Sample Csr Proposal.docx





PROPOSAL

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Project Title

Corporate Social Responsibility International Instruments for APEC Economies

Project Year

Project Number

CTI 24 2013T

Project Session

Session 3

Project Status

Completed Project

Standard

Project Type

View Budget Table |

2013

Print

Project No.

CTI 24 2013T

Project Title

Corporate Social Responsibility International Instruments for APEC Economies

Project Status

Completed Project

Publication (if any) Fund Account

TILF Special Account

Sub-fund

None

Project Year

2013

Project Session

Session 3

APEC Funding

146,027

Co-funding Amount

37,500

Total Project Value

183,527

Sponsoring Forum

Investment Experts Group (IEG)

Topics

Investment

Committee

Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI)

Other Fora Involved Other NonAPEC Stakeholders Involved Proposing Economy(ies)

Chile

CoSponsoring Economies

Australia; Canada; Indonesia; Mexico; Peru; Philippines; Chine se Taipei

Expected Start Date

01/05/2014

Expected Completion Date

31/12/2014

Project Proponent Name 1

Nicolas Schubert Gallardo (wef 29 January 2015)

Job Title 1

Legal Advisor

Organization 1

Services, Investment & Air Transport Department, Directorate of International Economic Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Postal Address 1

Teatinos 180, 11th Floor, Santiago, Chile

Telephone 1

56-2 28275209-28275597

Fax 1

Not Applicable

Email 1

[email protected]

Project Proponent Name 2

Not Applicable

Job Title 2

Not Applicable

Organization 2

Not Applicable

Postal Address 2

Not Applicable

Telephone 2

Not Applicable

Fax 2

Not Applicable

Email 2

Not Applicable

Declaration

Nicolas Schubert Gallardo

Project Summary

The project consists in a workshop that will take place in Chile during the ABAC meeting in May, 2014. Its main objective is to analyze principles and guidelines developed in international fora on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), their main characteristics, common elements, and potential challenges concerning their promotion and implementation. The Workshop will gather experts on these CSR instruments, governments from developed and developing APEC economies which have

supported or implemented successful CSR initiatives including national policies, and private and public companies with experiences on this matter. The Workshop will be divided in two parts: the first, with particular attention to the business sector and the exchange of best practices in both public and private sectors; and the second, will be oriented to a more public approach on the role of government officials and public policies with respect to the promotion of internationally recognized principles and guidelines on CSR. Relevance

Directly linked to the Bogor Goals, Corporate Social Responsibility has been increasingly receiving more attention in the APEC Region. In APEC 2012, under the theme “Integrate to Grow, Innovate to Prosper”, APEC Economic Leaders expressed in their Declaration support to sustainable growth initiatives and committed to ensure that all actions aimed at protecting the environment become least trade restrictive and consistent with their international trade obligations. Recently, gathered in Bali, Indonesia, Leaders resolve to continue to implement the APEC Investment Facilitation Action Plan (IFAP) and improve Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and sustainable investment (see 2013 AELM Declaration, par. 10.e.). In the same direction, in 2013 Ministers “welcomed the public-private dialogue on Corporate Social Responsibility [held in Jakarta and named APEC Workshop on Corporate Social Responsibility for Local Communities][1], and encouraged officials to work with the private sector to build and improve upon CSR practices.” (see 2013 AMM Declaration, par. 22). After the international financial crisis, there was a profound process of questioning the global financial and regulatory system. Public confidence between companies and citizens has thus been affected, especially in developing economies based on the exploitation of natural resources, affecting the stability for doing business in a long term perspective. One of the results of this process was the inclusion of sustainable development issues in the multilateral agenda. In this context, it should be noted that Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the most important components of the Sustainable Development agenda.

The Principles and Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility developed in international fora are voluntary, but they are key mechanisms to promote national efforts to adopt integrated policies towards social sustainability and responsibility. Governments’ reactions to this situation have been various and progressive. Some economies have implemented national policies on CSR to encourage companies’ responsible behavior. Others have invited companies to adopt CSR international instruments with the purpose of giving a political impulse towards responsible business conduct. Even though CSR principles have been adopted by various companies during the past few years, there is still a challenge on how to disseminate knowledge of these principles and guidelines by the private sector and to continue encouraging companies to use and implement these criteria in APEC economies. Therefore, this project will assist APEC economies, private and public companies, and governments in their analysis, understanding, and identifying -according to their reality and economic projection- CSR international documents, their common elements and characteristics.

[1] See summary and recommendations in APEC web site. Objectives

This project will contribute and facilitate a capacity building process in APEC economies, especially in the developing ones. Its goal is to foster sustainable development through the promotion of CSR principles by the business community; the analysis and implementation of the principles and guidelines on CSR developed by international bodies; and the exchange of information on national efforts (both public and private) to adopt integrated policies towards social sustainability and social responsibility. Based on the results of a survey will be considered to settle a specific topic that the Workshop will address in order to provide a framework for discussion. Accordingly the agenda will include a number of sectors, private and public companies, CSR experts, government officials, and stakeholder’s representatives. The Project has the following main objectives:This project will

contribute and facilitate a capacity building process in APEC economies, especially in the developing ones. Its goal is to foster sustainable development through the promotion of CSR principles by the business community; the analysis and implementation of the principles and guidelines on CSR developed by international bodies; and the exchange of information on national efforts (both public and private) to adopt integrated policies towards social sustainability and social responsibility. Based on a survey to be distributed among APEC economies prior to the Workshop in order to provide a framework for discussion, the agenda will include a number of sectors, private and public companies, CSR experts, government officials, and stakeholder’s representatives. The Project has the following main objectives: 1. To enhance the understanding of recognized principles and guidelines on CSR:

internationally

The CSR documents are various and complex[1]. For that reason, an analysis of their main characteristics, advantages, scope, common aspects, and potential challenges in their promotion and implementation, is necessary and recommendable. Companies are invited to adopt at least one of them as a guideline of their business conduct. Thus, in order to disseminate the use of these instruments, it is crucial to enhance their understanding and comprehension. Therefore, the main subjects of the Workshop will be the characteristics, common elements, and potential challenges concerning the promotion and implementation of the identified principles and guidelines on CSR. 2.

To share experiences on Corporate Social Responsibility:

In this context, it would be useful and interesting for APEC economies, both developed and developing, to share international experiences and best practices on this subject, especially with respect to their social and economic differences that are considered when governments decide to implement public policies on CSR. Accordingly, it would be useful to promote an informal framework that facilitates dialogue and

exchange of opinions and ideas among APEC economies. 3.

To publish the main conclusions of the discussion:

A publication will resume the main conclusions of the Workshop. It will be prepared at the end of the project, and can be used by APEC economies as a material that can serve other projects and groups of economies to analyze, understand, and promote existing principles and guidelines on CSR.

[1] See References of recent literature in Annex. Alignment

This project seeks to implement Leaders instruction to promote CSR in the Asia-Pacific Region as stated in their Declarations in 2008: “We agreed to promote CSR practices in APEC economies on a voluntary basis in business operations of all sizes to complement public policies that foster sustainable development.” (2008 AELM, par. 14-17). Recently, in Bali 2013 Leaders reiterated their support to CSR (2013 AELM, par. 10.e.) encouraging officials to work with the private sector to build and improve upon CSR practices and sustainable investment. In addition this project is in line with the Ministers instructions contained in their Statement of 2008 and 2013 which supported “efforts (including through ABAC) in promoting CSR awareness and capability in both the public and private sector”. As CRS is widely considered a tool that contributes to sustainable development goals, we believe consequently this project will also contribute to the report on APEC’s progress in promoting the APEC Growth Strategy, which will tentatively be submitted to APEC Leaders in 2015. Finally, this project will support APEC’s Investment Facilitation Action Plan (IFAP). As it will make a contribution to action number 5 “Build constructive stakeholder relationships” by means of “examine[ing] and share[ing] APEC member economies’ experience with responsible business conduct instruments” (see Attachment B).

TILF/ASF Justification

APEC Leaders statement in 2013 highlighted the need to continue implementing the APEC Investment Facilitation Action

Plan (IFAP) and improve Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and sustainable investment. As it is widely recognized, Corporate Social Responsibility is an instrument for achieving sustainable growth as it promotes responsible business conducts that contributes to economic, social and environmental development. In line with this, in 2011 CSR was included in the APEC Non-Binding Investment Principles, which notes that acceptance of foreign investment is facilitated when investors comply with the prevailing laws and regulations in the economy and take into account guidelines that are related to CSR. Thereof, projects that seek to enhance stakeholders (private and public) understanding on CSR contribute to facilitate investment activities in the Asia-Pacific Region. In consequence, this project clearly contributes to achieving trade and investment liberalization and facilitation as it is inline with investment guidelines mentioned in the Osaka Action Plan (Part I, Section B, 4d.) Furthermore, the Bogor Declaration embraces sustainable development as a framework of economic growth for both developed and developing economies. Its importance is recognized in several parts of its text, for instance in paragraph 3, 4, and 8. Likewise the Osaka Action Plan, as mentioned above, includes the concept of sustainable development in several areas identified as means to implement the Bogor Goals. For example, in investment (Part I, Section B, 4d), and Industrial Science and Technology (Part II, Section B, 5e). Also the WTO recognizes that sustainability is also a common goal at the World Trade Organization, which preamble explicitly acknowledges “the objective of sustainable development, seeking both to protect and preserve the environment and to enhance the means for doing so in a manner consistent with their respective needs and concerns at different levels of economic development”. And finally the Bruntland Commission establishes the definition of Sustainable Development under the basis of three pillars:

economic development, social development, and protection of the environment. In consideration to the above, CSR instruments are then instruments for achieving those objectives and are the necessary complements to sustainable development national strategies in APEC economies. It goes without saying that these documents make APEC efforts consistent and aligned with the global purpose of promoting Sustainable Development in different areas and instances. Beneficiaries and Outputs

First, this project aims at fostering sustainable development through the promotion of CSR principles and guidelines by the business community, government officials, and stakeholders. The Workshop will address and focus on the sharing of good practices. For that reason, it will promote an exchange of information and opinions on national efforts (both public and private) towards sustainable development and social responsibility. In addition, this project is looking forward to enhancing the understanding of internationally recognized principles and guidelines on CSR. Second, this project contemplates a Workshop that will take place in Chile during the ABAC meeting in May 2014. This Workshop will consider the participation of CSR experts who will explain and analyze CSR international instruments and their main characteristics, advantages, scope, and potential challenges in their promotion and implementation. Third, the main conclusion of the discussion will be part of a publication which will consolidate deliberations, conclusions and recommendations during the Workshop. Therefore, the project will produce a deliverable report that will be available for all APEC economies in a digital format, and as a result, to private and public companies; government officials; and stakeholders. Now in order to achieve these goals, it is necessary to reduce the scope of the project, and as mentioned further below in the work plan, we plan to circulate within the IEG a survey that will help us take stock on the needs and necessities of APEC economies in order to be able to formulate a consistent agenda

that will efficiently deal with the issues in a direct and effective way. Disseminatio n

The presentations, conclusions and recommendations of the workshop will be summarized in a report agreed to by all economies and edited in a digital format (CD) and published on the APEC Web Page. All documents published will comply with APEC guidelines and be submitted for consideration and approval before being published. This publication will be broadly distributed in APEC economies, especially to business associations, trade unions, universities, think tanks, and government agencies as well as international organizations.

Gender

From a participation point of view, Project Overseers will take the necessary provisions in order to ensure the participation and engagement of both men and women throughout the project. In particular women will be included in the planning and organization of the project (one woman project overseer has already been nominated), women participation (as speaker and participant) will be encourage in the implementation of the project (Chile will seek, if possible, a balance between women and men speakers), the result of the project will be disseminated to women through the Chilean women’s governmental agency (SERNAM). From another point of view, as the main objective of this project is to enhance the understanding of internationally recognized principles and guidelines of CSR in order to foster sustainable development, we strongly believe the project will contribute an understanding of gender considerations - among the public and private sector - and encourage women and men’s participation in the economy given that women and gender issues play an important role in CSR. In this regard, it is appropriate to underline that International CSR instruments establish a direct link between business and human rights. Most relevant international instruments of CSR (for example, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, par II.A.11; or the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, par. A.2) outline that companies and governments should put in place necessary provisions in order to avoid and address possible negative human rights impacts by business. Thereof the scope of human rights comprises women’s rights

recognized in international human rights, such us the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women or the ILO 1981 Recommendation concerning Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women Workers. Furthermore, in relation to the participation of women in the economy, CSR promotes the principle of nondiscrimination (see for example UN Global Compact, principle number 6). The application of this principle in respect of employment comprises hiring practices, job assignment, promotion schemes, human capital formation, discharge, pay and benefits, transfer or relocation, termination, retirement. In summary, CSR discipline understands that women and gender issues are a prerequisite for sustainable development. Work Plan

November –December 2013: Chile will contact other interested economies and privet sector representatives in order to present examples of corporate social responsibilities and start coordinating a possible roster of speakers to attend the Workshop. Additionally Chile will circulate among IEG members a Survey in order to provide a framework for discussions and help draft the workshop agenda January – February 2014: Program: Chile will circulate the agenda for comments to the relevant group to finalize the program details by the end of February and extend invitations to APEC participating economies and coordinate travel and accommodations, as needed. Participants: Chile will solicit APEC’s authorization to invite the participation of other international organizations and non-APEC economies. Speakers: Chile will confirm the participation of guest speakers (and back-up speakers for precautionary measures). This will involve coordination with the economies which will present their experiences. Venue arrangements: The workshop will take place in Santiago, Chile. At the same venue as the ABAC meeting which

will have the adequate space will be reserved for the event. Chile will finalize the venue arrangements. March 2014: Chile will commence to prepare the workshop material such as hand outs and other material. Chile will also follow-up with the active participants and speakers in order to guarantee their participation. All the logistical information will be contained in an Administrative Circular that will to all participants and speakers May 2014: The workshop will take place during the first week of May. May 2014: Chile will prepare a publication based on the conclusions and next steps with respect to the workshop to be distributed among the governments of the member economies of APEC for the comments and approval. July 2014: Once we receive consensus on all the contents of the report, we will prepare a digitally formatted report and distribute it to the participating APEC economies and other recipients (international organizations, academic institutions that have specialized programs in public administration). Risks

Risks associated with the Workshop will be minimal. In order to ensure a constructive discussion for the success of the activity, Chile will create an outline for the appropriate profile for eligible participants. Another risk involved is the possibility of last-minute speaker cancellations. That risk will be managed by identifying possible back-up speakers in advance of the event. Chile will observe a schedule in order to identify travel-eligible participants and arrange logistics in a timely fashion for the event. Therefore, Chile has not identified serious risks related to this project.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The primary indicator of whether the Workshop on Corporate Social Responsibility International for APEC is successful in meeting its objectives will be the assistance of APEC member’s officials and relevant stakeholders. Along with that, the active participation and dialogue during the Workshop will be crucial for the success of this capacity building activity, especially

among developing economies. In order to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Workshop, we plan to hold the following surveys: 1. Knowledge Survey: The first one will take place at the beginning of the Workshop. Its objective is to measure the level of participants’ knowledge about the subject, especially with respect to the CSR International Instruments, Principles, and Guidelines. The second will be carried at the end, based on the quality and pertinence of the information received during the Workshop, and the knowledge that the participants were able to obtain. 2. Satisfaction Survey: its aim will be to measure the participants’ satisfaction on the Workshop organization, for example, punctuality, materials, panelists, among others. 3. Follow up- Survey: three months after the workshop, there will be a survey, which will be conducted with the purpose to follow-up the results of the Workshop, especially on how the Workshop’s recommendations are implemented in the participant’s economies. Finally, the factual report that summarises the key issues of the discussion will be a useful tool for the relevant actors engaged with the activity. It will be a contribution for stakeholders of APEC members when addressing these issues at a domestic level; for private sector, it will provide a clear idea of the state of the art in these issues among the region; for the EC, it will provide relevant information to keep advancing these issues in future meetings and activities. Linkages

Sustainable development through CSR is a crosscutting issue and as such is related to many APEC fora, namely CTI, IEG, HRDWG, SMEWG, PPWE. Therefore the outcome of this project will be disseminated to those fora. Within APEC there has been wok undertaken in different fora concerning CSR. For instance in 2006 HRDWG sponsored a project entitle “New Corporate Procurement Strategy on Trade in Goods and Services in APEC Region - Supply-chain options

with CSR perspective”; in 2009 the MTF provided capacity building to APEC’s developing member economies engaged in the mining sector on relevant CSR issues by sharing best practices; the same year during SOM I a symposium was help in order to foster CSR in the APEC Region; and finally in 2012 the IEG undertook a Public-Private Dialogue on Corporate Social Responsibility for Local Communities. This project will seek to build on the conclusions of previous work and see how the outcomes of the respective sectors can be translated to others. Additionally, many relevant fora outside APEC are related to these topics, for example: UN, ILO, ISO, OECD, among others. We will seek the participation of these organizations, through appropriate consultation, since CSR issues are evolving very quickly. Even if there are many institutions running initiatives on CSR, for APEC it constitutes an important element in order to reach the goal of FTAAP as long as sustainable development continuous to be a key objective for trade liberalization, as stated in Bogor Declaration. Sustainability

Private and public companies, government officials, and stakeholders can benefit from the exchange of opinions and experiences during the Workshop. After the project completion, the possible steps would be: (1) The analysis of the state of art in the implementation of the internationally recognized principles and guidelines on CSR among APEC economies, that will end in a report. . (2) The development of a Handbook to help Economies in the promotion of CSR. (3) Workshop or dialogues, depending on the evaluation, to disseminate these instruments. (4) A new report, developed three years after the first report, to analyze the status of implementation of such instruments. The last report will be the outcome for the followup of the previous steps, and would be presented in the 2019 APEC Summit in Santiago, Chile.

Project Overseers

Name: Title: Organization:

Maria Loreto LYNCH Legal Advisor Services, Investment & Air Transport Department -

Directorate of International Economic Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Postal address: Teatinos 180, 11th floor, Santiago Tel: (56 2) 28275209 - 28275597 E-mail: [email protected] Short bio Ms. Maria Loreto Lynch is a lawyer. She works in the Services, Investment & Air Transport Department of the Directorate of International Economic Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has a Master of Law (LL.M.int) granted jointly by the Chilean and Heidelberg Universities. She has experience in International trade Law, Investment, trade arbitrage. Name: Pablo ROMERO Title: Advisor Organization: APEC Department Postal address: Teatinos 180, 11th floor, Santiago Tel: (56 2) 28275404 E-mail: [email protected] Short bio Mr. Pablo Romero is a Lawyer. He has an LL.M. in Business Law granted by the Geneva University in 2011. He has experience in international business topics and recently joined the APEC Department of the Directorate of International Economic Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Name: Ricardo BOSNIC Title: Advisor Organization: APEC Department Postal address: Teatinos 180, 11th floor, Santiago Tel: (56 2) 28275684 E-mail: [email protected] Short bio Mr Ricardo Bosnic is a lawyer. He got a Master Degree in the University of Heidelberg/Universidad de Chile in 2011, and in the École Nationale d’Administration of France in 2000. He is a career diplomat working at of the Directorate of International Economic Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2012 in areas such as trade, investment, and corporate social responsibility. Cost Efficiency

As this Workshop will be held back to back with the ABAC meeting in Santiago, we will be able to generate economies of scale in terms of the hosting costs referring to room rental and audiovisual equipment. The host economy will cover costs of short-term staff, secretariat, communication, photocopy, and costs relating to equipment and any other minor incidentals. Finally, in a bid to save on publishing and delivery costs, publications and documents produced as an output of the workshop will be made electronically available to both

participants and non-participants. The preferred forms of communication will be through e-mails and other viable forms of electronic communication when corresponding with overseas co-organizers, participants and experts, while post-workshop evaluation would largely carried out through emails. Drawdown Timetable

Not Applicable

Direct Labour

APEC-funded positions will not be employed for this project.

Waivers

Not Applicable

Are there any supporting document attached?

No

Version: 8.0 Created at 26/12/2013 16:29 by Lucy Phua Last modified at 01/10/2015 11:11 by Lucy Phua