Ewa Staworzynska Archives

USCIB Webinar: World Bank’s Global Partnerships for Social Accountability

Published on February 17, 2016

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USCIB will host an upcoming webinar on the World Bank Group’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) on February 24 from 11:00am-12:00pm. This will be the second webinar of the USCIB Corporate Responsibility Webinar Series.

To register for the February 24 webinar, please email Rachel Spence at rspence@uscib.org.

This webinar will introduce the GPSA and showcase its potential for solving vexing governance issues that are undermining the ability for entry into new markets and/or the long-term viability of private sector investments in the over 40 countries in which the GPSA is authorized to fund programs. GPSA is a unique unit within the World Bank’s Governance Unit focuses on supporting governments, citizens and the private sector to work together to solve governance challenges. It provides direct long-term assistance to civil society organizations to promote accountability by government actors on development challenges.

Speaker:

Haim Haviv serves as a Partnerships Specialist for the World Bank Group. Previously, Haim had served as Director of Investments for the Government of Israel in Washington D.C. (2013-2015), as a lawyer with Tnuva food industries (2010-2012) and as an accountant with Ernst & Young (2012-2013). Haim is an attorney and accountant by training.

IOE: No Need for World Employment Report to be “Overly Pessimistic”

Published on February 16, 2016

WESO_2016The International Labor Organization’s “World Employment and Social Outlook Trends: 2016” expects recent labor market growth to slow in the coming years amid uncertain economic prospects. The report recalls previous years’ editions in terms of content and approach, and the overall outlook for global employment remains bleak – worse than in 2015.

The International Organization of Employers (IOE) noted that rather than look only at growth and unemployment with a focus on vulnerable employment, the report could have looked at growth forecasts and their impact on employment, especially new forms of working arrangements. Given the current debate on the future of work, a different approach would have been welcome and may have painted a different picture of the future of employment.

Read the IOE perspective in full here….

Integrating Refugees in Labor Markets

Published on February 5, 2016

IntegrationWith the widespread migration of refugees to many OECD countries, policymakers are grappling with how to effectively integrate the large number of refugees and other asylum seekers into the workforce. On January 28, representatives from the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD met with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi to discuss the view of business on migration and the integration of refugees in labor markets.

The event coincided with the a release of a release a new OECD booklet on experiences, policy lessons and good practice in the integration of refugees and other groups in need of protection, developed over the last year in consultation with OECD member countries and social partners.

In his message to governments and other high-level participants, BIAC Secretary General Bernard Welschke called for advanced skills recognition on the national level, immediate and intensive language training, and targeted programs to better facilitate the integration of beneficiaries of international protection and other migrants into local labor markets. He also emphasized the importance of a consistent and efficient process to clarify the status of humanitarian migrants and refugees as this is a critical factor to determine their perspectives in labor markets.

USCIB Webinar: ILO General Discussion on Global Supply Chains

Published on January 28, 2016

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Recent pressure from workers’ groups and certain governments has urged the International Labor Organization (ILO) to focus its attention on global supply chains, which will be the topic of its next General Discussion in June. USCIB hosted a webinar on February 10 about the upcoming discussion, which reviewed how to push back against the unsupported claims that global supply chains will drive down workers’ wages, and that global companies can somehow be made to control their entire supply chains.

The webinar gave members an opportunity to share their perspective on the General Discussion with the Employer spokesperson, Ed Potter, as well as International Organization of Employers Secretary General Linda Kromjong.

To view a recording of the webinar, please contact Rachel Spence (rspence@uscib.org).

IOE President Targets 5 Key Inhibitors of Labor Markets at B20 Kickoff

Published on January 28, 2016

labor_and_employmentSpeaking at the B20 kick off meeting in Beijing on January 26, International Organization of Employers (IOE) President Daniel Funes de Rioja targeted the five key inhibitors of flexible labor markets and optimal labor market participation.

With employment already earmarked by the Chinese G20 presidency as a prime area of focus, Funes wasted no time in setting out the expectations of business: “I want the G20 to make ambitious commitments on the headline aim of Energetic Labor Markets and Adaptable Workforces.”

He set out five key actions for the G20 leaders to optimize labor market participation:

  • Remove barriers to starting, operating and growing a business.
  • Create easy-to-understand, employment-friendly labor law.
  • Promote the variety of forms of employment needed to allow companies maximum opportunities to hire as many people as possible.
  • Decrease the burden of non-wage labor costs – in many cases an obstacle to employing people.
  • Create attractive regulatory framework conditions that stimulate the establishment of apprenticeships systems.

Funes went on to recall the recent IOE-BIAC-Deloitte survey on youth employment in G20 countries, launched just six weeks ago in Ankara, which found that 80 percent of respondents believed that the current regulatory framework for the establishment and operation of enterprises was “more cumbersome than supportive.” The IOE President cautioned that with such framework conditions in place, bringing more people into employment remained a pipe dream.

On top of the required action above, Funes also called for more transparency and accountability in the G20 employment process. The G20 national employment plans could, he acknowledged, play “a decisive role”, but their potential had not been fully exploited to date. The G20, with the support of business, needed to ask themselves:

  • Are the employment plans concrete and ambitious enough?
  • Is implementation of the employment plans sufficient?
  • What are the lessons learned from the last two years?

Summing up, Funes said that the B20 called on the Chinese G20 presidency to refocus the employment process on job creation and growth, and to strengthen the implementation of employment commitments through more rigorous and robust assessment of the employment plans in place across the G20.

USCIB Webinar: USAID’s Public-Private Partnership to Support Responsible Land-Based Investments

Published on January 22, 2016

USCIB hosted a webinar on USAID’s Public-Private Partnership to Support Responsible Land-Based Investments on February 4, which kicked off the USCIB Corporate Responsibility webinar series.

USAID speakers discussed their call for Expressions of Interest for potential private sector partners to co-create, co-design, co-invest and collaborate in addressing land tenure risks related to current or future land-based investments with a particular focus on African land deals as a means of piloting the effectiveness of the recently finalized Analytical Framework for Land-Based Investment in African Agriculture that USAID has just developed with the G7, UN Food and Agriculture Organization and African Union.

A recording of the webinar is available here. (Free registration is required).

Speakers included:

Chad Dear
ChadDear is an interdisciplinary social scientist, educator and development professional dedicated to improving land and resource governance. Through positions in academia, civil society, and government, Dear has led applied, interdisciplinary research teams; designed and implemented rural livelihood and natural resource management projects; and designed innovation programs within USAID.  Recent achievements include co-leading establishment of the Mountain Societies Research Institute (part of the Aga Khan Development Network), and guiding the Institute’s inaugural applied research programs. Dear, PhD Forestry and Conservation, has nearly ten years of on-the-ground international experience, primarily in Central Asia and Southern Africa, as well as significant domestic experience in the American west, including Alaska. He publishes in academic, technical and popular literature.  Dear is affiliate faculty in the College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana; an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow; and a former Fulbright Fellow.

Sarah Lowery
SarahLowery is an Economist and Public-Private Finance Specialist in USAID’s Land Tenure and Resource Management Office. She focuses on the link between secure land tenure and inclusive economic growth and leads econometric, financial and risk analysis related to strengthened land tenure, access to finance and responsible investment. Lowery has designed public-private financial mechanisms in Brazil and Colombia that encourage sustainable land use, and she has authored several papers on climate finance innovations like REDD+ bonds and ways to unlock larger pools of capital like agricultural finance in the pursuit of conservation goals. Lowery holds an MBA and Master of Environmental Management from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Business from Lafayette College.

Yuliya Neyman
YuliyaNeyman is a Land Governance and Legal Advisor in USAID’s Land Tenure and Resource Management Office. She leads the office’s private sector engagement and responsible investment work. Prior to joining USAID, Neyman worked as a corporate lawyer at White & Case, LLP in New York City. Prior to earning her law degree, Neyman worked as a journalist, and has written for the Huffington Post, Miami Herald, South Florida Business Journal, New York Daily News, Newsday, Washington Times and USA Today. Neyman has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University, and a law degree from Columbia Law School.

2016 USCIB Corporate Responsibility Webinar Series

The goal of the series is to provide members with introductions to new and innovative initiatives and organizations related to corporate responsibility that may be of interest and to allow for deeper dives into certain topics. The following additional webinars will be offered over the course of the first half of 2016. We hope you are able to join us for some or all of these programs and would like to remind you that you are welcome to indicate your interest in one or more of the below webinars (or to suggest other topics) via this form. 

February 24: World Bank Group’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA)
This unique program within the World Bank’s Governance Unit focuses on supporting governments, citizens and the private sector to work together to solve governance challenges. The GPSA provides direct long-term assistance to civil society organizations to promote accountability by government actors on development challenges. This webinar, jointly hosted with GPSA, will introduce the GPSA and showcase its potential for solving vexing governance issues that are undermining the ability for entry into new markets and/or the long-term viability of private-sector investments in the over 40 countries in which the GPSA is authorized to fund programs.

March 23: Bretton Woods II:  New America Foundation’s multi-stakeholder platform for reducing global volatility
Led by Tomicah Tilleman, a former senior adviser to Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, the non-partisan BWII is working with a large coalition of organizations to demonstrate that large long-term financial actors can significantly increase their long-term returns by dedicating a percentage of their holdings to investments that address root causes of volatility, such as poverty, corruption, poor governance and the lack of rule of law. Such directed investments can also improve investment climates in countries throughout the world in ways that have a multiplying effect for multinational enterprises. BWII also presents an opportunity for companies with unique competencies to lend their talents to this important endeavor.

IOE Reaffirms Business Commitment to the 2030 Development Agenda

Published on January 19, 2016

Business for 2030 homepage logoDuring her New York visit for the United Nations Global Compact meeting earlier this month, International Organization of Employers (IOE) Secretary General Linda Kromjong reaffirmed the commitment of the IOE’s members and partner companies around the world to the realization of the UN 2030 Development Agenda.

Kromjong formally represented the collective voice of business on labor and social policy at the Global Compact’s first board meeting under the leadership of Lise Kingo on January 14. Kingo succeeded Georg Kell following his retirement as executive director last year.

Addressing the meeting, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated his expectation that businesses “play a leading role in implementing the SDGs.”

“Our 13,000 signatories based in 170 countries, and our local networks, can be a force for change from the ground up,” he said. “We have a strong track record of translating UN goals and issues into concrete business action”.

In her intervention, Kromjong recalled her role as co-chair of the Global Compact Human Rights & Labor Working Group, as well as the role of IOE member federations in hosting national Global Compact networks. She highlighted IOE work on business and human rights, migration, youth employment, core labor standards and the sustainable development agenda – all key areas of focus for the Global Compact.

Kromjong also cited USCIB’s Business for 2030 web portal as one of many examples of employer organizations’ commitments to the sustainable development goals. She assured Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that the IOE was encouraging its members and their company affiliates globally “to advance the SDGs through their operations, innovations and partnerships and to be part of the solution.”

IOE Webinar on Women, Business and the Law

Published on January 19, 2016

Women_lawLast October, the International Organization of Employers (IOE) participated in the Geneva launch of the World Bank’s “2016 Women, Business and the Law” report, which examines laws and regulations affecting women’s prospects as entrepreneurs and employees across 173 economies. The report’s quantitative indicators to inform policy discussions on how to remove legal restrictions on women and to promote further research on how to improve the economic inclusion of women.

The IOE is organizing a webinar on this topic on March 7, featuring guest speaker Augusto Lopez-Claros, director of global indicators group at the World Bank. He will present the report and explore with national employer organisations how they can contribute to removing legal barriers to women’s inclusion in their countries. The event is planned as part of the IOE’s program to mark International Women’s Day on March 8.

To register, please contact Thannaletchimy Thanagopal. Instructions on how to join the webinar will be issued to participants well in advance.

USCIB co-organized an event last March titled “Bringing Down the Barriers: Women, Business and the Rule of Law” with the World Bank, the International Chamber of Commerce and the International Development Law Organization, which evaluated the impacts of gender discrimination laws around the world.

OECD Publishes 2014 Official Development Assistance Figures

Published on January 11, 2016

The OECD recently published its final official development assistance (ODA) figures for 2014. According to the findings, in 2014, final figures for net ODA flows from OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member countries totaled $137.2 billion, marking an increase of 1.2 percent in real terms over 2013 and surpassing the all-time high in 2013.

In the past 15 years, net ODA has been rising steadily and has increased by nearly 70 percent since 2000. The largest DAC donor countries by volume were the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan.  Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom continued to exceed the United Nations’ ODA target of 0.7 percent of gross national income.

Global DevelopmentAlthough net ODA has been increasing over time, estimates by the United Nations show that the needs for financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will $4 trillion. USCIB has noted that ODA cannot do the job of development finance by itself. In order to move from the “billions to trillions” in development finance, policymakers will need to catalyze more private investment, especially in least developed countries.

More information about the evolving role of ODA and the rise of blended finance is available at USCIB’s Business for 2030 web portal about private sector engagement with the UN SDGs.

Upcoming Events: USCIB Engaged on Corporate Responsibility, Human Rights

Published on December 4, 2015
Photo credit: UN, Pierre Albouy
Photo credit: UN, Pierre Albouy

USCIB will participate in three events next week about corporate responsibility and human rights. For more information and registration details, please contact USCIB Vice President Ariel Meyerstein (ameyerstein@uscib.org).

The Corporate Counsel Innovation Summit
Monday, December 7, 2015
New York

The Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyers General Counsel Summit will build on the success of last year’s inaugural summit and focus on the implications of a changing landscape. For in-house lawyers, most often at the forefront of innovation, how should related challenges be met and how will the in-house role change as a result? Meyerstein will speak on a panel about the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)

The UNGPs are a global framework for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity. John F. Sherman III, General Counsel, Company Secretary and Senior Adviser at the Shift Project, will lead a panel to discuss what this global framework means for GCs and the responsibilities it places on lawyers.

The Human Rights First Summit
December 9, 2015
Washington, D.C.

Modern-day slavery is a global problem that taints many of the products we use every day. How can the United States work with businesses and other governments to eradicate human trafficking from supply chains?

More than 14 million people are exploited for labor worldwide, many of them buried deep within the supply chains of global businesses. Nearly four years ago California enacted a law that requires retailers and manufacturers to disclose if they have policies to prevent trafficking in their supply chains. Yet these policies aren’t adequately compelling companies to ensure that their suppliers protect vulnerable workers.

There are, however, a few successful non-regulatory initiatives. The Electronics Industry Citizen Coalition (EICC) has a progressive code of conduct that all members must follow. The Fair Labor Association has pulled responsible businesses, civil society and universities together to establish better policies to protect vulnerable workers in supply chains. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) incentivizes suppliers who score well on sustainability standards—including preventing forced labor—by offering lower lending rates. Are these models sustainable? Could they be applied more broadly within their own industries or scaled up and replicated in other industries? What can the United States do to ensure that the gains from these programs are sustainable? Meyerstein will moderate a panel discussion that addresses these questions.

Registration and the full program agenda is available here.

OECD In-Depth: G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance
December 11, 2015
Washington, D.C.

In a landmark decision, the G20 Leaders endorsed the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance as an indispensable and globally recognized standard for assessing and improving corporate governance. The Principles have been developed under the auspices of the OECD, convening the expertise of policy makers, regulators, business and other stakeholders from around the world.

USCIB will co-host an informal roundtable discussion of the Principles and a conversation about how corporate governance in today’s equity markets can facilitate corporate access to finance, unlock investment, and boost sustainable economic growth.