Welcome statement by Minister Leterme at the outreach event of the UN Global Compact Network Belgium

Discours

15/10/2009

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the first official Outreach event of the UN Global Compact Network Belgium, here in Brussels.

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Already a decade ago, international organizations, including the United Nations, started to look at business and civil society as key partners in advancing the UN core goals of international peace and development.
Last month, in connection with the UN Leadership Forum on Climate Change, I participated in a meeting organized by the UN Secretary General, which brought together representatives of governments, business, and civil society to discuss how to build positive momentum for climate negotiations and how business can be part of the solution.
This new trend of multi stakeholder cooperation, in which companies, civil society, UN agencies and governments act in close cooperation are essential in a globalized world.
Belgium strongly supports this interdependency and actively contributes in a number of multi stakeholder engagements, such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and the Kimberley Process (placeholder? Other MSE).

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

The UN's core business is peace, international cooperation, and development. Companies, on the other hand, traditionally focus on profit. But I believe that they and the UN have common objectives such as good governance, transparency, anti-corruption and environment safeguarding.

Moreover, I am convinced that the business environment plays a significant role in enhancing the UN key goals through the companies' day-to-day operations and their corporate social responsibility programmes.

From that premise, the Global Compact was founded in 2000.

The Global Compact marks a fundamental step.

Ten years ago, the relationship between the United Nations and the private sector was a rather cool affair.

This changed when former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan championed the development of partnerships with the private sector; inter alia through the Millennium Development Goals and the Global Compact. Indeed, companies are now persuaded that responsible business practices can lead to social and economic inclusion.

I also believe that the UN Global Compact reflects a change in the UN traditional way of operating. The Global Compact is a corporate and non governmental driven initiative, with no legally binding code of conduct.

John Ruggie, UN Special Representative for Business and Human rights, called the Global Compact a learning approach, as opposed to a regulatory approach.
On the one hand, this is positive. Companies, which voluntarily adhere to the UN Global Compact, firmly believe in the advantages of enhancing corporate social and environmental responsibility and corporate citizenship.
On the other hand, a challenge remains to stimulate UN Global Compact member companies to fully comply with the Compact's principles in their daily business environment.
Companies are "monitored" only through their annual reporting process. There are no other incentives. The UN as well as other Global Compact companies should strive for more credibility and transparency for the initiave. In this regard, I suggest that Belgian companies, through their respective local networks and focal points, could take up this challenging task and organise a process of peer accountability and peer audit control.
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Ladies and Gentlemen,

"Corporate social responsibility" (CSR) is a hot item in the international business environment.

Companies use CSR-policies to promote their actions conducive to sustainable economic growth, poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability. International, European and national business networks aim to unite companies to share best practices on CSR, to innovate between business and other stakeholders, to shape the daily business and political agenda on sustainability and competitiveness.

This new trend receives my utmost full support. However, companies should not use CSR-policies as easy PR-stunts, as empty vessels.

I believe that CSR-policies attempt to strengthen the interaction between the company and its stakeholders, including consumers and civil society. They will improve the company's image, which customers will reward. I am also convinced that intelligent business investment in social as well as in environmental enhancements will ultimately yield more stable and stronger markets that are less vulnerable to risk and externalities.

Accordingly, in these current economic challenging times, when every company tries to reduce costs, it would be unsuccessful to diminish CSR-activities.

In this regard, I am glad to hear that in this tough economic period, several Belgian companies took up their responsibility, as forerunner of responsible practices, and formed a Task Force to conduct a Global Compact network Belgium.

We kindly accepted to host this outreach event and to launch the local Global Compact Network Belgium, since that network clearly reflects the two major important trends, which I just pointed out,
- on the one hand the multi stakeholder approach where civil society, governments, and industry act together
- on the other hand the network puts corporate citizenship as well as the respect for UN principles such as labor, human and social rights, as well as the environment high on the agenda.

The UN Global Compact Network focal point in Belgium, has found its new home in the Federal public Service Foreign Affairs

Ladies and gentlemen,

Seeing so many companies, civil society and labor organizations, as well as representatives from government present today, I believe the first meeting of the Belgian UN global compact network is already a success.

Let me conclude by inviting you all to join the Belgian UN Global Compact network. I am convinced that Corporate Social Responsibility makes an important contribution to tackle the enormous social and environmental challenges we are facing today.

Thanks for your attention.

Nederlands