Work-related accidents are among the top five leading causes of death around the world. Every year, 2.3 million workers die from injuries sustained on the job. Two million of these deaths are due to diseases including stress.

To respond to this challenge, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has set a specific target on promoting safe and secure environments for all workers. On April 28, the UN convened a special event in New York to discuss global initiatives for addressing safety at work.

Ronnie Goldberg, USCIB senior counsel, was a speaker at the event along with Reinhard Krapp (German Mission to the UN), Nata Menabde (World Health Organization), Edmundo Werno (International Labor Organization) and Alison Brown (Cardiff University). The panel was moderated by Vinicius Carvalho Pinheiro, ILO special representative to the UN.

Goldberg gave the business perspective on work-place safety, noting that occupational safety is a key business issue as it is inked to productivity and the competitiveness of enterprises. She said that proper and adequate supply chain management is a priority for companies, and hundreds of sector-specific initiatives exist to promote workplace safety along the supply chain.  Capacity building is also of critical importance to improve working conditions, she said, both for government institutions and companies.

“Employers recognize that creating a culture of prevention is a win-win for all parties,” Goldberg noted. “The IOE is committed to continue participating in the discussion on improving working conditions in supply chains as well as the development of the Vision Zero Fund.”

USCIB will host a webinor on Bretton Woods II, New America’s multi-stakeholder platform for reducing global volatility, which will take place Wednesday, March 23 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST. This will be the third webinar in the USCIB Corporate Responsibility series; please see below for further information on the series.

To register, please fill out the registration form here.

The non-partisan BWII, led by Tomicah Tilleman, is working with a large coalition of organizations – including the White House, the World Bank, McKinsey, Gates Foundation, and a range of long-term asset holders – to demonstrate that large long-term financial actors (institutional investors like pension funds and sovereign wealth funds) can significantly increase their long-term returns by dedicating a percentage of their holdings to investments that address root causes of volatility, i.e. poverty, corruption, poor governance and the lack of rule of law. Such directed investments can also improve investment climates in countries throughout the world in ways that have a multiplying effect for multinational enterprises. BWII also presents an opportunity for companies with unique competencies to lend their talents to this important endeavor.

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Tomicah Tillemann is a leader in the fields of social impact, civic innovation, and diplomacy. He currently serves as Senior Fellow and Director of New America’s Bretton Woods II.

Between 2010 and 2014, Tillemann served under Hillary Clinton and John Kerry as the Secretary of State’s Senior Advisor for Civil Society and Emerging Democracies. Tillemann led a team of experts that operated like venture capitalists in translating promising ideas and technologies into successful foreign policy. He also established and chaired the State Department’s Global Philanthropy Working Group and the State Department’s Federal Advisory Committee on civil society.

Tillemann joined the State Department in 2009 as Secretary Clinton’s speechwriter and collaborated with her on over 200 speeches. Previously, he spent four years on the professional staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as an advisor to Chairmen Joe Biden and John Kerry. Tillemann’s other professional experience includes work with the White House, five U.S. Senate and Congressional campaigns, Reuters New Media, and the World Bank.

Tillemann is a co-holder of four patents on advanced clean technologies and a co-founder of IRIS Engines. He serves on the Advisory Board of BitFury, the world’s largest provider of blockchain infrastructure, and has helped launch and lead numerous civil society organizations and foundations. He received his B.A. magna cum laude from Yale University and holds a Ph.D. with distinction from the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University (SAIS). He has lectured at Yale and Princeton and testified repeatedly before Congress. He is a frequent guest on the BBC, NPR, and other news outlets.

Over the past several years the Obama administration has engaged the government of Myanmar to advance a range of political reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s rule of law and economy. Steps taken by the United States to normalize relations with Myanmar, including lifting an import ban, have brought tangible benefits to the people of Myanmar as well as to American companies, who have made positive contributions to Myanmar society through their high standards of corporate social responsibility.

On February 18, USCIB joined four other business groups urging U.S. cabinet officials not to renew sanctions against Myanmar in light of the country’s recent democratic reforms. Myanmar held elections last year that neutral observers noted were free and fair. Given this progress, the U.S. business community believes expanded economic relations with Myanmar are appropriate. Remaining sanctions should be eliminated, the business groups argued, because they create uncertainty for investors.

“The remaining U.S. sanctions are a significant reason why U.S. investment in Myanmar remains modest and Myanmar entrepreneurs cannot truly take advantage of their putative access to the American market,” USCIB and the other groups said in a statement. “By contrast, virtually all other countries that had previously maintained sanctions against Myanmar have removed them entirely, placing U.S. companies who wish to invest in Myanmar or otherwise support engagement at a unique disadvantage.”

The statement concludes that not renewing sanctions against Myanmar would signal the beginning of a new relationship with a country that has made substantial progress toward improved governance and the rule of law.

In order to run companies successfully, business leaders must have an awareness of human rights and corporate social responsibility issues and an understanding of how to confront them. For the second year in a row, USCIB has partnered with the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights to offer first-year MBA students a paid opportunity to work at a multinational company on a business and human rights challenge during their summer. USCIB is inviting member companies to participate in the fellowship program that matches talented NYU Stern MBA students interested in corporate responsibility with USCIB members willing to provide a hands-on summer internship opportunity.

The deadline to apply is February 29, 2016. This year’s participating USCIB members include Facebook, New Balance, Newmont Mining and PepsiCo. All applicants will go through at least two rounds of interviews. First, a number of qualified NYU Stern MBA students will be selected by the Center from a general pool through an application and interview process. Applications of initially selected candidates will then be forwarded to participating companies so they can select which candidates they would like to meet for a second round interview. Each company will be able to make the final decision as to which candidate, if any, to extend an offer.

Last year, two fellows interned with USCIB members PepsiCo and DirectTV Latin America. The fellows discuss their experiences in blog posts here and here, as well as in the video below:

The fellows had very substantive experiences, completing tasks through their internships that contributed directly to key business operations and strategy in the area of CSR, sustainability and human rights