News Stories Archives

USCIB and ILO to Host Event on Promoting Disability Inclusion

Published on June 2, 2017

USCIB has teamed up with the ILO Global Business and Disability Network (GBDN) to host an event in Washington DC for business leaders, “Promoting disability inclusion globally” on June 20 with the aim of supporting companies in increasing their opportunities to promote disability inclusion globally. The event will be hosted by USCIB’s member AT&T and will feature speakers from Deloitte and other USCIB member companies.

The GBDN is a network of multinational enterprises, employers’ organizations, business networks and disabled persons’ organizations who share the conviction that people with disabilities have talents and skills that can enhance virtually any business. The ILO believes ‘Disability Inclusion makes good business sense’.

The event was also featured in a Huffington Post article, “Helping U.S. Based Corporations Join the Global Disability Inclusion Conversations.”

Goldberg Gives Keynote at ILO Women in Business Conference

Published on June 2, 2017
Ronnie Goldberg gives keynote remarks at ILO Women in Business and Management Conference

USCIB Senior Counsel Ronnie Goldberg was a keynote speaker at an ILO Latin American Regional Conference on Women in Business and Management, held on May 23 in Lima, Peru.  Over 300 attendees were drawn from virtually every country of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Goldberg’s speech drew from the findings of a series of  BIAC reports, such as the report on Putting All Our Minds to Work: Harnessing the Gender Dividend and Putting All Our Ideas to Work: Women and Entrepreneurship, that highlight the business case for women’s economic empowerment and identify best practices and practical policy recommendations for advancing women’s roles in the workplace.

Her comments also addressed gender-based challenges to launching and running a business, including access to finance and business networks, as well as cultural and gender bias,  and highlighted  a number of issues and challenges facing women in STEM and information and computer technology (ICT) careers.

Among the Conference speakers was Marcela Esquivel, global director, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Business Unit, The Coca-Cola Company, who spoke about the company’s robust efforts to promote women internally, and to foster women’s entrepreneurship in its supply chain.

B20-L20 Delivers Joint Statement to G20 Labor Ministers

Published on May 22, 2017

The B20 and L20 presented a joint statement at a G20 labor ministers dinner on May 17 in Bad Neuenahr, Germany which was attended by USCIB Senior Counsel Ronnie Goldberg. Linda Kromjong, IOE’s secretary general and Sharan Burrow, ITUC’s secretary general, jointly presented the statement to the ministers and all B20 and L20 signatories at the handover ceremony  to German Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Andrea Nahles.

This year’s statement builds on the IOE/BIAC and ITUC/TUAC statement from last year with a specific focus on sustainable growth, decent work and social cohesion in the digital economy.

In line with the key priorities of the G20 German presidency, the statement reinforces the important role that business and labor have in shaping policies that not only maximize the opportunities for employment creation, but that also minimize adverse effects on employment and working conditions. Given the special focus on the digital economy, the recommendations in the statement are linked to the impact of technological change on employment and call on governments to grab the chances that technological change presents as well as address its challenges.

To harness the opportunities of technological advancements, it is important that technology is widely diffused so that businesses can maximize the potential of its use. This will facilitate the creation of an agile business environment that can offer growth of income opportunities in all of its forms in the formal economy.

Going forward, the workforce using new technology needs to be well equipped for the new digital age. This requires taking a fresh approach to education, up- and re-skilling and ensuring that all individuals have access to opportunities that allow them to continually upgrade their skills. The B20/L20 joint understanding on key elements of quality apprenticeships, the G20 Skills Strategy as well as the G20 Apprenticeship Initiative clearly have a key role to play in modernizing existing training systems.

Countdown to UN High-Level Political Forum: Ending Hunger, SDG 2

Published on May 22, 2017

This year’s United Nations High-Level Political Forum (UN HLPF) on sustainable development will be held from July 10-17 under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. The theme for the forum will be “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world” focusing in part on Sustainable Development Goal 2: ending hunger and ensuring access by all people to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.

As part of USCIB’s countdown to the UN HLPF, USCIB is highlighting some initiatives that its member companies are working on to end poverty in all its forms, while subsequently meeting the SDG targets set by the UN. These examples can be found on USCIB’s Business for 2030 website. An impactful project to note is one initiative by McDonald’s and Sustainable Coffee. McDonald’s supports sustainable agricultural production at every aspect of the supply chain. Teaming up with the international non-profit TechnoServe and the Sustainable Commodities Assistance Network (SCAN), McDonald’s trains 13,000 farmers in Guatemala and Central America to produce coffee more sustainably while simultaneously increasing crop yields. This added technical assistance will help strengthen the local economy, improving the lives of many smallholders.

Tune in for next week, when we will highlight company initiatives on Goal 3: ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages.

State Department Briefs USCIB on US National Action Plan

Published on May 12, 2017
Melike Yetken (U.S. Department of State) addresses the USCIB Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Committee

Melike Yetken, a senior advisor for corporate responsibility with the U.S. Department of State, provided an update for approximately 40 USCIB members on May 2 on the U.S. National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct (NAP). Yetken’s update was part of USCIB’s bi-annual Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Committee, which took place over two days in Washington, DC. In her update, Yetken discussed the goals of the NAP – to emphasize positive contributions and to mitigate negative aspects and highlight that the U.S. is the only government that has written a NAP on responsible business conduct.

“This first U.S. NAP lays a great foundation,” said USCIB Vice President Gabriella Herzog, who recently came on board to lead USCIB’s practice on corporate responsibility and labor affairs. “This is particularly so since it brings together in one place all of the initiatives in which the entire U.S. government has been engaged for years – and in many instances, leading global efforts, whether on government transparency and anti-corruption or forced labor, child labor and human trafficking.”

USCIB co-hosted the first public consultation on the NAP two years ago and has since advocated alongside its global partners and other major business organizations for the U.S. and other governments to develop these strategic planning tools to implement the State Duty to Protect under Pillar 1 of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. When done well, NAPs can help support businesses in implementing their responsibility to respect human rights in their own operations and those of their business partners.

Committee Chair Laura Rubbo of Disney presided over these meetings, which were hosted at the offices of Foley and Lardner. The meeting spanned various pressing topics such as the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) program on decent work in global supply chains, the Customs Tariff Act of 1930 and human rights and mega-sporting events. USCIB members also heard from former USCIB staffer Adam Greene in his capacity as senior advisor for the Bureau for Employers’ Activities at the ILO who gave an exclusive update on the ILO Program on Decent Work in Global Supply Chains.

 

USCIB Convenes Multistakeholder Roundtable on Business and Infrastructure for SDGs

Published on April 25, 2017
L-R: USCIB Vice President, Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment Norine Kennedy, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson, and Ambassador Lisa Kubiske from the U.S. State Department

As the UN gears up for its annual high-level political forum (HLPF) to review progress on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in July, the international community is turning its attention to SDG 9—building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation. The extensive role of infrastructure in achieving all 17 SDGs prompted USCIB to organize a ‘Business for SDGs’ roundtable on Infrastructure last Friday, April 21, hosted by Covington LLP in Washington DC.

Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for strategic international engagement, energy and environment and the lead for USCIB’s work on the sustainable development goals opened the meeting and served as the event’s master of ceremonies.  “USCIB’s SDG Working Group realized that no SDG can be delivered without the right ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ infrastructure, such as education, financial inclusion, food systems and healthcare, in place. The pipeline for bankable projects for both has to accelerate to broadly deploy and leverage business resources and know,” said Kennedy.

The event, held on the margins of the UN Financing for Development Infrastructure Forum, drew participants from government and business, including USCIB member companies AT&T, Bechtel, Citi, KPMG, MasterCard, and Monsanto as well as the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, NGO groups such as the Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation, and U.S. government representatives, notably Ambassador Lisa Kubiske from the U.S. Department of State who gave closing remarks.

The roundtable discussed obstacles to and best practices in public private partnerships for infrastructure projects, challenges in removing barriers or dealing with corruption, and the importance of scaling U.S. business investment, and the role of business in developing and utilizing SDG-relevant metrics. “There’s a huge financing gap, especially in terms of development and sustainable infrastructure projects around the world,” said Kubiske before citing U.S. government resources and initiatives that to de-risk and support U.S. companies competing for infrastructure projects, such as Power Africa.

“Investment in infrastructure is key to achieving a successful implementation of the SDGs,” emphasized Peter M. Robinson, USCIB’s CEO and president in discussing key takeaways from the roundtable. “We must actively search for ways to discourage governments from crowding out private investment; the implementation imperative requires scaling up business involvement and commercial opportunities. A first priority is to knock down obstacles to infrastructure investment, which can take the form of formal barriers to foreign investment in specific sectors or burdensome regulation affecting both foreign and domestic firms,” he said. Robinson’s remarks can be found here.

USCIB will host another roundtable on Innovation and SDGs in May in conjunction with the Financing for Development Forum.  Please see USCIB’s Businessfor2030 website for more information on the roundtable and other USCIB actions and engagement on the SDGs.

Many USCIB Members Ranked “Best Corporate Citizens”

Published on April 24, 2017

Talk in GreenAs USCIB prepares for its bi-annual Corporate Responsibility and Labor and Employment Committee meetings on May 2-3, USCIB would like to congratulate many of its members who were honored by Corporate Responsibility Magazine in its release of the 18th annual list of Best Corporate Citizens last week. USCIB members that made it into the top 10 rank include Intel, Microsoft, Cisco and Lockheed Martin, with many others ranked in the top 100 as well. CR Magazine is America’s leading voice on corporate responsibility, providing case studies, analyzing best practices and tracking trends in the five primary segments of corporate responsibility: energy and environment, risk management, governance and compliance, employee relations, and human rights.

Next week’s USCIB Committee meetings will touch on all five of these segments. The Committee meetings, which will be hosted by Foley and Lardner LLP in Washington DC, will include a presentation from Melike Yetken, a senior advisor for corporate responsibility with the U.S. Department of State, touching on the U.S. National Action Plan and work of the U.S. national contact point for the OECD. Yetken will also participate on a panel at the meeting with Hanni Rosenbaum of Business at OECD (BIAC) to brief USCIB committee members on the draft OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct.  Additional agenda highlights include an update on the ILO program on decent work in global supply chains, the Customs Tariff Act of 1930, the upcoming UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, and an update on conflict minerals. For more information on this two-day Committee meeting, please contact Gabriella Rigg Herzog.

The unique value of the USCIB Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Committee is its leadership position advancing the global interests of U.S. business with global policy makers in the area of responsible business conduct, and the broad and diverse nature of its members who represent multiple business functions and industries and who participate actively through the sharing of insights and experiences.

USCIB Welcomes New Vice President for Labor Affairs and Corporate Responsibility

Published on April 17, 2017
Gabriella Rigg Herzog
Gabriella Rigg Herzog

USCIB welcomed Gabriella Rigg Herzog as its new Vice President for Labor Affairs and Corporate Responsibility yesterday, April 17. Herzog will be based in USCIB’s New York office.

Most recently, Herzog served as Senior Manager for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Hess Corporation and actively participated in the USCIB Corporate Responsibility Committee.  She worked with her predecessors Adam Greene and Ariel Meyerstein and knows many of the company representatives on the committee including the Chair, Laura Rubbo.  At Hess she handled CSR and human rights issues and was active in a wide-range of internal and outside activities that led to Hess being recognized as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens.

Prior to her work with Hess, Herzog was a Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, where she led the Bureau’s global CSR policy and program practice.  She also worked at the U.S. Department of Labor developing and implementing labor cooperation programs to help labor ministries improve enforcement capacity.

“We are excited to have Gabriella join the USCIB team and fortunate to be able to bring in someone who has worked with us in her previous roles,” said Rob Mulligan, Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs. “She brings a strong background in CSR and Labor issues to the role at USCIB with the added advantage of already being very familiar with the work of the committees she will manage.”

USCIB’s Sustainable Development Event to Focus on Infrastructure

Published on April 17, 2017

Vertical Garden – Green Wall – BioWallSince the global adoption of the UN Agenda for 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the international community has turned its attention to implementation, and the resources from governments and business required to set the SDGs into motion. In this regard, a pressing priority across all seventeen SDGs is upgrading and building infrastructure for sustainability. USCIB will host a roundtable on infrastructure for sustainability this Friday, April 21 in Washington DC.

“Roundtable participants will discuss where and how business is already planning for and investing in infrastructure for sustainability, what are the enabling frameworks, policies and partnerships that can be scaled for impact, what new sources and approaches exist to mobilize resources and advance bankable projects for sustainability infrastructure and which indicators to use to measure and report impacts of infrastructure investments by the private sector,” said Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for strategic international engagement, energy and environment.

Both “hard” and “soft” forms of infrastructure have also figured prominently in the UN Financing for Development (FfD) process. The USCIB Roundtable will immediately precede the FfD Infrastructure Forum, and inform recommendations by USCIB to the UN High Level Political Forum meetings in July when they review SDG actions by governments, business and others.

Notable speakers at USCIB’s event will include Ambassador Lisa Kubiske, deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of State, Albena Melin, principal operations officer at the International Finance Corporation, Krishan Sharma, senior economist at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and Alan P. Larson, senior international policy advisor at Covington.

For further details and registration information please contact Mia Lauter, mlauter@uscib.org.

USCIB CEO and President in New York Times

Published on April 7, 2017

Robinson_OECDforumToday’s edition of The New York Times features a letter to the editor from USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson on UN reform and the need for the United States to continue to play a leading role in the UN system. The letter is available below as well as on the New York Times’s website.

Robinson’s letter responds to U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley‘s recent comments criticizing the UN Human Rights Commission and other agencies, and comes against the background of recent calls from some in Congress and the Trump administration to defund the UN.

 

The New York Times

April 7, 2017

The Opinion Pages | Letter

‘Tough Love’ at the U.N.

To the Editor:

Re “American Envoy Calls U.N. Human Rights Council ‘Corrupt’ ” (news article, March 30):

As a longtime participant in United Nations deliberations on behalf of the private sector — which has not always enjoyed a warm welcome in the organization — I think that it is always better to be at the table than to walk away.

For us, this is important because the United Nations and its member governments are looking to business to make important contributions on climate change, human rights and many other challenges.

But I agree with Ambassador Nikki Haley that it is entirely appropriate for the United States, as the world body’s biggest funder, to apply some “tough love.”

In my view, some United Nations agencies, including the Human Rights Council, may need to be reformed so that they align with the expectations of United States taxpayers and better reflect the global consensus in favor of strong protection of human rights.

PETER M. ROBINSON, NEW YORK

The writer is president and chief executive of the United States Council for International Business.