Business In Society Archives

New IOE President Daniel Funes de Rioja Assumes Role

Published on May 28, 2014

4742_image001The new president of the International Organization of Employers (IOE), Daniel Funes de Rioja, began his three-year mandate last Tuesday following his unanimous election at last year’s IOE General Council. USCIB is the American affiliate of the IOE.

Prior to his election, Funes de Rioja, from Argentina, served as IOE’s executive vice president under outgoing President Tan Sri Dato’ Azman of Malaysia. Speaking to the IOE General Council upon his election, Funes de Rioja thanked his predecessor for “firmly establishing the IOE as the global voice of business on the international stage.”  As the new president, Funes de Rioja will also assume the presidency of the 2014 International Labor Conference in Geneva from May 28 to June 12.

As Tan Sri Dato’Azman gave his farewell remarks last Tuesday, he said the IOE had established itself as the representative body for the private sector across the UN and other multilateral organizations. He felt proud of the IOE’s consolidated position, and as he handed the presidency over to Funes de Rioja, he said he was confident the IOE could meet future challenges.

IOE Secretary General Brent Wilton congratulated Funes de Rioja and said the incoming president “brings to the presidency of the IOE decades of experience representing employers across the range of international forums affecting business.”

 

Staff contacts: Ronnie Goldberg and Ariel Meyerstein

 

More on USCIB’s Labor & Employment Committee

USCIB Represents Employers at IOM Briefing on Ethical Recruitment

Published on May 27, 2014

4741_image001Over half the world’s migrants are active in the labor force, and demographic challenges coupled with globalization will continue to drive labor mobility in the future. Workers in the developing world are expected to grow faster than the jobs created for them in their home countries, while demand for migrant labor in the developed world is surging. Many employers now seek migrant workers to fill gaps in all sectors and skill levels, and there is a need to protect these workers’ rights to ensure the full potential of labor mobility.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) launched a series of briefings in New York City to discuss contemporary labor migration issues. USCIB’s Senior Counsel Ronnie Goldberg represented the voice of business at an IOM briefing about the ethical recruitment of migrant workers on May 22, 2014 at the UN headquarters in New York City.

She reiterated the International Organization of Employer’s (IOE) commitment to fair recruitment practices and to fight forced labor and trafficking. She also announced a joint imitative between the IOM and IOE, the International Recruitment and Integrity System (IRIS), designed to protect migrant workers’ rights.

Goldberg noted that employers, who create jobs and stimulate development, have an essential role to play in the migration debate. Private sector knowledge of markets and staffing trends, along with employers’ practical workings of immigration laws and procedures, can provide vital information to governments to clarify and improve regulatory regimes.

“It is in the interest of all responsible employers, wherever they do business, to have clear, transparent, and efficient national immigration laws and policies that permit the movement of employees when and where they are needed,” Goldberg said.

She also called for the harmonization of national immigration laws across borders to facilitate cross-country labor migration. Improved regulatory regimes would also lower the costs businesses incur as they hire and transfer employees across borders, she said.

Unskilled migrant laborers are one of the most vulnerable segments of the population.  The IOM and the IOE have announced a partnership initiative, IRIS, to protect workers’ rights.

“Specifically, IOE and IOM have agreed to partner in a voluntary certification process for international recruiters to help protect migrant workers and their employers from abusive practices,” Goldberg said. “For the IOE, it will be a demonstration that employers adhere to fair recruitment practices and are fully committed to fight forced labour and trafficking.”

Read Goldberg’s remarks.

 

Staff contacts: Ronnie Goldberg and Ariel Meyerstein

 

More on USCIB’s Labor & Employment Committee

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ICC Facilitates China Meeting on Responsible Marketing

Published on May 16, 2014

china_streetThe International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) teamed up with the International Advertising Association (IAA) in Beijing the day after the IAA 43rd World Advertising Congress to bring together international stakeholders, local government officials, companies and experts to discuss responsible marketing in China.

Now published in 12 languages, the ICC Code is the gold standard for self-regulation around the world. It offers a globally consistent baseline for economies developing standards while also providing flexibility for local laws and culture to be reflected in a local code.

“Having just launched the first official Mandarin translation of the Consolidated ICC Code of Marketing Practice at the congress, this meeting gave ICC an opportunity to familiarize Chinese stakeholders with the ICC code,” said Elizabeth Thomas-Raynaud, senior policy manager of the Marketing and Advertising Commission who presented the code and moderated the event. “The timing was right with foreign experts in town and positive local interest among the key government and company stakeholders in exploring the topic further and facilitating more cooperation.”

Among the 40 participants of the IAA/ICC Dialogue on Responsible Marketing and Advertising were two top Chinese government officials from State Council and State Administration for Industry and Commerce, who are responsible for overseeing the proposed revision of the China Advertising Law expected to go before the National People’s Congress in June for its first reading.

ICC Marketing Commission members Oliver Gray, European Advertising Standards Alliance director-general and co-chair of the task force responsible for developing ICC marketing codes, and Stephane Martin, directeur general of French Self-regulatory body ARPP, were present to address questions on implementing the code into local legal and cultural contexts. Also participating was Ian Allwill, Chairman of the Australian Advertising Standards Bureau, which initiated the APEC project on advertising standards. Allwill spoke of the trade benefits the global ICC Code could provide if implemented as a consistent base for locally applied self-regulation across the Asia-Pacific region.

Staff contact: Jonathan Huneke

More on USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee

More on USCIB’s China Committee

Save-the-Date: BIAC Workshop on Women’s Entrepreneurship, June 24 Paris

Published on May 14, 2014

4731_image001We invite you to join us for the upcoming workshop, “Putting All our Ideas to Work: Women and Entrepreneurship,” which will take place at the OECD in Paris from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24.

Organized by the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD, this event will feature innovations in finance, as well as company initiatives to foster women’s entrepreneurship.  It will also serve as a forum for best practice and policy frameworks. A detailed agenda will be available shortly.

This workshop marks the second phase of BIAC’s work on women’s economic empowerment.  It follows the BIAC/AmCham Report, Putting all our Minds to Work:  Harnessing the Gender Dividend, which focused on women in management. In the coming weeks, BIAC intends to release the results of a survey based on the follow-up to that report.

USCIB Senior Counsel Ronnie Goldberg chairs the BIAC Employment, Labor, and Social Affairs (ELSA) Committee, under the auspices of which this work is being undertaken.  USCIB is also engaged in ILO activities related to women’s economic empowerment. We invite any members wishing to receive information on or participate in USCIB’s gender work to please notify Rachel Spence at rspence@uscib.org.

Staff Contacts: Ronnie Goldberg and Justine Badimon 

ICC Launches Spanish Version of Framework on Alcohol Advertising

Published on May 14, 2014

4732_image001A Spanish edition of the International Chamber of Commerce’s global framework to help strengthen self-regulation for marketing alcohol has been launched today in Mexico City at a meeting of the ICC Mexico Commission on Marketing and Advertising. This follows the launch
of a Mandarin language translation of ICC’s global marketing code last week in Beijing.

The framework clarifies the do’s and don’ts for responsible marketing of alcohol and serves as the basis for developing self-regulatory rules for marketing alcohol where they do not already exist.

The Spanish edition has been translated by ICC Mexico from the original English version, which launched in March 2014. It will help advertising professionals understand how existing global marketing principles should be applied in practice while offering companies and self-regulatory bodies a guide for bolstering responsible practice across markets.

The commission worked with the alcohol sector to ensure that the framework helps companies meet self-regulation commitments without disrupting existing codes. In Mexico the alcohol industry was strongly supportive of the framework and encouraged its adoption and implementation.

Raul Rodriguez, Chair of ICC Mexico’s Marketing and Advertising Commission said: “It is without a doubt that this framework will become an important reference to industries in Mexico, considering that recognition of self-regulation systems in marketing and advertising is growing in the sectors involved: industry, regulation authorities, policymakers and consumers themselves; this encourages and drives the making of these types of conduct codes.”

The ICC Commission on Marketing and Advertising is the body of global experts responsible for developing and updating the Consolidated ICC Code of Advertising and Marketing Communications Practice, which serves as the gold standard for most national and regional self-regulation.

The ICC has served as the authoritative rule-setter for international advertising since the 1930s, when the first code on advertising practice was issued. Since then, it has updated and expanded the self-regulatory framework to assist companies in marketing their products responsibly and to help self-regulators apply the rules consistently.

Staff contact: Jonathan Huneke

More on USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee

Mandarin Translation of ICC Marketing Code Launched

Published on May 9, 2014

4727_image001The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) unveiled the first official Mandarin translation of the Consolidated ICC Code of Advertising and Marketing Communications Practice, the updated version of a document first published in 1937. The ICC Code serves as an ethical rule-setting guide for self-regulatory bodies across all sectors, and is designed to build consumer trust in advertising practice while reducing the need for government regulation.

The Mandarin version of the ICC code was shared with the 1,300 delegates attending the 43rd World Advertising Congress in Beijing, presented by the International Advertising Association (IAA) and China Advertising Association, and hosted by China’s State Administration of Industry and Commerce and the Municipal Government of the City of Beijing.

The ICC code is the gold standard for self-regulation around the world. It offers a globally consistent baseline for economies developing standards while also providing flexibility for local laws and culture to be reflected in a local code.

This ninth revision of the ICC code, published in 2011, expands its global principles to address new technology and practice changes. Now published in 11 languages, the code is used as a foundation and resource for most national and sector self-regulatory systems. Self-regulatory bodies implement the principles to monitor advertising and provide consumers with easy access to make complaints and redress problems.

“The ICC Code reflects the commitment of companies from all sectors of industry and all regions of the world to responsible marketing and advertising,” said Carla Michelotti, vice chair of USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee. “IAA was pleased to facilitate this launch with ICC and encourage cooperation across the sector locally and internationally to promote consistent responsible practice across markets.”

Michelotti, who is the executive vice president, chief legal, government and corporate affairs officer at Leo Burnett Worldwide and serves as an IAA board member, took the initiative to bring partner organizations together on this launch to promote responsible advertising practice.

After the congress on May 11, IAA and ICC will co-host a working level meeting on responsible marketing. Forty representatives from Chinese and international stakeholders will participate including, China State Council, State Administration of Industry and Commerce, Chinese National Advertisers Association, China Central Television Advertising Center, Mars, Proctor and Gamble, as well as Unilever and Sony.

“This is a timely opportunity to share and discuss the universal principles with practitioners in China just as the Chinese government is revising the 1994 Advertising Law at present and within it they are encouraging industry to build self-regulation onto that legislative platform,” said Elizabeth Thomas-Raynaud, ICC’s senior policy executive who staffs the ICC Marketing and Advertising Commission that produces the codes.

Staff contact: Jonathan Huneke

More on USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee

More on USCIB’s China Committee

Medina Briefs Consumer Products Companies on Global Product Policy

Published on May 7, 2014

Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation, addressed the Consumer Specialty Products Association’s International Committee’s mid-year meeting, May 6 in Chicago, providing CSPA members with an update on international product policy issues. CSPA, which represents hundreds of companies that manufacture, formulate, distribute and sell a wide range of consumer products, is a member of USCIB.

Medina presented an overview of USCIB’s product policy priorities, which include a science-based approach to chemicals life-cycles management and bringing downstream users’ perspectives to policy-making decisions. She also discussed three important international forums for USCIB Product Policy Working Group:

  • work in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) process
  • the UN’s Strategic Approach to International Chemicals’ Management (SAICM) process, and
  • the work of the UN Environment Program.

In addition, USCIB has been working to provide input on Korea’s new chemical regulation, referred by many observers as “Korea REACH” due to the legislation’s similarities to the European Union’s REACH (registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals) rules.

Medina’s main takeaway points were that these inter-governmental discussions of product policy matter for companies of all sizes, that business can and must be involved in the process, and that different industries must work together to present a common private-sector viewpoint and positions.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Product Policy Working Group

Bonn Meeting Sets the Stage for New, “Bottom-Up” Climate Regime

Published on April 3, 2014
USCIB’s Norine Kennedy speaking at last month’s UN climate change talks in Bonn
USCIB’s Norine Kennedy speaking at last month’s UN climate change talks in Bonn

While political disagreements continue to bedevil the development of a long-term, post-2020 global agreement to address climate change, meetings last month in Bonn, Germany, held under the auspices of the UN Framework Agreement on Climate Change (UNFCCC), made some progress in practical areas, notably on how a “bottom-up” approach could be the basis for the new UN climate regime.

UN negotiators have set a deadline of December 2015, when leaders will gather in Paris, to reach agreement on the new treaty. According to Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for strategic international engagement, who attended the Bonn sessions, a new climate agreement is likely to be based on nationally defined targets and other actions taken by individual countries, with reporting and review to track progress and determine overall adequacy.

Kennedy was joined in Bonn by a number of USCIB members. The meetings included a session of the UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee (TEC), which promotes the deployment in developing countries of technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help countries adapt to the effects of climate change. The TEC, comprised of government representatives from the United States, China, Norway, Mexico and other influential countries, provides policy advice and technology “roadmaps” that support technical assistance.

“USCIB has identified technology innovation and dissemination as a priority for its advocacy in the development of the new long-term UN climate agreement,” said Kennedy. “USCIB members have encouraged the UNFCCC to focus on fostering conditions to enable greater technological innovation, emphasizing the private sector’s critical role in developing and disseminating new climate-friendly technologies.”

In Bonn, TEC Chair Gabriel Blanco of Argentina indicated his intention to involve experts from non-state interests, including business, in the TEC’s ongoing work. USCIB will follow the ongoing work closely to provide business expertise.

Lingering apprehension from Copenhagen

Following the TEC meeting, UN negotiators met to deliberate the drafting of concrete treaty text, with fundamental disagreements persisting among parties over how to begin. According to Kennedy, developing countries support an approach which compiles all government proposals, while developed countries favor an edited and streamlined beginning text, prepared by the negotiations’ co-chairs and drawn from government proposals.

“While this might appear to be a minor procedural point, it presents a fundamental challenge: to reach a simplified text, with a small number of outstanding issues that can be finalized by ministers in Paris,” said Kennedy. “Many governments are still haunted by what happened in Copenhagen in 2009, when new treaty text was introduced at the last second as the result of high-level negotiations among a small group of governments.”

Other discussions in Bonn addressed: energy efficiency and renewable energy; sources and measuring of funding commitments for greenhouse gas reductions, and adaptation to climate change impacts; and response to the anticipated release (which took place this week) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report.

The next UN climate negotiating meeting takes place June 4-15 in Bonn, and will include a ministerial segment in the first week. Governments also agreed to an additional negotiating session in October in Lima, prior to the next major conference of parties to the UNFCCC, which will be held in December, also in Lima. USCIB will be covering all these meetings, so stay tuned for additional reports on these critical UN negotiations and related developments on global climate change.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

 

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

UN Welcomes Business as It Plans for Global Environmental Assembly

Published on March 31, 2014
USCIB’s Norine Kennedy (third from left) with members of the U.S. delegation attending the Nairobi sessions
USCIB’s Norine Kennedy (third from left) with members of the U.S. delegation attending the Nairobi sessions

For the first time, the UN Environment Program’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (UNEP OE CPR) allowed non-governmental and business representatives to attend a preparatory meeting in Nairobi, from March 24 to 28. The meeting discussed proposed decisions for the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) to be held in Nairobi in late June.

USCIB Vice President Norine Kennedy represented U.S. business at the week-long meeting, where she also serves as co-chair of the Stakeholder Coordinating group for UNEP. Joining Kennedy was Weru Macharia of the Kenyan Employers’ Organization. Business submissions to UNEP can be found here.

Government representatives at the UNEP session considered new international policy efforts on:

– air quality, proposed by the United States

– strengthening scientific assessments by UNEP

– chemicals and waste, and

– non-governmental stakeholder engagement.

USCIB will be preparing for the June UNEA in order to communicate member priorities and views to the U.S. and other government representatives that will attend. UNEA will lay the groundwork for environmental considerations in the UN Post 2015 Development agenda, and extend UNEP influence into scientific assessment and agenda setting for international policy.

UNEP is the recognized central UN agency for environmental issues, comprising several multilateral environmental agreements, international chemical regulatory policy, green economy and scientific assessment. At last year’s Rio+20 meeting and UN General Assembly, governments agreed to expand UNEP’s membership to include all 193 country members of the UN, and to give it primary authority for environmental policy. USCIB has had consultative standing with UNEP since 2010.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

 

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

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

More on USCIB’s Food and Agriculture Working Group