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9 November, 2004

At the European Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility (Maastricht, 7-9 November 2004), NGOs and trade unions presented a statement in which they urge a move from words to action.

The European Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) took place in the city of Maastricht, The Netherlands, from the 7th to the 9th of November, 2004. Government officials, companies, NGOs and trade union organisations came together to discuss all sorts of issues regarding CSR. At the end of the conference, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade, Karien van Gennip, read out a conclusive statement in which she underlined the importance of the CSR business case, the implementation of CSR in different regions, and competences, attitudes and skills that can be used to promote CSR. The Minister's statement can be consulted at www.csr2004.nl

The NGOs and trade union organisations present at the conference drafted an alternative statement, calling on the member states of the European Union to take responsibility in establishing a CSR agenda that is not characterized by voluntarism and the abdication of state responsibilities. Below you can read the original text of the NGO and trade union statement.

*** A call for globally accountable business

Preamble

We, the Civil Society Organisation and trade union representatives from many regions across the globe, are united by our shared vision of a sustainable and an equitable world. Our group feels a sense of urgency in bringing to the Conference a call for action, and outlines below, recommendations for the EU to act upon. The CSR agenda needs to demonstrate its credibility globally, particularly in the developing country context.

We urge a move from words to action! The time has come for EU Member States, Governments, and EU Corporations to act upon their good intentions.

We oppose the abdication of State responsibilities towards guaranteeing rights as also any corporate action that subverts such responsibilities. Alone, voluntary initiatives are wholly insufficient to achieve a sustainable and equitable world.

Our recommendations to the EU Member States:

Our involvement and commitment to the CSR agenda is contingent on action by the EU on the aforementioned recommendations.

Before mentioned points represent and reaffirm our commitment to the subject of the conference. Any effort to enhance competitiveness of the economies of the European Union should not compromise measures improving sustainable development and poverty eradication.

This statement is endorsed by the CSR Worldwide Week network, the Dutch CSR Platform (www.mvo-platform.nl) and other civil society organisations participating in this Conference

African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC), South Africa
All India Council of Unilever Unions, India
Amnesty International
Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC), Hong Kong, China
Business Watch Indonesia (BWI), Indonesia
CEDEM, Chile
Centre for Education and Communication (CEC), India
Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), The Netherlands
CIVA Innovation Management, South Africa
Consumentenbond, The Netherlands
Dutch Coffee Coalition, The Netherlands
Frente Autentico del Trabajo (FAT), Mexico
Fundacion Vamos, Mexico
Germanwatch, Germany
India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN), The Netherlands
Instituto de Defesa do Consumidor (IDEC), Brazil
International Restructuring Education Network Europe (IRENE), The
Netherlands
Labour Awareness and Resource Centre (LARC), Kenya
Lawyer's Environmental Action Team (LEAT), Tanzania
Macedonian Center for International Cooperation, Macedonia
Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands), The Netherlands
Mpalabanda - Cabinda Civic Association, Angola
Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa (NIZA), The Netherlands
Novib (Oxfam Netherlands), The Netherlands
Observatorio Social, Brazil
Partners in Change (PiC), India
Responsible Business Initiative (RBI), Pakistan
Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID), United Kingdom
South Asia Alliance for Responsible Business (SARB)
Women on Farms Project (WFP), South Africa


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News Index Search for news: Advanced Search	A Call For Globally Accountable Business 9 November, 2004 At the European Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility (Maastricht, 7-9 November 2004), NGOs and trade unions presented a statement in which they urge a move from words to action. The European Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) took place in the city of Maastricht, The Netherlands, from the 7th to the 9th of November, 2004. Government officials, companies, NGOs and trade union organisations came together to discuss all sorts of issues regarding CSR. At the end of the conference, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade, Karien van Gennip, read out a conclusive statement in which she underlined the importance of the CSR business case, the implementation of CSR in different regions, and competences, attitudes and skills that can be used to promote CSR. The Minister's statement can be consulted at www.csr2004.nl The NGOs and trade union organisations present at the conference drafted an alternative statement, calling on the member states of the European Union to take responsibility in establishing a CSR agenda that is not characterized by voluntarism and the abdication of state responsibilities. Below you can read the original text of the NGO and trade union statement. *** A call for globally accountable business Preamble We, the Civil Society Organisation and trade union representatives from many regions across the globe, are united by our shared vision of a sustainable and an equitable world. Our group feels a sense of urgency in bringing to the Conference a call for action, and outlines below, recommendations for the EU to act upon. The CSR agenda needs to demonstrate its credibility globally, particularly in the developing country context. We urge a move from words to action! The time has come for EU Member States, Governments, and EU Corporations to act upon their good intentions. We oppose the abdication of State responsibilities towards guaranteeing rights as also any corporate action that subverts such responsibilities. Alone, voluntary initiatives are wholly insufficient to achieve a sustainable and equitable world. Our recommendations to the EU Member States: The EU must ensure implementation and enforcement of existing corporate responsibility and accountability initiatives, notably the OECD Guidelines and ILO Tripartite Declaration. The EU Member States should endorse and promote the UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with regards to Human Rights. Stakeholders, particularly those from developing countries, should be equal partners and have direct influence on the development and implementation of the CSR strategies and operations. Therefore, the EU should enable Civil Society Organisations to empower those stakeholders most vulnerable in the value chain. Lack of accessible, timely and relevant information about corporate practices at the international, national and local level is a major impediment to achieving sustainability. Hence, it is imperative that the EU Member States ensure such stakeholder rights. The EU Member States as significant consumers should demonstrate leadership. This implies setting social, environmental, labour and human rights criteria for public procurement, government subsidies, trade promotion and export credit agencies. The EU should not shift the responsibility to achieve CSR solely to consumers. Although consumers play an important role, effective CSR requires active involvement of governments in the protection of the interests and the rights of consumers. In harmonising national and international law the highest available standard on social and environmental norms must be maintained. The EU should not permit corporate lobbying for the lowering of social and environmental standards. The EU should develop and reinforce mechanisms to hold EU corporations accountable and assure redress for affected stakeholders of corporate activities, especially those stakeholders outside of the EU. Our involvement and commitment to the CSR agenda is contingent on action by the EU on the aforementioned recommendations. Before mentioned points represent and reaffirm our commitment to the subject of the conference. Any effort to enhance competitiveness of the economies of the European Union should not compromise measures improving sustainable development and poverty eradication. This statement is endorsed by the CSR Worldwide Week network, the Dutch CSR Platform (www.mvo-platform.nl) and other civil society organisations participating in this Conference African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC), South Africa All India Council of Unilever Unions, India Amnesty International Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC), Hong Kong, China Business Watch Indonesia (BWI), Indonesia CEDEM, Chile Centre for Education and Communication (CEC), India Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), The Netherlands CIVA Innovation Management, South Africa Consumentenbond, The Netherlands Dutch Coffee Coalition, The Netherlands Frente Autentico del Trabajo (FAT), Mexico Fundacion Vamos, Mexico Germanwatch, Germany India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN), The Netherlands Instituto de Defesa do Consumidor (IDEC), Brazil International Restructuring Education Network Europe (IRENE), The Netherlands Labour Awareness and Resource Centre (LARC), Kenya Lawyer's Environmental Action Team (LEAT), Tanzania Macedonian Center for International Cooperation, Macedonia Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands), The Netherlands Mpalabanda - Cabinda Civic Association, Angola Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa (NIZA), The Netherlands Novib (Oxfam Netherlands), The Netherlands Observatorio Social, Brazil Partners in Change (PiC), India Responsible Business Initiative (RBI), Pakistan Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID), United Kingdom South Asia Alliance for Responsible Business (SARB) Women on Farms Project (WFP), South Africa