Business In Society Archives

USCIB Leads Business Interests in UNEP Chemicals Program

Published on April 10, 2015

Test_tubesUSCIB lead a multi-industry association effort urging the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to make its Chemicals in Products (CiP) program initiative attractive to business.

“Many global industry sectors have well-established systems for suppliers to communicate relevant information on chemicals in products that they place on the market,” USCIB and other business associations said in a statement. “It is recognized that such systems, however, may not yet be fully realized or internalized in many developing nations. This poses the biggest challenge to standardizing global approaches on chemicals.”

Central to the modern economy, chemicals are traded widely across borders and are used in the production of thousands of different products, from pharmaceuticals to computer microchips.

The International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) is an inter-governmental ministerial that convenes UN member delegates and stakeholders for discussions on chemicals management. Adopted by ICCM in 2006, the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) is a policy framework aimed to foster the safe and sound management of chemicals. SAICM’s Chemicals in Products (CiP) program a voluntary initiative designed to give guidance on how to share relevant information on chemicals in products along the supply chain and throughout their life cycle.

In a letter submitted to UNEP, USCIB and nine other industry associations noted that in order for the Chemicals in Products (CiP) to achieve its objectives, it should acknowledge the array of existing company, industry and regional systems and programs for communicating reliable, relevant information on chemicals contained in products that are placed on the market.

USCIB will continue to monitor work on SAICM and provide regular updates to members. Medina will attend the fourth International Conference on Chemicals Management in September 2015.

IOE: Big Think on Jobs Must Address Structural Reforms

Published on April 3, 2015

In his keynote address to the 2015 Economic and Social Council Integration Segment in New York on Monday, 30 March, International Organization of Employers (IOE) President Daniel Funes de Rioja underlined the urgency in addressing structural reforms and labor-market oriented training for increasing job opportunities, particularly for young people.

The opening panel, “The ‘Big Think’ on Jobs and Growth,” provided an overview of the current global economy within which an effective framework could be established for inclusive and balanced growth, with full employment as a macroeconomic policy objective.

While welcoming the successful labor market reforms undertaken by some governments, the IOE president called for the removal of regulatory barriers. He noted that greater workplace flexibility resulted in a win-win situation for both companies and the individuals they employed, with positive impacts on productivity, quality of work and employee retention.

Workplace flexibility also enhances the transition of enterprises from the informal to the formal economy, with higher employment rates being recorded in countries where companies, particularly SMEs, could adapt quickly to a rapidly changing world, Funes noted.

On the topic of ensuring adequate training systems, Funes said, “If there is a silver bullet to address youth unemployment, then it is high quality apprenticeship systems.”  Despite this, IOE research had found that in many countries there were still significant skills mismatches.

To address this challenge, USCIB’s global network initiated the Global Apprenticeships Network (GAN), launched to promote exchanges of experience and best practice in the area of training and work-readiness programs around the globe.

Funes highlighted the value of national GAN networks, such as those recently launched by the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TISK). He urged governments to support such initiatives by enabling the institutional and regulatory environment for companies to engage in offering apprenticeships, including by involving companies and employers’ organizations in the design and implementation of VET systems, and by promoting excellence in STEM subjects in schools.

Corporate Governance Spotlighted in G20 Istanbul Forum

Published on April 3, 2015

The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance are being revised with a view to supporting sound financial markets that serve the real economy. The Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD has actively contributed to the discussions and participated in a series of consultations over the last year. On 10 April, the OECD and the G20 are organizing a forum to further discuss the content and the direction of the review of the OECD Principles. It is intended to present the revised Principles at the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in September 2015 for transmission to the G20 Summit.

The forum will address two specific issues that are of crucial importance to private sector growth: the institutional capacity of small and medium-sized companies to grow and capital market development in emerging market economies. Dan Konigsburg of Deloitte, chair of the BIAC Task Force on Corporate Governance, will represent BIAC as a speaker on the first panel on “Having Finance Serve the Real Economy: Towards New OECD Principles of Corporate Governance.”

USCIB Urges US to Engage Business on UN Climate Action

Published on March 31, 2015

4991_image001USCIB urged senior U.S. cabinet officials to include business in talks about limiting greenhouse gas emissions as part of the United Nations’ global effort to develop a new international cooperative climate accord.

In December 2015, world leaders are expected to conclude a new UN climate agreement, the world’s first binding and universal agreement committing all countries to reduce carbon their emissions. This international agreement is built around each country’s individual Independent Nationally Determined Contribution (INDCs), or national pledge, whereby the country commits to reducing its carbon footprint by a certain amount in the coming decades.

The United States released its INDC proposal on March 31, unveiling a blueprint for cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a third over the next 15 years. The private sector was not consulted during the drafting of America’s INDC proposal. Business is expected to support and finance the UN’s climate agreement; therefore business must be included in talks to inform the national pledges and the world’s climate change agenda at every step, from setting priorities, to crafting policy options, to taking action.

“We have a common interest in INDCs that are successful and synergistic with international regulatory frameworks and the global marketplace,” wrote USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson in a letter sent Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and other senior U.S. cabinet officials. “We believe that NDCs can be strengthened and aligned through consultation and coordination with business to discuss how proposed efforts will affect the economy and environment, where additional initiatives can supplement and add to INDC submissions and to seek advice on how to assess proposals by other nations.”

USCIB is a member of the Major Economies Business Forum on Energy Security and Climate Change (BizMEF), which comprises national and regional business organizations representing millions of companies all over the world. BizMEF members have participated in and shared at UN climate change conferences since the Copenhagen conference in 2009. BizMEF released a set of views on how business can contribute to the development and implementation of INDCs:

  • Business has a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to offer concerning creation and dissemination of innovative technologies and approaches to manage risk and promote opportunities that should be a the very heart of discussions – formal and informal, domestic and international – about what INDCs could achieve.

 

  • Early and continuous involvement of business (and others) will be essential to help understand the feasibility and implications of proposed INDCs. Business can also provide insight on implications of the entire portfolio of proposed INDCs for global commerce, investment, competitiveness and aggregate consequences for emissions and the economy.

 

  • Business has significant experience in measuring, reporting and verification which will be essential to assess policy impacts, environmental integrity and comparative efforts among nations.

As negotiations intensify around the UN climate agreement set to be finalized in Paris in December, USCIB encourages all governments to consult with business going forward to help understand and assess each country’s national pledge.

USCIB Talks Sustainable Development at Brookings Panel

Published on March 30, 2015

4990_image002The United Nations’ Post-2015 Development Agenda is expected to reframe the global conversation around economic and social development – and by extension corporate responsibility – for the next 15 years, applying to all UN member states and potentially touching upon almost every aspect of human existence.

In the run-up to the agenda and the specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which will be finalized by the UN this September, USCIB has played a leading role in making the SDG negotiations accessible to business and showcasing business contributions to sustainable development through the lens of the SDGs in its advocacy with UN Member States.

As part of its efforts to showcase the private sector’s role in the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, USCIB represented business at a day-long event of high-level policy discussions at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. about “Governance Innovations to implement the Post-2015 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” The conference is an opportunity to revisit the concepts on multi-stakeholder governance introduced by the Helsinki Process on Globalization and Democracy, which formally concluded in 2008.

Ariel Meyerstein, USCIB’s vice president for labor affairs, corporate responsibility and corporate governance, was a featured speaker on a panel on “National Consultation Processes for Multi-stakeholder Engagement and National Accountability.” The panel addressed how to engage domestic stakeholders to adapt the SDGs to national contexts and to develop national strategies for implementing the SDGs, as well as how to make national data accessible for domestic accountability and to create space for civic engagement to support the goals’ implementation.

Meyerstein noted that a significant accomplishment of the SDG process thus far was the level of buy-in they have generated in contrast to the UN’s earlier Millennium Development Goals, which were not adopted through a similarly broad consultative process with all Member States or the private sector.  What remains to be achieved, he said, is “how to put nationally-based governance frameworks in place that will encourage multi-stakeholder partnerships to help drive implementation and true national ownership and collaboration in achieving the SDGs.”

Other panelists included Nancy Lee (Millennium Challenge Corporation), Robert Orr (Dean of the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland) and Paul O’Brien (Oxfam).

From March 23 to 27, the UN began a round of SDG negotiations on goals and targets, including discussions on indicators and metrics. As the UN works to finalize the goals by September 2015, USCIB will continue to advocate for business to be consulted and relied upon as a partner in planning and implementing sustainable development strategies both globally and on the national level.

Economist Report: Human Rights are a Matter for Businesses

Published on March 17, 2015

4981_image002With the support of the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers and other business organizations, the Economist Intelligence Unit published a report on the intersection of global business and the protection of human rights. “The Road from Principles to Practice: Today’s Challenges for Business in Respecting Human Rights” evaluates the state of play in business and human rights since the adoption of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in 2011.

The report shows that 83 percent of executives surveyed from a wide variety of sectors believe that human rights are a matter for businesses, not just for governments. 71 percent also said that their company’s responsibility to respect human rights goes beyond “obedience to local laws.”

While this response suggests corporate attitudes are evolving quickly, only 22 percent say they have a publicly available human rights policy in some form, and 44 percent say that human rights are an issue on which CEOs take the lead. The most common barriers to progress, according to the respondents, are lack of understanding of their company’s responsibilities and lack of training and education for employees.

The report also shows that companies do not see a business case – focused on immediate costs and benefits – for human rights, but rather see respecting human rights as helpful in building good relationships with local communities, protecting the company brand and reputation, and serving ethical considerations.

The study also draws on in-depth interviews conducted with Ed Potter, director of global workplace rights at The Coca-Cola Company and chair of USCIB’s Labor and Employment Committee; John Ruggie, former UN Secretary-General’s special representative on business and human rights; Bob Collymore, CEO of Safaricom and other experts from civil society, human rights and business organizations.

 

IOE: EU Development Should Support the Private Sector

Published on March 17, 2015
L-R: Phil O’Reilly (BIAC), Frederick Muia (IOE) and Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB)
L-R: Phil O’Reilly (BIAC), Frederick Muia (IOE) and Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB)

A high-level delegation from the International Organization of Employers (IOE) participated in an EU workshop in Brussels prior to an EU Development Policy Forum. This workshop is the second the IOE has attended in the past six months in efforts to inform EU policy discussions with business perspectives and recommendations.

Ronnie Goldberg, USCIB’s senior counsel and IOE vice president for North America, shared the opening session with Klaus Rudischhauser, deputy director general for international cooperation development.  She underscored the IOE’s strong commitment to building partnerships with the European Commission in light of many shared goals.

Acknowledging that EU support lifts millions of people out of poverty and contributes to a solid foundation on which private enterprises could be created and developed, Goldberg thanked the hosts for creating the space for deeper private-sector engagement, adding, “The IOE places great importance on building partnerships with the European Commission for the joint promotion of an enabling environment for growth and sustainable development.”

She reiterated the IOE’s key inputs to consultations on the post-2015 Development Goals over the past two years, which could equally frame EU-private sector dialogue. These included putting sustainability at the core of the agenda; ensuring that growth was inclusive to boost productive employment. Open and accountable institutions also had to be enabled.

Goldberg added that it is essential that EU commission funding support investment in infrastructure projects, such as road, rail, electricity, renewable energies and ICT; the protection and enforcement of property rights and the rule of law; effective financial services, particularly for SMEs; improvements in education and training for the delivery of work-ready young people, as well as more open markets and regional integration.

Bringing Down the Barriers: Women, Business and the Rule of Law

Published on March 13, 2015
L-R: Cindy Braddon (McGraw Hill Financial), Judit Arenas (IDLO) Pilar Ramos (MasterCard) and Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB)
L-R: Cindy Braddon (McGraw Hill Financial) [now S&P Global], Judit Arenas (IDLO) Pilar Ramos (MasterCard) and Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB)
The global economy has much to gain from the full empowerment of women. As the world’s most underutilized resource, women are essential to increasing economic growth, establishing just societies, improving quality of life for families and communities and boosting the profitability of enterprises.

Around the world, too many laws still discriminate on the basis of gender, with dramatic consequences on women’s ability to contribute to economic growth. To address this major barrier to women’s empowerment, USCIB partnered with the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), the Global Compact, the International Chamber of Commerce and the World Bank Group to organize an event titled “Bringing Down the Barriers: Women, Business and the Rule of Law,” with the support of the permanent missions of Romania and Paraguay to the United Nations. This event was held in parallel with the UN meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (CWS) and in support of the 2014 World Bank report on Women, Business and the Law, which evaluated the economic impacts of gender discrimination laws across the world.

USCIB’s Senior Counsel Ronnie Goldberg gave opening remarks at the breakfast event, explaining that in some countries women lack the legal status to attain an ID, establish a contract, access finance, represent themselves in legal cases, or even hold property in their own name. Such discrimination places major obstacles to economic and social development.

“There can be no development when you ignore 50 percent of the population,” Goldberg said.

Speakers and panelists came together to discuss these barriers and how governments can address them. Other speakers included:

  • Judit Arenas, director, external relations Deputy Permanent Observer, International Development Law Organization (IDLO)
  • Cindy Braddon, vice president of international affairs at McGraw Hill Financial [now S&P Global] and ICC World Businesswomen
  • Ioana Cesacu, secretary of state, Department for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, Ministry of Labor, Family, Social Protection and Elderly, Romania
  • Sarah Iqbal, program manager, Women, Business and the Law Project, World Bank Group;
  • Pilar Ramos, vice president, Global Public Policy & Regulatory Strategy Counsel, MasterCard Worldwide

The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law found that women in marriages are required to give up certain rights by law and consequently lack the ability to make their own legal decisions, limiting their economic opportunities. The report also studied the evolution of these restrictions in countries over the past 50 years. Over half these obstacles have been removed, but in 90 percent of the 143 countries surveyed, at least one legal barrier remains, so more needs to be done to achieve gender equality.

Significantly, the report provides evidence to counter the myth that expanding access to the work force for women necessarily reduces employment for men.  To the contrary, the report shows that men’s access to employment was unchanged by increases in women’s participation.

USCIB Cautions Against WHO Motion to Ban Chemicals

Published on February 27, 2015

chemicals_globe_lo-resThe World Health Organization recently urged the United Nations Commission on Narcotic drugs to ban two chemical substances commonly found in electronics, telecommunications and other products following findings that these substances can be used for illicit purposes.

USCIB and its membership appreciate the WHO’s concern regarding the misuse of these two chemicals, 1,4-butanedio (BDO) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL). However, in a submission last week to the Federal Register Notice to help inform the U.S. government on the issue, USCIB urged the FDA to consider the potential adverse economic impact of banning the use or restricting the manufacturing of those substances.

“GBL and BDO are high-volume industrial chemicals with multiple uses that touch nearly every part of the economy,” USCIB wrote in a statement. “The chemical industry takes significant steps to educate its customers and coordinate with regulators and law enforcement authorities to help prevent diversion and misuse of its products.”

Furthermore, the industries that manufacture and use BDO and GBL have adopted product stewardship programs that supplement the requirements of existing laws.

Banning these substances entirely would hurt a wide range of U.S. industries. Given the critical importance of GBL and BDO to the U.S. economy, the product stewardship programs that are in place to help prevent the misuses of these substances and the potentially devastating impacts of listing under the Psychotropic Convention, USCIB urges the U.S. Government to oppose listing these chemicals under the Convention.