 PROPOSAL

 SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Corporate Social Responsibility 2013

Project
Project Title International Instruments for Year
APEC Economies
Project
Project Number CTI 24 2013T Session
Session 3

Project Type
Standard Project Completed
Status
Project
View Budget Table | 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 Non-
APEC
Stakeholders
Involved

Proposing
Economy(ies)
Chile
Co-
Sponsoring
Australia; Canada; Indonesia; Mexico; Peru; Philippines; Chine
Economies se Taipei
Expected
Start Date
01/05/2014
Expected
Completion
31/12/2014
Date

Project
Proponent
Nicolas Schubert Gallardo (wef 29 January 2015)
Name 1

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
nschubert@direcon.gob.cl
Project
Proponent
Not Applicable
Name 2

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 internationally

recognized principles and guidelines on CSR:

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 non-
discrimination (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
The primary indicator of whether the Workshop on Corporate
Evaluation 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 follow-
up of the previous steps, and would be presented in the 2019
APEC Summit in Santiago, Chile.
Project Name: Maria Loreto LYNCH
Overseers
Title: Legal Advisor
Organization: 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: mlynch@direcon.gob.cl
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: paromero@direcon.gob.cl
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: rbosnic@direcon.gob.cl
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
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Version: 8.0
Created at 26/12/2013 16:29 by Lucy Phua
Last modified at 01/10/2015 11:11 by Lucy Phua