Ewa Staworzynska Archives

SDG Countdown: Ensuring Energy for All

Published on August 26, 2015

Power_lines

The United Nations has embarked on an ambitious effort to define forward-looking objectives – the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – to address global economic, social and health challenges. This exercise represents a unique opportunity to mobilize the international community around the importance of public sector-led growth and a more robust, inclusive global economy that makes significant strides towards eradicating poverty and improving the lives of people everywhere.

USCIB’s “Business for 2030” website showcases the private sector’s contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Discover how U.S. companies are helping to achieve Goal 7 by ensuring energy for everyone. Our site features examples of contributions from USCIB members including Bechtel, Citi, PPL and many more!

Read more about Goal 7: Ensuring Energy for All

Launch of the Global Employers’ Summit 2015 Website

Published on July 27, 2015

BahrainThe first Global Employers’ Summit of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) will take place at the invitation of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) on October 6-7, 2015 in Bahrain. 

The Global Employers’ Summit website is now online. Participants are encouraged to register on the website as soon as possible.

Jointly organised by the IOE and BCCI, this prestigious event will be held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Summit will bring together high-level participants from multinational companies, international organisations, employers’ organisations and institutions, to explore key areas of interest for business including labor mobility across borders, business and human rights, promoting inclusion and diversity, and more.

The event will culminate with the signing of the Bahrain Declaration.

FFD3 Emphasizes Enhanced Role for Private Sector

Published on July 20, 2015

USCIB and its global network have welcomed the conclusion of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3), as the outcome emphasizes an enhanced role for the private sector in the United Nations Post-2015 Development Agenda. FfD3 formally concluded on July 16 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after three days of negotiations to agree on a new global financing framework to support sustainable development. The final text—known as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda—sets out  the means of implementation, including technology, domestic resource mobilization and blended finance and investment for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In a letter to Ambassador Lisa Kubiske of the U.S. State Department, dated July 7, USCIB’s President and CEO, Peter Robinson stated that a successful FfD3 would “amplify the opportunity to catalyze private initiative and investment to advance sustainable development and economic growth.  It will be actionable and practical for governments and business; it will synergize with the global market place and provide opportunities to advance entrepreneurship in support of shared prosperity.”  In that letter, Robinson also raised USCIB’s concerns with some aspects of the Addis outcome, relating to taxation and the proposed technology facilitation mechanism in terms of its role vis-à-vis protection of intellectual property.

USCIB played a central role in marshaling business input into FfD3, having worked actively with members and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to ensure that the private sector’s voice was heard in Addis. USCIB and its members have engaged on several occasions with the U.S. negotiating team, and USCIB Vice President Ariel Meyerstein met with the co-facilitators of the FfD3 process as part of the Business Steering Committee for Financing for Development, chaired by the ICC Permanent Representative to the UN, Louise Kantrow.

USCIB was instrumental in organizing the conference’s landmark Business Forum on July 14. USCIB lined up an impressive array of member speakers for the business forum to share their insights about investing in emerging markets, including Jay Collins, vice chairman of corporate investment banking at Citi; Peter Sullivan, head of the Africa public sector group at Citi; Walt M. MacNee, executive vice chairman of MasterCard; Elaine Weidman, vice president for sustainability and corporate responsibility at Ericsson; and Jay Ireland, CEO of GE Africa.

“We welcome the Addis agreement as an important step towards realizing a more sustainable and prosperous future for us all,” said International Chamber of Commerce Secretary General John Danilovich. “By establishing a framework that seeks to harness private sector investment, we’ve seen a major leap forward in the international community’s approach to development cooperation.” (Read ICC Secretary General John Danilovich’s letter to the Financial Times on enabling trade for development.)

The private sector and other development institutions and donor countries led the way in a number of areas that went far beyond the confines of the Outcome Document. Several blended finance initiatives were announced, including the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership, which will try to unlock private capital for development, and Convergence, an online platform for developing a pipeline of projects ripe for investment and the exchange of information and capacity building. In addition, the European Union announced that it would add $2.8 billion to Power Africa, an initiative spearheaded by the U.S. government and private sector companies and other partners in sub-Saharan Africa to add more than 30,000 megawatts (MW) of cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity as well as increase electricity access by adding 60 million new home and business connections. Other major international financial institutions announced plans to make $400 billion available in the next three years to finance the sustainable development goals.

The conference also provided some cliffhanging moments of concern to business as a proposal by developing countries to elevate the UN tax committee to an intergovernmental body with universal membership nearly brought the conference to a stalemate. The proposal was ultimately rejected, but some in civil society were disappointed with that outcome and along with some governments, can be expected to continue to press for such an upgrade to be reconsidered during the remaining negotiations leading to the UN General Assembly and Post 2015 Summit in September. Significantly, a number of global initiatives were launched to improve the capacity of national tax authorities because taxation is a key aspect of domestic resource mobilization – one of the key resource streams for financing development that could surpass the revenue streams from both foreign direct investment and official development assistance (ODA). These initiatives included the launch of the OECD’s Tax Collectors Beyond Borders Project (a joint venture of the UN Development Program and the OECD) and the Addis Tax Initiative (an effort by 18 developed countries, including the United States, to double official development assistance for tax authority capacity) and a joint World Bank/IMF initiative to provide capacity building for tax authorities in developing countries.

USCIB’s SDG Working Group, chaired by Tam Nguyen (Bechtel) and Brian Lowry (Monsanto), will continue to weigh in to the UN and the administration on USCIB member interests as the UN process continues to deliberate on a wide range of business issues and implementation.  In addition, USCIB has created an online platform to showcase the private sector’s continuing contributions to sustainable development, and demonstrates the many ongoing business initiatives in support of the UN’s Post-2015 Development Agenda. Visit businessforpost-2015.org to learn more.

 

Private Sector’s Critical Role Recognized at UN Development Finance Conference

Published on July 9, 2015

FfDThis is a landmark year that will define the global development agenda for the next 15 years. The financing needed to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 will far surpass current official development flows, so the international community will have to leverage complementary forms of financing, including from the private sector.

At the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from July 13 to 16, UN member states will establish a new financing framework to support sustainable development for the next 15 years, following upon previous high-level gatherings in Monterrey (2002) and Doha (2008). The outcomes from FfD3 hold special importance this year, as they will set the means of implementation for the SDGs.

Negotiators in Addis Ababa will tackle a cross-cutting global policy agenda – one that touches on multiple areas of interest to USCIB members and the global business community. These include global tax harmonization, trade and investment policies, climate and energy, intellectual property, food and agriculture, and corporate responsibility issues such as transparency and anti-corruption.

USCIB has played a central role in marshaling business input into the FfD process, having worked actively with members and our global network to ensure that the private sector’s voice is heard in Addis. USCIB and its members has engaged on several occasions with the U.S. negotiating team, and USCIB Vice President Ariel Meyerstein has met with the co-facilitators of the FfD3 process as part of a delegation of the Business Steering Committee for Financing for Development, chaired by the International Chamber of Commerce Permanent Representative to the UN, Louise Kantrow.

In addition, USCIB was instrumental in organizing the conference’s Business Forum to be held on July 14, concurrently with the FfD3 Conference. The Business Forum will provide an opportunity for business participants to interact with senior government officials, business leaders and other experts, and let companies and other stakeholders showcase their initiatives related to development finance.

“The forum is a unique platform to demonstrate the value the private sector offers to sustainable development,” Meyerstein said. “A key focus will be on the business enabling environment required to attract investment to least developed countries, the role of public-private partnerships and the need for new innovative approaches to financing, such as blended finance, which uses public funds, including official development assistance (ODA), to catalyze increased private flows, particularly to least developed countries.”

USCIB lined up an impressive array of member speakers for the business forum, including Jay Collins, vice chairman of corporate investment banking at Citi; Peter Sullivan, head of the Africa public sector group at Citi; Walt M. MacNee, executive vice chairman of MasterCard; Elaine Weidman, vice president for sustainability and corporate responsibility at Ericsson; and Jay Ireland, CEO of GE Africa. Speakers will share their insights about investing in emerging markets and developing countries.

The Addis Ababa Accord, which will be adopted by UN member states at FfD3, is positive for business, as the private sector is called upon as a partner in global efforts to finance sustainable development. The policies business supports in the outcome document include an emphasis on governance and domestic resource mobilization, support for blended finance and a move away from an overly-narrow focus on official development assistance and towards an openness to modernize the measurement of ODA, including consideration of the OECD’s proposed “total official support for development” metric. Concerns remain on a proposed technology transfer mechanism and its impact on intellectual property rights protection, but overall the outcome document is positive for the international business community.

Partnerships in Post-2015: Converging Perspectives for Action

Ahead of the Addis Ababa conference, USCIB member Citigroup hosted an event on public-private partnerships on June 17 in New York. This breakfast brought together business representatives and UN delegates from over ten countries for a discussion about how private finance can be used to ensure sustainable development through investment, job creation and inclusive growth.

Speakers at the breakfast included Louise Kantrow, the International Chamber of Commerce’s permanent representative to the UN and chair of the UN FfD Business Sector Steering Committee, Robert Annibale, global director of inclusive finance and community development at Citi, Amina Mohammed, special advisor to the UN secretary general on post-2015 development and Arthur Karlin, chief strategist of the International Finance Corporation.

Participants discussed the role of the private sector in scaling up financial and technical resources for sustainable development, as well as what non-state actors can do to work more effectively together. Conversations focused on the benefits of public-private partnerships and blended finance, as well as the practical steps countries can take to scale up their access to private capital.

The well-attended event emphasized business engagement for and after FfD3. Many speakers referenced the need for rule of law, sound investment climate and investment in infrastructure, all of which are touchstones of USCIB’s advocacy on the post-2015 development agenda.

“Most interesting was the emerging recognition that there needs to be an interface for business with the UN, that was in line with transparency, accountability, conflict of interest and governance,” said Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president strategic international engagement, energy and the environment, who attended the event.

USCIB has also created an online platform that showcases the private sector’s continuing contributions to sustainable development, and demonstrates the need for a role for business in the UN’s Post-2015 Development Agenda. Visit businessforpost-2015.org to learn more.

 

Business Weighs in on UN Treaty Process on Business and Human Rights

Published on July 2, 2015
Photo credit: UN, Pierre Albouy
Photo credit: UN, Pierre Albouy

As the United Nations Human Rights Council begins work on a legally binding treaty aimed at regulating transnational enterprises with respect to human rights, USCIB’s global network published a position paper representing the views of international business on the UN treaty process.

Jointly written by the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the paper argues, among other things, that the UN treaty process must not undermine the ongoing implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, that the process must be inclusive of all stakeholders and that the treaty should address all companies, not just multinationals.

As one of the only trade associations with membership in three of the four organizations that drafted the position paper, USCIB was instrumental in working with the IOE to draft the document, and was decisive in the ICC and BIAC decisions to support the final version.

The global business community has expressed concern that the proposed UN treaty process may hinder the implementation of the UN’s Guiding Principles, which were developed over the eight year mandate of former UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights John Ruggie, and have very quickly become the authoritative international framework on the issue. The Guiding Principles’ “protect, respect, remedy” established a framework that reaffirmed states’ obligations under international law to protect human rights, while businesses, regardless of size or ownership structure, are responsible for respecting these rights throughout their operations. The principles also establish that both states and corporations share the task of ensuring access to effective remedies for human rights victims.

“We’ve seen tremendous uptake of the UN Guiding Principles in a very short period of time, but not enough implementation, particularly on the National Action Plans that states have been tasked with creating.  The treaty process will prove most effective if it reinforces the ’protect-respect-remedy’ framework with further international legal weight, creating more pressure on states take to their duty to protect more seriously, which includes supporting and encouraging business enterprises’ efforts to respect human rights.  ,” said USCIB Vice President Ariel Meyerstein. “The treaty also provides an opportunity to strengthen the rule of law and access to remedy through national courts where harms occur. That will ultimately provide redress for more victims more efficiently than other proposed means of ensuring access to remedy, which in effect may only offer hope to victims of the most heinous violations. .”

Last year, the UN Human Rights Council voted in favor of a proposal sponsored by Ecuador and South Africa to negotiate a binding treaty on business and human rights. On July 6, the Intergovernmental Working Group (IWG) on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights, which will develop the treaty, will hold the first of several annual meetings. The position of the United States – which voted against the treaty last year – remains not to participate in the IWG. The IOE will participate in the IWG and will also host a side event to  provide business input.

Other positions by business on the UN Treaty Process include:

  • The treaty should contribute to the effective implementation of UN Guiding Principles by requiring states to draft National Action Plans.
  • The treaty’s scope of must be limited to business and human rights, not other issues such as climate change.
  • The treaty must not shift the responsibility from the entity perpetrating a human rights violation to the enterprise linked in some way to that entity, a principle well-established by both the UN Guiding Principles and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
  • To strengthen national implementation, the treaty should require governments to report back to the UN supervisory machinery about measures taken.

Read the position paper: “UN Treaty Process on Business and Human Rights: Initial Observations by the International Business Community on a Way Forward.”

 

UN Members, Private Sector Prepare for Big Development Finance Conference in Ethiopia

Published on June 3, 2015

FfD

Members of the United Nations are busily negotiating the planned outcome document for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3), which will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from July 13 to 16. This pivotal conference aims to map out the framework for global development finance for the coming years, following upon previous high-level gatherings in Monterrey (2002) and Doha (2008).

Negotiators are tackling a cross-cutting global policy agenda – one that touches on multiple areas of interest to USCIB members and the global business community. These include global tax harmonization, trade and investment policies, climate and energy, intellectual property, food and agriculture, and corporate responsibility issues such as transparency and anti-corruption.

According to Ariel Meyerstein, USCIB’s vice president for labor, corporate responsibility and corporate governance, the potential impact of the Addis Ababa conference is broad. “It’s important the companies view what goes on in the UN holistically,” he said. “Decisions made at FfD3 will directly affect the direction of UN debate over the Post-2015 Development Agenda, as well as the climate change negotiations.”

USCIB is actively working with our members and our global network, including the International Chamber of Commerce, to ensure that the private sector’s voice is heard in Addis Ababa. In mid-May, USCIB members participated in a discussion with the lead U.S. negotiator for FfD3, John Hurley of the Treasury Department, who provided an update on the process and on U.S. priorities. USCIB has reviewed and provided detailed comments on both the first and second drafts of the outcome document. Meyerstein, who serves as co-chair of the Development Subcommittee on the State Department Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, has also met on several occasions with the co-facilitators of the FfD3 process, the Ambassadors from Norway and Guyana, as part of a delegation of the Business Steering Committee for Financing for Development, chaired by the ICC’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Louise Kantrow.

In addition, USCIB is playing a key role in the Business Steering Committee in helping to organize a Business Forum to be held on July 14, concurrently with the FfD3 Conference. According to Meyerstein, the forum will be a unique platform to demonstrate the value the private sector offers to sustainable development. A key focus will be on the business enabling environment required to attract investment to least developed countries, the role of public-private partnerships and the need for new innovative approaches to financing, such as blended finance, which uses public funds, including Official Development Assistance, to catalyze increased private flows.

“It will provide an opportunity for business participants to interact with senior government officials, business leaders and other experts, and let companies and other stakeholders showcase their initiatives related to development and development finance,” he said.

There is still time for companies to nominate high-level business representatives to speak at the Business Forum and during the intergovernmental roundtables at the FfD3 Conference itself. In addition, high-level representatives will be invited to a special dinner hosted by the government of Ethiopia for business leaders and heads of state.

 

IOE Stresses B20 Recommendations for Skills Development and Inclusive Labor Markets

Published on June 2, 2015

Portrait of mechanics

At the plenary session of the B20 Task force in Paris on June 2, International Organization of Employers President Daniel Funes de Rioja set out the two principal recommendations of the Employment Task Force for facilitating skills development and ensuring flexible and inclusive labor markets.

Funes underscored the need for labor markets that include women and young people – two groups that stand to benefit from a regulatory environment that boosts participation rates.  He also made the case for removing barriers to diverse employment arrangements, such as part-time and flexible-hour contracts, for advancing the education of women in countries where there are deficiencies in this area, and improving child care facilities.

He noted that addressing the skills mismatch was key for keeping pace with rapid technological change and innovation, and in preventing the under-skilled from being left behind.

“I urge governments to involve national employers’ organizations, the IOE’s members around the world, in the development and implementation of G20 National Employment Plans (NEPs),” said Funes. “Employers have expertise and experience in the design of work-readiness programmers to bridge the skills gap and can make a substantial contribution to the NEP exercise.”

USCIB’s global network will continue to monitor progress in the G20 employment work stream. “Only by being accountable will the G20 become the engine for much needed labor market reforms to boost growth and jobs,” Funes concluded.

 

Comings and Goings Highlight USCIB Labor and CR Meetings

Published on April 25, 2015
L-R: Ed Potter (Coca-Cola), Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB) and Ariel Meyerstein (USCIB)
L-R: Ed Potter (Coca-Cola), Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB) and Ariel Meyerstein (USCIB)

USCIB members and government officials gathered in Washington, D.C. on April 15 and 17 for meetings on human rights, labor policy and corporate social responsibility. USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility Committee and Labor & Employment Policy Committee met to discuss business priorities through 2015 at Baker & McKenzie’s offices in Washington.

Laura Chapman Rubbo (Walt Disney) chaired the Corporate Responsibility Committee meeting on April 15, while Ed Potter (Coca-Cola) chaired his last Labor & Employment Policy Committee meeting before retiring this summer. USCIB members and staff honored Potter for his three decades of service representing American business at the International Labor Organization.

At the Corporate Responsibility Committee meeting, members reviewed work on human rights metrics for businesses, ongoing efforts on corporate responsibility reporting in various international forums, and received updates on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as they relate to corporate responsibility, as well as progress on the United States National Action Plan (NAP) on responsible business conduct, consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Members also attended a stakeholder dialogue on April 16 on the U.S. NAP, to which USCIB provided comments.

On April 17, USCIB members and staff toasted Potter’s last Labor & Employer Policy Committee meeting. During the meeting attendees discussed the 2015 ILO conference, updates on forced labor and human trafficking laws and further updates on the UN guiding principles. Members also heard from Sarah Fox, special representative for International Labor Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, who discussed priorities for business and her unique role focused on labor issues outside of the Department of Labor. She briefed members on the coordination of labor issues across government agencies, and specifically discussed their work on the labor chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

USCIB’s Labor and Corporate Responsibility committees will reconvene in October.

USCIB: UN Must Engage Business on Financing for Development

Published on April 25, 2015
Ariel Meyerstein (USCIB)
Ariel Meyerstein (USCIB)

USCIB represented the Global Business Alliance at a stakeholder dialogue at the United Nations about the Post-2015 Development Agenda negotiations on April 24 at the UN headquarters in New York.

Ariel Meyerstein, USCIB’s vice president for labor affairs, corporate responsibility and corporate governance, made the case for greater private sector engagement in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and particularly on Financing for Development, aimed at mobilizing private capital to support international development.

“The private sector stands willing to help move us from ‘billions to trillions’ in development and be the partner in sustainable development the global community needs in the post-2015 development era,” Meyerstein said during the stakeholder meeting in the lead-up to the UN’s Third International Conference on Financing for Development in July. The purpose of the meeting was to involve stakeholders, including civil society representatives and the business sector, in efforts to coordinate between the Financing for Development negotiations and the Sustainable Development Goal negotiations, which are proceeding along separate tracks.  The session also canvassed views on the calls since Rio+20 and most recently by the Secretary-General and others for a technology transfer facilitation mechanism, which is currently contemplated in the Zero Draft of the Financing for Development Outcome Document and reflected in the Means of Implementation for the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 17.6).

Meyerstein reminded delegates that the Global Business Alliance has placed special emphasis on the UN’s goals on governance, inclusive economic growth, and infrastructure and innovation. He noted that polices that foster open trade, intellectual property rights protection and enabling frameworks for investment are necessary for achieving the technology transfer needed for development. Governance frameworks that support innovation are also critical.

“Indeed, a focus on governance and capacity-building at all levels, including through transparent and inclusive national multi-stakeholder engagement, will help catalyze, coordinate and amplify the impacts of all resource streams and help direct them in ways that will leave no one behind,” Meyerstein said. “The good thing about governance is that Member States don’t need to wait for July or September to get started.”

View Meyerstein’s intervention on UN Web TV (~2:01:00).

Read USCIB’s SDG Priority Papers:

Governance & the Rule of Law

Infrastructure

April 2015 USCIB Labor & Employment Policy Committee Meeting

Published on April 10, 2015

 

DCDATE: Friday, April 17, 2015

TIME: 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

LOCATION: Baker & McKenzie LLP

White House Conference Room

815 Connecticut Ave NW #900

Washington, DC 20006

 

9:00 – 9:15  Welcome & Announcements – Ed Potter (The Coca-Cola Company), Chair

 

9:15 – 10:00  Global Labor Issues – the View from the U.S. Government – Sarah Fox, Special Representative for International Labor Affairs (U.S. State Dept.)

 

10:00 – 10:40  International Labor Organization Update

 

10:40 – 11:00  Coffee Break

 

11:00 – 12:15 Forced Labor / Human Trafficking Update

  • Implementation by governments
    • Implications of the ILO 2014 Forced Labor Protocol –What Should Business’ Position Be on Ratification? (Special Action Program to Combat Forced Labor Highlights)
    • S. FAR/DFAR – Final Rule Analysis – Samuel Witten (Arnold & Porter)
    • S. government funded Verité Project on model compliance code – Declan Croucher (Verité)
    • Maloney Bill (“H.R.4842 – Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act of 2014”)
    • California Supply Chain Transparency Act Implementation Guidance
    • UK Modern Slavery Bill
  • Update on ABA Model Policy and toolkit {website – letter to CEO}

 

12:15 – 12:30  OECD Guidelines National Contact Point

 

12:30 – 1:15  Lunch & Dessert in Honor of Ed Potter

 

1:15 – 1:45  Access to Remedy – Mike Posner (NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights)

  • IPIECA’s Operational Grievance Mechanisms Report
  • CSR Europe Study on Company Grievance Mechanisms

 

1:45 – 2:30  Company Feedback on Shift’s Human Rights Reporting and Assurance Framework (RAFI) – Rachel Davis (Shift)

 

2:30 – 3:30  UN Guiding Principles Update