IOE Update: Future of Work Report, IOE Global Employers’ Summit

Published on February 6, 2017

The Future of Work Report

The International Organization of Employers (IOE) has recently published a report on the Future of Work, which presents perspectives on labor market fluctuations in job creation and transformation, technological change and new skills, changes in business models and ways or working, as well as challenges and opportunities in policy-making. This Report is one of the IOE work products that will inform the B20 Employment and Education Task Force that is co-chaired by USCIB CEO and President Peter Robinson.

The Report states that “institutions will need to be much more ambitious in providing enhanced access to lifelong learning and educational opportunities. To inform investment decisions on education and skills, as well as to inform individual career choices in an ongoing challenging environment, it will be essential to rely on more real-time, finely-tuned, holistic and dynamic data.”

An Executive Summary is available here.

IOE Global Employers’ Summit

Save the date for the second annual IOE Global Employers’ Summit scheduled to take place on May 17 in Bad Neuenahr, Germany. Please contact Linda Kromjong for additional details.

The Summit is organised back-to-back with the G20 Labor Ministerial on May 18-19 in Bad Neuenahr and will bring together high-level representatives from global companies, international organizations, employers’ organizations and institutions, to explore key areas of interest for business in the G20 process, including the economic implications of Brexit, the 2016 U.S. election result, making global supply chains more sustainable, bringing more women and youth into employment, and much more.

The event will conclude with a joint IOE-BDA-ITUC-TUAC-Deloitte dinner with G20 Labour Ministers, which will allow for an informal exchange with Ministers and key policy actors on policy developments and trends.

Sustainable Business Opens Major Economic Opportunity

Published on January 17, 2017

ICC’s Secretary General John Danilovich welcomed a new report – Better Business, Better World – which has been developed by a group of over 35 CEOs and civil society leaders including Danilovich himself. The Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC) initiative was launched one year ago with the aim of inspiring business leaders to drive implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The BSDC’s headline finding is that putting the SDG’s at the heart of the world’s economic strategy could unleash a step-change in growth and productivity. Analysis presented in the report suggests that SDG-related markets have the potential to grow two to three times faster than average GDP over the next five years – with many “unicorns” (start-ups valued at over US$1 billion) already finding major success in these sectors from mobility systems through to circular manufacturing.

Commenting on the launch of the report, Danilovich said: “The report makes clear that sustainability is no longer a luxury investment: it’s a core driver of business productivity and growth in the 21st Century. The Global Goals have created enormous opportunities for businesses willing to put sustainability at the heart of their operations.”

Danilovich added: “We believe the SDGs should be known as the BDGs – the Business Development Goals. There is a huge opportunity for business to drive the transition to a better and more just world. We want the BSDC report to inspire a new generation of business leaders who put sustainability first because it makes plain business sense.”

Many companies are already taking action to support implementation of the SDG’s. In fact, USCIB has launched Businessfor2030.org in 2015 to track initiatives and contributions that businesses have been making to achieve sustainable development through the prism of the SDG’s.

Better Business, Better World was launched at the Philanthropreneurship Forum in Vienna, Austria, and will also be discussed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

To access the report, visit the Business & Sustainable Development Commission

USCIB in the News: Op-ed in The Hill on UN Funding

Published on January 11, 2017

USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson published a timely op-ed in The Hill addressing recent calls in Congress to withhold or withdraw U.S. funding for the United Nations. The op-ed, reprinted below, is also available on The Hill’s website.

This op-ed comes as President-elect Trump’s top appointees, including his proposed foreign policy team, are on Capitol Hill for Senate confirmation hearings. We encourage you to share the op-ed with your colleagues and others who may be interested.

The Hill

January 11, 2017

Walking away from the UN would harm US economic interests

By Peter M. Robinson, opinion contributor

With President-elect Trump’s key foreign policy nominees facing Senate confirmation hearings this week and next, some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are threatening to withhold or slash U.S. funding for the United Nations.

This would be a bad idea, both for American power and influence, and for our economic interests. It would be especially risky for U.S. companies and workers.

My organization — The United States Council for International Business — has represented American business views to the U.N. and other international organizations for decades.

We know the U.N. sometimes fails to measure up to our expectations, particularly when it and its specialized agencies have provided a platform for anti-business views. Why do we put up with this? Why shouldn’t we just take our chips and go home?

Quite simply, because we know that no country, including the United States, can go it alone. A strong U.S. presence in the U.N. enhances our influence and our overall security.

More than ever, at a time when terrorism, cybersecurity threats, disease pandemics and refugee crises can disrupt our lives, we need the kind of platform for close international cooperation and collective action that the U.N. can provide.

This is especially true for American companies with customers, employees and operations around the world. While we may not agree with everything the U.N. does, it is simply not in our interest to withdraw support.

We in the private sector see an urgent need for the United States to stick up for its economic interests in the U.N.

For instance, in the negotiations that culminated in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, the U.S. had to push back hard against proposals to undermine protection for innovation and intellectual property rights, to assign historical liability for loss and damage from natural disasters, and to ban certain technologies or energy options important to U.S. energy security and climate risk reduction.

Without strong U.S. leadership, these initiatives would have carried the day, hampering American jobs and competitiveness.

At their best, the U.N. and similar bodies set global standards and develop rules that allow U.S. businesses to plan and invest.

Recent U.N. initiatives that have helped American business and our economy include agreements that support a fundamentally “hands-off” approach to the global Internet and guidelines laying out the roles and responsibilities of the private sector and governments in upholding human rights.

Moreover, the U.N. has recently developed the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), addressing an array of challenges, from ending global poverty and hunger to ensuring access to energy, for the next decade and beyond.

The SDGs were developed in close partnership with the private sector, which will be responsible for “delivering the goods” in many, if not most, measures of success.

So, is the U.N. perfect? Far from it, but withholding funding or walking away from the U.N. won’t change that.

Like it or not, it is part of the fundamental infrastructure for global economic activity. Like other infrastructure, the U.N. is desperately in need of repair to meet the needs of the 21st century.

If we play our cards right, this can be a century of American-led innovation and entrepreneurship. President-elect Trump’s administration should insist that the U.N. live up to its potential, defending and advancing U.S. interests in the influential world body.

Business will be there to help. Just last month, the U.N. afforded highly-selective Observer Status in the U.N. General Assembly to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the business organization that represents enterprises across the globe in numerous U.N. deliberations.

This is an important sign of progress, indicating that the U.N. recognizes the need to work more effectively with business.

(Full disclosure: My organization serves as ICC’s American chapter and we pushed hard in support of ICC’s application.)

Congress should meet U.S. funding obligations and work with the Trump administration to hold the U.N. accountable to the U.S. and other member governments, as well as to economic stakeholders in the business community.

Strong engagement and leadership in the global body by the United States is an opportunity too important to lose. American security, jobs and economic opportunities are at stake if the U.S. were to indeed walk away.

Peter M. Robinson is president and CEO of the United States Council for International Business. He is an appointee to the President’s Committee on the International Labor Organization and the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on Public-Private Partnerships. Robinson holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.

General Electric and McDonald’s Honored With ACE Awards for 2016

Published on January 9, 2017

McDonald’s Director of Global Government & Public Affairs Sam Tatevosyan and State Department Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Ziad Haidar — McDonald’s Director for Global Government & Public Affairs Sam Tatevosyan alongside Ziad Haidar, State Department special representative for commercial and business affairs

The U.S. Department of State recently held its 18^th annual Awards for Corporate Excellence (ACE). Two leading USCIB member companies, General Electric and McDonald’s, headed the list of six recipients honored for exceptional proactive corporate responsibility programs in specific foreign countries. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken handed out the awards in an impressive ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room. Under Secretary for Economic Growth Cathy Novelli and Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Ziad Haidar also participated in the ceremonies. USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly, a former U.S ambassador and State Department official, represented USCIB at the event.

General Electric and McDonald’s were the two winners in the “Inclusive Hiring Practices” category. GE was honored for co-founding the country’s first all-women business services center, which now employs over 1,000 Saudi and non-Saudi women, servicing a fifth of the company’s worldwide service needs. Mazen Dalati, chief operating officer of GE Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, accepted the award. GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt also spoke via a video message.

McDonald’s Deutschland was also honored in the “Inclusive Hiring Practices” category. McDonald’s Deutschland has led by example to support refugees’ integration into Germany’s society and workforce. Since 2015, McDonald’s Deutschland has employed over 900 refugees across the country. The company also provided over 20,000 online German Language learning course licenses to help refugees prepare for the workforce in Germany. Sam Tatevosyan, McDonald’s director of global government and public affairs, accepted the award on behalf of McDonald’s Deutschland and the entire company.

Other winners included Andela (Nigeria) in the “Small and Medium Enterprise” category, Bureo (Chile) and Interface (Philippines) in the “Sustainable Oceans Management “ category, and Freeport McMoran for “Transparent Operations” category for its Cerro Verde copper mine in Peru. U.S.-based companies operating overseas are nominated for these annual awards by the local U.S. ambassadors. Competition is intense with many deserving nominees ever year. GE is repeat winner, having been recognized in 2007 for its work in Indonesia. Previous winners over the past 18 years included USCIB companies such as Coca-Cola (Philippines and Egypt), Intel (Vietnam), Proctor and Gamble (Nigeria and Pakistan), Cisco Systems (Israel and Jordan), Goldman Sachs (Chile), and Chevron (Nigeria).

The audience at last week’s ceremony included U.S. government officials, foreign ambassadors, the business community and the media. The ceremony was webcast around the world by the Department of State. More details on the Department of State’s ACE awards program, the ceremony, and this year’s winners can be found here.

USCIB Commends Release of First US National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct

Published on December 19, 2016

USCIB vice president Ariel Meyerstein attended a ceremony to mark the release of the U.S. National Action Plan (NAP) on Responsible Business Conduct last week in Washington DC. The ceremony demonstrated interagency support and coordination in completing the NAP and featured speakers from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of State.

“This is quite an achievement and we commend everyone who was involved in this complex process,” said Meyerstein. 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. Meyerstein noted that, 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.

At last month’s UN Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights, USCIB joined several leading business associations active in business and human rights discussions to issue a statement on NAPs globally, urging Member States to complete their processes for creating NAPs, which less than ten Member States have done thus far (with several dozen remaining in various stages of completion). The statement also urged states to engage with the business community to learn from first-hand experiences in dealing with human rights impacts, particularly since companies have an increasing level of experience in implementing policies and practices.

“This first U.S. NAP lays a great foundation,” Meyerstein said, “particularly as 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.” Meyerstein added, “all of these areas are critical to the success of global companies who do business all over the world and therefore rely on the U.S. government to bring additional pressure to raise global standards and to ensure that other government actors do their fair share in protecting human rights and regulating what is ultimately anti-competitive misconduct by bad actors.”

If the U.S. government does not have a seat at the table in negotiating these standards or working towards their implementation, Meyerstein concluded, then “not only are there likely to be more human rights abuses, but U.S. companies will bear more of the costs in the long-run.”

The NAP is available here.

Business Urges Governments to Advance National Human Rights Action Plans

Published on November 15, 2016

USCIB Vice President Ariel Meyerstein (2nd from left) and IOE Secretary General Linda Kromjong (far right) at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights

As the world’s largest annual gathering on business and human rights gets underway in Geneva this week, the private sector is calling on governments to heighten efforts to develop and implement national action plans.

Bringing together over 2,000 participants – including government, business, civil society and academia – the 2016 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights is a major opportunity to assess progress in relation to the United Nations’ Guiding Principles (UNGP) on Business and Human Rights, and other current business-related human rights issues.

Endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, the Guiding Principles comprise 31 principles and commentary based on three pillars, implementing the UN’s “protect, respect and remedy” framework. They are a blueprint for what governments and companies need to do to put in place appropriate policies to respect human rights.

With only eight countries having implemented national action plans, USCIB and its global business partners are seeking to mobilize their national representatives to call on their respective governments to develop a national plan in order to align national laws with global standards.

In a joint statement, USCIB and other business groups issued a four-point paper stating that:

Business supports the UN Framework and Guiding Principles and wishes to see States implement the State Duty to Protect human rights
States should see NAPs as the opportunity to exercise leadership to build genuine commitment and
capacity to achieve tangible progress in standards, business behaviour and change for rights-holders
States should engage with the business community to learn from their experiences in dealing with
human rights commitments, and
State should use the NAPs as an opportunity for collective action.

Speaking during a forum panel on human rights and investment treaties, ICC Senior Policy Manager Viviane Schiavi underscored the world business organization’s pivotal role in promoting business implementation of the UN Guiding Principles, and highlighted how the newly launched 2012 ICC Guidelines for International Investment call on investing companies to respect the human rights of those affected by their activities, consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Read more on ICC’s website.

Business Engages With G20 on Employment

Published on November 7, 2016

Leading governments and business organizations are redoubling their efforts to boost employment opportunities worldwide. On November 2 in Geneva, Linda Kromjong, secretary general of the International Organization of Employers (IOE), and Phil O’Reilly, chairman of Business at OECD (BIAC), attended an informal meeting of the G20 Employment Working Group.

That same day, USCIB president and CEO Peter Robinson took part in the inaugural meeting of the B20 (Business 20) Task Force on Employment and Education, of which he serves as a vice chair. The task force is chaired by Gerhard Braun, vice chairman of the German Employers Federation BDA. Key issues for Robinson in the task force include adapting to the future of work‎ and addressing youth unemployment.

In her remarks to the G20 working group, Kromjong highlighted the fresh approach that had been taken by China, during its year in the rotating G20 presidency, to rising global unemployment by focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship. She underscored that a number of important initiatives of the Chinese presidency, such as the G20 Apprenticeships Initiative and the G20 Structural Reform Agenda, have the potential to contribute to more dynamic labor markets.

O’Reilly commended the upcoming German G20 presidency on its plans to closely engage with social partners, including the business community. He said business supports many of the ambitious agenda items of the German presidency and that it is exciting that the “future of work” has been put on the G20 agenda.

Labor and Corporate Responsibility Committees Meet in Washington

Published on October 31, 2016

USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility Committee and Labor & Employment Policy Committee held the fall installment of their biannual meetings October 19-20 at the offices of Covington & Burling in Washington D.C. The meetings comprised a day and a half of panels, bringing in speakers from business, government and civil society, along with robust discussion on issues of business and human rights. The 2016 fall meetings set a new participation record for the committees, with attendance by over 60 representatives from 35-plus companies.

Laura Chapman Rubbo (Disney) chaired the meetings and facilitated discussions, with support from Tam Nguyen (Bechtel), who serves as vice-chair of the Corporate Responsibility Committee, and Ariel Meyerstein, USCIB’s vice president of labor affairs, corporate responsibility and governance.

The keynote address was given by Ambassador Patricia Haslach, principle deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Economic Bureau. Other State Department speakers included Andrew Keller, director of sanctions policy and implementation and Melike Yetken, senior adviser for corporate social responsibility and the U.S. “national contact point” for the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises. Keller and Yetken discussed the impact of sanctions and shareholder resolutions on human rights, and developments concerning the OECD guidelines, respectively. Other speakers included former State Department official Alan Larson (Covington & Burling), Arvind Ganesan, who leads Human Rights Watch’s private sector engagement, and Carolyn Fisher (PepsiCo).

A considerable part of the agenda was devoted to the issue of forced labor. One panel covered elimination of the consumptive demand exception under the Tariff Act of 1930’s ban on importation of goods made with forced/child labor, with updates from Ken Kennedy, labor affairs policy adviser at U.S. Immigration, Customs & Enforcement (ICE), Jerry Malmo of the commercial enforcement division at U.S. Customs & Border Patrol (CBP), and Megan Giblin, USCIB’s director of customs policy.

Other meeting topics included company efforts to combat forced labor, with presentations given by a variety of companies across a wide range of industries, and a discussion on the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, led by Shift Project, who was heavily involved in the development of the Reporting Framework. The second day included a conversation with Deborah Greenfield, deputy director general of policy with the International Labor organization, on the ILO’s work plan following this past June’s discussion on “Decent Work in Global Supply Chains.”

USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility and Labor & Employment Policy Committees will reconvene in the spring of 2017.

Gender Workshop Spotlights Importance of Education

Published on October 31, 2016

L-R: Nicole Primmer (BIAC), keynote speaker Julia Goodfellow, Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB), former BIAC Chair Charles Heeter — L-R: Julia Goodfellow (University of Kent), Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB), former BIAC Chair Charles Heeter

On October 24 in Paris, Business at OECD/BIAC hosted its third workshop on gender equality, addressing the third “E” of the OECD Project on Gender — “Education.” The workshop presented business initiatives that promote lifelong training and education of women, explored questions related to soft skills and career preferences, and discussed the impact of the digital economy and developments in technology for women at work. This year’s workshop was sponsored by Deloitte and Dell.

The focus was on STEM education. Keynote remarks were delivered by Dame Julia Goodfellow, vice chancellor of the University of Kent, who discussed the differences in subjects studied by women and men at universities (almost 70 percent of students studying languages are female, while almost 80 percent of students studying computer science are men), as well as obstacles women face in the later stages of their careers.

USCIB Senior Counsel Ronnie Goldberg provided on overview from the business perspective. She recounted that the first BIAC gender equality workshop had focused on “Employment,” including the “leaking pipeline” of female leadership. The second BIAC workshop shifted its gaze to “Entrepreneurship,” addressing women in the ICT sector and key activities for companies around the world in supporting women entrepreneurs, such as providing finance, mentoring and leadership. Goldberg discussed how since these two workshops, progress on gender equality has not come as fast as desired. She said this is because changes involve not only policy, but also shifts in social and cultural attitudes.

The first panel was full of updates by ambassadors to the OECD from Canada, Germany and Chile, as well as from the OECD secretariat. They discussed the status of women at work in their respective countries, and outlined various initiatives taken by government to support girls and women in STEM fields. The second panel looked at soft skills, training and education, and how to leverage gender balance for business success. Speakers, including USCIB member Coca-Cola, discussed efforts to mitigate unconscious and implicit bias, the link between having female leadership to better understand consumers, who are often women, and once again, understanding the reasons for the “leaking pipeline” and how to prevent such leaks.

A working lunch was led by representatives from Deloitte, who discussed the lack of women in STEM subjects not related to healthcare, using the United Kingdom as an example, and how to change this outlook for women in STEM. Suggestions included starting in early schooling, by giving young girls greater exposure to female professionals working in STEM and mitigating unconscious reinforcement of gender stereotypes.

The last session centered on the impact of the digital economy — on women in ICT sectors, how companies are educating women on technology, and how both women and companies are using technology to grow professionally. ICT company representatives, such as USCIB members IBM, Google and Dell, emphasized the benefits of having female employees, and discussed individual company initiatives to encourage young women to enter digital careers. Speakers stressed the importance of encouraging young girls’ confidence about their skills in STEM subjects, and the importance of demystifying the actual skills needed to succeed in the digital economy.

BIAC will release a report of the workshop and the issues raised during discussions. Reports from the previous workshops can be found here.

Employers Participate in Forum on Impact of Major Sporting Events

Published on October 24, 2016

The International Organization of Employers (IOE), part of USCIB’s global network, took part in the October 13-14 Sporting Chance Forum on Mega-Sporting Events and Human Rights in Washington, D.C.

Convened by the U.S. State Department, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Institute for Human Rights and Business, this high-level gathering convened 100 leaders from a wide variety of relevant stakeholder groups to discuss strategies to prevent, mitigate, and remedy human rights and labor standards abuses associated with the life cycle of major international sporting events such as the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup.