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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD Experience of international business in application of OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and CSR principles in their daily operation LDDK CSR Conference Matthias Thorns Senior Advisor - IOE 7 November 2013

Matthias Thorns, IOE

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Page 1: Matthias Thorns, IOE

REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Experience of international business in application of OECD Guidelines for

Multinational Enterprises and CSR principles in their daily operation

LDDK CSR Conference

Matthias Thorns Senior Advisor - IOE 7 November 2013

Page 2: Matthias Thorns, IOE

REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

What is the IOE ?

• Peak international organisation representing employers organisations and their members.

– Private and voluntary.

– Not part of ILO - Not paid by ILO – Independent.

• Most representative global business organisation : 150 EOs in 144 countries. E.g. LDDK

• Established in 1920

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Page 3: Matthias Thorns, IOE

REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Situating the IOE

EMPLOYERS UNIONS

GLOBAL IOE ITUC

OECD BIAC TUAC

EUROPE Businesseurope ETUC

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Global Employer Representation

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IOE

NATIONAL ORGS

SECTORAL / REGIONAL ORGS(SOME COUNTRIES ONLY)

INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYERS / BUSINESSES

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Main international CSR instruments and tools

• United Nations Global Compact• United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human

Rights• OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD

Guidelines)• ISO 26000 Guidance Standard of Social Responsibility (ISO

26000)• ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational

Enterprises on Social Policy (ILO MNE Declaration)

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

2011 CSR Communication of the EU Commission

The Commission invites:

• All large European enterprises to make a commitment by 2014 to take account of at least one of the following sets of principles and guidelines when developing their approach to CSR: the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, or the ISO 26000 Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility.

• All European-based multinational enterprises to make a commitment by 2014 to respect the ILO Tri-partite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy.

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

EU study on References made by large EU Companies to internationally recognised CSR Guidelines and Principles• 68% of the sample companies make reference to CSR, 40%

refer to at least one internationally recognised CSR instrument.• 33% meet the European Commission's call to refer to at least

one of the following: UN Global Compact, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, or ISO 26000.

• 2% meet the European Commission's call to refer to the ILO MNE Declaration.

• 3% refer to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

• The UN Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative, with 32% and 31% respectively, are the most commonly referenced instruments. 7

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

CSRforAll Project• Survey of at least 100 companies per country (Croatia,

Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Turkey).• The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

were best known by company representatives in Croatia (21%), Montenegro (40%) and Turkey (63.8%).

• Awareness of ISO 26000 also ranked high in all of the countries except Croatia (22% in Macedonia, 25% in Montenegro, 18% in Romania and 39% in Turkey).

• Whereas in Macedonia 6%, in Romania 11.93%, in Montenegro 17% and in Turkey 24.5% of the companies which are aware of at least one of the above mentioned instruments make use of at least one of them; in Croatia the number is markedly higher at 57.4%.

• The reason for the gap between awareness and use of the instruments might indicate training needs by companies.

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

UN Global Compact

• Has its origins in a speech by the then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the 1999 World Economic Forum in Davos, where he called on the business community to join with the UN in helping to put a human face on globalisation

• 10 principles on Human Rights, Labour Standards, Environment, Corruption

• More than 10,000 participants, including over 7,000 businesses in 145 countries around the world.

• GC office in New York has a budget of US $ 9 million 9

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

UN Global Compact issues• Loss of focus: Compact has moved away from focusing on the

principles and engaging through the responsible UN agencies, to being a multi-stakeholder, open-based platform covering a range of issues as for instance the engagement in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) debate.

• Stronger formalisation: Reporting requirements.

• Lack of Governance: GC Leaders Summit, Local Networks, Local Networks Forum, GC Board, GC Donor Group.

• Efforts to establish Local GC Networks as the recognized national business voice, instead of national Employers and business federations. 10

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights

• In June 2011 the UN Human Rights Council endorsed the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights and

• decided to establish to set up a Working Group on business and human rights to promote the effective and comprehensive dissemination and implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

• UN Guiding Principles address states and companies.

• Operationalization of the “protect-respect-remedy” framework.11

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

The five independent members of the Working Group are:

• Mr. Michael Addo (Senior Lecturer in international human rights law at the University of Exeter)

• Ms. Alexandra Guaqueta (Attached to the School of International Studies at Flinders University)

• Ms. Margaret Jungk – Chair (Director of the Human Rights & Business Department at the Danish Institute for Human Rights)

• Mr. Puvan Selvanathan (UN Global Compact) • Mr. Pavel Sulyandziga (Member of the Public Chamber of

Russia and working on the issue of the protection of indigenous rights)

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

The Working Group pursues three work streams through which it will deliver its mandate:

• Global dissemination• Promoting implementation• Embedding in global governance frameworks

Current Projects:• UN Forum on Business and Human Rights• Country Visits (Mongolia, USA, Russia, Ghana, …)• Company and government Survey • Global Community of Practice Initiative • GP Laboratory

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

UN Forum on Business and Human Rights

• The first UN Forum on Business and Human Rights took place on 4 and 5 December 2012 in Geneva.

• The event took a constructive approach and focused on the challenges of implementing the UN Guiding Principles.

• The next UN Forum on Business and Human Rights will be

on 3 and 4 December 2013 in Geneva. Business Pre-Meeting on 2 December in the afternoon.

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Company Survey

• The results of a company survey jointly undertaken by the IOE, ICC, Global Business Initiative and the University of Denver on the challenges of implementing the UN Guiding Principles were presented at the Forum. According to the survey, – 96% of companies engage in philanthropy and other voluntary activities that

contribute positively to society, and this over and above their compliance with national law.

– 83% of companies have made a public commitment to respect human rights, and

– 86% have signed up to voluntary initiatives that address the respect of human rights.

• The IOE, ICC and the Global Business Initiative are currently undertake a follow-up survey! Please join!

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Challenges for Companies

• What does a HR due diligence approach looks like

• Doing Business in WGZ

• Supply Chain Management

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Government survey

• The UN Working Group also undertook a government survey with regard to the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles.

• From 193 UN members states only 24 participated in the survey.

• Key topics for governments: Equal opportunities and gender equality at the workplace (21 states), migrant workers (16 states), freedom of association (16 states), child labour and environmental pollution (15 states).

• Conclusion: “The state survey indicates that governments are still in in the initial phase of the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles”.

• The UN Working Group sets up a NGO survey on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles, on questions on how involved they are in remedy processes 17

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Webcast of the Business and Human Rights Webinar is now available

• On 20 December 2012 IOE Secretary-General Brent Wilton delivered a webinar on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to provide employer organisation members, and their member companies, with a preliminary update on the implementation of the Guiding Principles, as well as to discuss challenges and obstacles.

• A webcast of this webinar is now available via the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpYTfIItm1I&feature=youtu.be

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

ISO 26000

• Adopted in Nov. 2010.

• Guidance Standard on the social responsibility of all kinds of organisations.

• Not a management system standard, nor is it intended or

appropriate for certification purposes or for regulatory or contractual use.

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

What are the main strengths of ISO 26000? • It reflects broad international consensus on the elements of

social responsibility, drawn from authoritative international instruments.

• As such, it serves as a good basis for cross-border discussions on social responsibility.

• It provides good orientation for starting a social responsibility journey.

• It contains a good basis for engaging in stakeholder dialogue and other external discussions.

• It allows for freedom of use: users may draw upon as much or as little of the guidance as necessary to help inform their own social responsibility policies or practices.

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

What are the main weaknesses of ISO 26000?

• Unlike most international SR instruments, ISO 26000 is not freely available and must be purchased at a cost of between €50 - €160.

• At 118 pages, ISO 26000 is long, complex and difficult to read;

• Many sections of the guidance are clearly oriented more toward larger organizations and will not be relevant for smaller or medium-sized organizations.

• The guidance tends to dictate actions by the reader rather than to explain the benefits of SR and encourage action by the user.

• Even though ISO 26000 is explicitly not for certification, it has been misused by many who have offered certification services.

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

ISO 26000 Issues

• Development of national certifiable standards based on ISO 26000 (Denmark, Spain).

• Efforts to develop ISO 26000 further at international level (The Netherlands Standardization Institute (NEN) submitted a proposal to ISO’s Technical Management Board (TMB) for the development of an ISO International Workshop Agreement (IWA) on self‐declaring the application of ISO 26000 (July 2012). French, Dutch, Swedish follow-up initiative.

• The discussion about ISO 26000 since it was launched has been dominated by the issue of certification, rather than focusing on efforts to increase dissemination and use of ISO 26000 (ISO workshop in November 2012). 22

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

• On 15 October 2013, ISO launched a five-month Systematic Review of ISO 26000 (please see attachment). The question being put to the national ISO member bodies is: Should ISO 26000 be confirmed, revised/amended, converted into another form of deliverable, or withdrawn?

• It is therefore of the utmost importance that you engage with your national standardisation body to ensure that there is no request from your country for new standard setting for a certifiable ISO 26000.

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises on Social Policy

• It is an instrument negotiated and adopted by governments, worker and employer organisations, and is therefore based on broad consensus.

• By contrast with the OECD Guidelines for Multinationals, the ILO’s Tripartite Declaration of Principles targets companies and governments in all countries and is therefore also supported by governments and social partners in developing countries.

• Unlike the OECD Guidelines, it only deals with social policy themes.

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

• ILO MNE is not well known. On the other hand it has to be recognised that the provisions of the ILO Tripartite MNE Declaration are (partly) included in the OECD Guidelines and ISO 26000. Thus, the impact of the Declaration might be higher than the low number indicates at first sight.

• 2011 CSR-Communication of the EU Commission invites “All European-based multinational enterprises to make a commitment by 2014 to respect the ILO Tri-partite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy.”

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Challenging wording in the ILO MNE Declaration

• MNEs should provide wages and benefits “not less favourable” than those offered by “comparable employers in the country concerned.” If no comparable employers exist, companies should “provide the best possible wages, benefits and conditions of work, within the framework of government policies. These should be related to the economic position of the enterprise, but should be at least adequate to satisfy basic needs of the workers and their families.”

• Important Link to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises Danger of NCP Case!

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Activities regarding the ILO MNE Declaration

• Promotional activities of the ILO (e-learning tool, etc)

• Follow-up survey.

• Helpdesk for companies.

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

ILO Helpdesk for Business on International Labour Standards

The ILO Helpdesk is a free and confidential service that can help companies align their operations with international labour standards.

Contact: [email protected] or +41 22 799 62 64

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REPRESENTING EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Thank you very much for your attention!

Matthias Thorns

Phone +41 (0) 22 929 0021

[email protected]

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