Product Policy Archives

Jose Arroyo (USCIB) at the USCIB Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Committee meeting.

In December, during the Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs (CRLA) Committee meeting in Houston, USCIB launched a new Working Group focused on the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) forthcoming labor standard on the protection of workers against chemical hazards. The Working Group builds on USCIB’s successful engagement model used during last year’s negotiations on the ILO Biological Hazards Convention and brings together member companies to ensure a coordinated and informed US business voice.

The objective of the Working Group is to develop a clear strategic approach and policy positions that USCIB will advance as discussions progress. While formal negotiations are expected in 2027 and 2028, substantial preparatory work will take place well in advance. Early engagement is critical in shaping the scope, structure, and practical orientation of any future ILO instrument.

A potential new or updated chemicals standard would be relevant across a wide range of sectors, including manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, energy, agriculture, transportation, waste management, and other industries where chemicals are part of normal operations. According to Jose Arroyo, Manager, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs at USCIB and expert on the subject, the key consideration will be to ensure that any future standard remains focused on workplace protection, is risk-based, and reflects the diversity of industrial contexts and existing regulatory frameworks.

USCIB welcomes member engagement in this newly established Working Group. USCIB members interested in participating are encouraged to reach out directly to Jose Arroyo to join the effort and help shape US business positions ahead of the negotiations.

USCIB with staff from the TRIPS Council at the WTO. L-R: Shira Graubart (FMC Corp.), Anton Aschwanden (Google), Kristen Kaufman (USCIB), Flora Okereke (BAT), Gerald Kunde (Ferrero), Jason File (USCIB), Norine Kennedy (USCIB), Alison Hoiem (USCIB), Damon Ansell (AB InBev), Johanna Hill (WTO), JN Hill (Deloitte), Emily Dickens (SHRM), Chenai Rusike Kirkpatrick (SHRM), Roger Kampf (WTO), Ashley Harrington (USCIB), Wolf Meier-Ewert (WTO).

USCIB’s annual Geneva Week has returned!

USCIB staff and a select delegation of members traveled to Switzerland May 5-9 to meet with policymakers, influential decision-makers from government, and high-level officials from key Geneva-based UN Agencies. This year’s Geneva Week program coalesced around pertinent policy topics for US business related to innovation, IP protection, international public health, and public-private sector collaboration.  

USCIB members and staff met with representatives from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the TRIPS Council at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and UN Missions, namely Australia, Brazil, Italy, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  

Jason File with USCIB members and Partners at Baker McKenzie: Eva-Maria Strobel and Pablo Bentes

USCIB member Baker McKenzie hosted a “Friends of IP” reception. The reception focused on global IP issues on the horizon and gave USCIB members a chance to meet with IP attachés from Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, and the US in an informal setting. 

The USCIB Foundation also organized a “Business Pact for the Future Symposium: New Pathways for UN Impact for Business,” which USCIB member Microsoft hosted.  

USCIB meets with US Mission. L-R: Ashutosh Chadha (Microsoft), Norine Kennedy (USCIB), Alison Hoiem (USCIB), Jason File), Damon Ansell (AB InBev), Flora Okereke (BAT), JN Hill (Deloitte), Tressa Finerty (US Mission Chargé d’Affaires), Gabriela Wurcel (FMC Corp.), Gerald Kunde (Ferrero), and Shira Graubart (FMC Corp.).

The relaunch of Geneva Week this year is especially relevant because it coincides with the new Administration setting the course on international policy for the next four years. Additionally, USCIB and the UN are marking their respective 80th anniversaries.  

Chip Kunde (Ferrero) with USCIB staff Kristen Kaufman, Jason File, and Alison Hoiem

“Ensuring business continuity in a challenging global environment is a priority for Ferrero,” said Chip Kunde, Senior Vice President, Institutional Affairs & Corporate Communications at Ferrero North America, and USCIB Board member. “USCIB recognizes this imperative and restarted ‘Geneva Week’ at a critical time. The relationships we cultivate at these vital global institutions are essential to our future. We’re grateful USCIB is investing in long-term with us!” 

L-R: Norine Kennedy (USCIB); Italian Ambassador Vincenzo Grassi; Tressa Rae Finerty (US Chargé d’Affaires); Chip Kunde (Ferrero)

Geneva—a hub for technical, economic, and policy bodies within the UN system—provided an ideal setting for members to build relationships and gain unique access to officials. Members and staff also demonstrated opportunities for cooperation between business and various multilateral institutions and showcased their commitments to shared global goals, such as the SDGs. 

L-R: Anton Aschwanden (Google); Luke Hindlaugh (Cargill); Jason File (USCIB); Chip Kunde (Ferrero); Alison Hoiem (USCIB); Morten Enggaard Rasmussen (Novonesis); Ashley Harrington (USCIB); Kristen Kaufman (USCIB)

“USCIB’s Geneva Week offers a vital platform for advancing employer perspectives in global policy conversations,” said Emily M. Dickens, Chief of Staff, Head of Public Affairs & Corporate Secretary at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and a USCIB Board member. “At SHRM, we know that workplace issues don’t stop at borders—so neither can our advocacy. Engaging with international institutions through Geneva Week strengthens SHRM’s ability to champion people-centered policies that empower employers and workers alike, ensuring workplaces around the world are equipped for the future of work.” 

Chris Olsen and Agnes Vinblad

The 6th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) concluded on March 1 in Nairobi, Kenya. After extensive and, at times, challenging negotiations, Parties adopted 15 resolutions, two decisions and a Ministerial Declaration. According to USCIB Director of Environment & Sustainable Development Agnes Vinblad, UNEA-6 outcomes advance work on further strengthening cooperation for national implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, the sound management of chemicals and waste, enhanced regional cooperation on air pollution, solutions for strengthening water policies, combatting land degradation and more.

As the highest decision-making body on the environment, UNEA decisions shape the global policy agenda across all Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). This session of the Assembly was held under the theme “Effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution” with an overall focus on how to increase synergies between MEAs to solve the triple planetary crises.  

USCIB holds official observer status to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and has been active participants in the UNEA process since its inception in 2014. The USCIB delegation to UNEA-6 included Vinblad, USCIB Policy Manager for Trade & Regulation Chris Olsen and USCIB member company Enveda Biosciences’ Director of Policy and Development Tendai Chisow.

Joining over 5,600 people from across 190 countries at UN Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, USCIB advocated for constructive business considerations and engaged through the UNEP Business and Industry Major Group – the formal UNEP constituency group for business.  

“The strong outcomes from UNEA-6 yet again shows the critical importance of multilateralism,” said Vinblad. “In a world fraught by conflict and economic uncertainty, the ability of Member States to come together in agreement to work together towards solving some of our most urgent global challenges certainly sends a strong signal on the key role that Multilateral Environmental Agreements continues to play.”   

The 2024 Assembly also included the first ever MEA Day on February 28, which highlighted the role of agreements such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement. 

Chris Olsen and Agnes Vinblad at INC-3 in Nairobi

USCIB and its members were engaged throughout the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-3). INC-2 was held November 13 to 19 at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. 

A USCIB delegation, headed by USCIB Policy Managers Chris Olsen and Agnes Vinblad, followed the negotiations and a range of events prior to and throughout the week. Additional USCIB members made the trip to Nairobi for the negotiations, joining through other observer organizations, and continued to convey how the business community can be solutions providers in the INC process. 

According to Olsen, the negotiations were organized into three contact groups, broadly covering: substantive elements; financing, capacity building and means of implementation; and elements not discussed at INC-2. The results of these groups will be compiled into a single “revised draft text from INC-3” that includes a compilation of all the options proposed in addition to those of the Zero Draft text, as well as a proposal and other submissions regarding those elements that had not been discussed prior to INC-3. The third contact group was also unable to reach consensus regarding intersessional work. This “revised draft text” will be the basis for the negotiations at INC-4, in Ottawa, Canada, next April. 

“Plastic Pollution is such a complex and multidimensional global issue, in need of even more multidimensional solutions,” said Vinblad while reflecting on the issues discussed throughout the week. “At INC-3, we have continued to see firsthand the wide range of views across countries and the wide range of perspectives across industries. It is critical that the INC process continues to be a negotiation inclusive of all observers and maintain a collaborative spirit, recognizing the key role of the global business community in identifying opportunities for innovation and implementation.” 

UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi.
Photo credit: Chris Olsen (USCIB)

INC-3 also saw a changing in its chair, with Gustavo Meza-Cuadra from Peru stepping back into a vice-chair role, and Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso of Ecuador being elected to serve as the Committee’s Chair for INC-4, INC-5, and the final Diplomatic Conference in 2025. This had been agreed upon at the outset of the INC process. The host city of INC-5 was also announced as Busan, Republic of Korea, to take place late November of 2024. 

Regarding the outcomes of INC-3, Olsen went on to stress, “While the lack of consensus regarding recommendations for intersessional work cast a small shadow over the end of the week that many have focused on, the fact of the matter remains that solid progress was made on many important topics that can serve as the foundation for negotiations at INCs-4 and 5 next year. Business needs to be ready to continue to educate and inform policymakers on how we can be partners in addressing these global challenges in the year to come.”