsive to nutrition, especially for the poorest and most nutritionally vulnerable.

From the broadest perspective, USCIB recommended that the FAO create a more targeted, formal approach to engaging with stakeholders, including the private sector. We also emphasized:

  • the importance of developing an effective nutrition policy based on scientific evidence
  • the potential for the private sector to contribute to a more nutrition-enhancing food system by innovating and investing in the food and agriculture sector
  • the role of food systems in focusing on food safety, quality and assurance
  • the necessity of preserving natural resources for continued food growth
  • the importance of empowering women and girls, and
  • coordination across government ministries working with the private sector and civil society to create effective and efficient nutrition policies.

On nutrition policy, USCIB emphasized that scientific evidence is necessary for effective interventions, in order to minimize unintended consequences. In this regard, data on each population’s nutrition and food preferences is essential, as are the appropriate institutional arrangements to best support coordination between government, the private sector and civil society in implementing these strategies. Because the private sector is important in achieving a more nutrition-enhancing food system by innovating and investing in the food and agricultural sector, policies that promote innovation and efficiency across the supply chain are necessary to help address future challenges relating to increased policy coherence, as well as constrained resources and greater demand.

USCIB’s submission recommended that nutrition programs focus on the accessibility of safe food products, and that food companies provide the information to ensure safety. Information regarding nutrition education based on scientific evidence should be outlined by international standards to allow consumers to make healthy choices. Socially and economically empowering women and girls is also important, so that they can make educated, healthy choices for their households

On the preservation of natural resources to ensure continued food growth, USCIB urged the FAO to promote food systems that protect natural resources, as well as careful end-to-end management throughout the supply chain to address population increases, climate change and insufficient water availability. In this area, the private sector plays an important role in research and development, innovation and supply chain management. Nestlé’s Rural Development Framework is an example of how the private sector invests in the development of farmers and their livelihood, while Coca-Cola’s Sustainable Agriculture Guiding Principals set expectations for ingredient suppliers to address sustainability challenges specific to agriculture.

On promoting partnership opportunities across sectors, USCIB highlights the work that the food and beverage industry has engaged in with the WHO’s 2004 Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (Global Strategy), and most recently the WHO Global Action Plan on NCDs (2013-2020) and the monitoring framework. Cooperation between governments and the food and beverage industry is necessary to the adoption of a multi-sector approach to addressing nutrition challenges.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Food and Agriculture Working Group