B&C Brief July 2011

&Business CommunityThe Journal for NGOnBusiness relations

Published by

be-link dbusiness & community intelligence

EditoRiAL T

he recent publication of Admical’s1 Sponsorship Charter reminds us of the extent to which there is still a need for a convergence of the perspectives of traditional phi-lanthropy and CSR. Why not promote the idea of the

two working together to transform our 1500 corporate founda-tions into major players in the financing of a French style social R & D? Charities and NGOs are in dire need of this. The ability of these foundations to take risks is ultimately one of their cha-racteristics that is probably the least valued (because they don’t receive direct financial returns from the activity they undertake.) On a slightly different note, the Ashoka Campus (which Be-lin-ked partnered) was a highlight. It saw the coming together of social entrepreneurs, venture philanthropists and agents of in-novation and CSR from all over the world for exchanges and the creation of new partnerships. The aim, as always, was as Bill Drayton says, to increase «social change.» This was a cen-tral event for France with reflection and input from over 900 in-the-field participants devoted to finding innovative responses for Europe’s major societal issues. Such a gathering is bound to have social impact : when will we see an assessment of it? Finally, at the crossroads of philanthropic initiatives, internal mo-bilisation and social investment is the “Rassembleurs d’Energie” a promising project launched by GDF SUEZ in June to mobilise social innovation in service of energy and water insecurity. The project is ambitious, as are the associated financial and human means associated with it. These are ambitions to be watched, along with the necessary injection of a fresh outlook that will enable the best in community and business expertise to work together for the common good.

Jérôme Auriac Be-linked Managing Director

Business & Community Intelligence

1/ www.admical.org

A summer with potential for co-creation

Be-linked’s mission is to integrate relations with Civil Society into the very heart of Business strategy so that sustainable economic, social and environmental value is created through innovation.

BRIEF

ASIA

July 2011

#12

© S

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News from all 5 continents 2-5

c o n t e n t s

Feature report: The economic crisis is diminishing for the world’s factory continent: the growth of Asian economies is estimated at 8% for this year, 2011. However, amongst the dependence upon contractor firms in the North, the progress of South-South trade, the impact of climate change and the need to secure energy supplies, numerous challenges still remain. The first and foremost of these is the issue of pursuing the most inclusive kind of development.

CHINA - FRIENDS OF NATURE 6 Apple’s “Polluting and Poisoning” supply chain

HUMAN RESOURCES WITHOUT BORDERS 8 Contractors... How about social change?

CSR ASIA 10 Towards Social Responsibility for Businesses in Asia: a growing awareness JAPAN - UNIQLO & the United Nations agency for refugees (UNHCR) 12 Putting used clothes to good use

SECTOR FOCUS 14 THE LOGGING INDUSTRY The Logging Industry, a sector under the spotlight

PROJECTS&PARTNERSHIPS

INDONESIA - From emergencies to prevention – adapted partnerships 7

ECPAT and The Body Shop against Sex Trafficking 13

2 B&Cbrief | n° 12 | juillet 2011

5news from all continents

GlaxoSmithKline www.gsk.com

Global Reporting Initiative www.globalreporting.org

ICAR www.accountabilityroundtable.org

Great Britain

Environmental Investment Organisationwww.eio.org.uk

Core Business Sponsorship

Report or Explain

Human Rights

and Corporate

Accountability

Ranking and GHG Emissions

Editorial Staff: Coline De Georges, Sarah Ertel, Cécilia de Foucaucourt, Marie Antonelle Joubert, Krisztina Tora, Juliette Van Wassenhove

2 B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011

W O R L D W I D E

GSK/AMREF/CARE international/Save the Children | The phar-maceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has just announced its partnership with three NGOs: AMREF in East and Southern Africa, CARE International in the Asia-Pacific region and Save the Children in West Africa. This new project, which follows GSK’s commitment to reinvest 20% of its profits in the least developed countries (LDCs), will address the lack of primary health care providers in LDCs by fo-cusing on the group’s core business. In addition to providing access to medicines it will train health assistants (nurses, midwives etc.) especially in poor and rural communities, a response to the Millen-nium Development Goals 4 and 5 on reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. 37 LDCs will share £3.5 million in 2011, a figure which corresponds to the 2010 percentage of profits to be reinvested in the area.

Global Reporting Initiative | The NGO Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has launched an initiative that encourages businesses in OECD countries to be more transparent concerning their social and environ-mental impacts. Through the establishment of a forum the «Report or explain» campaign aims to encourage businesses to report their activity and the results of social, societal and environmental commit-ments or alternatively to explain why they do not provide this informa-tion. This multi-stakeholder forum will: enable any organisation that so wishes to share development information and initiatives with the aim of greater transparency, help companies to publicly support the campaign and assist civil society organisations to submit calls for re-gulation concerning specific companies and governments. The aim is to encourage a minimum level of information disclosure.

ICAR | Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty Interna-tional and Earth Rights International have united to create a coalition called the ICAR (International Corporate Accountability Roundtable) whose mission is to identify and promote legal frameworks for cor-porate accountability, to strengthen current measures and defend existing laws. The first campaigns have just been launched such as one concerning mineral mining (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold) that has been assisting the illegal funding of terrorist groups in areas of conflict where considerable human rights abuses exist.

E U R O P E Environmental Investment Organization/Intesa Sanpaolo Group/Listed companies | The British NGO Environmental Investment Organisation has launched a new share tracking index based on public information which takes a company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into account as well as cla-rity and transparency in its reporting of the issue. In France,

B&Cbrief | n° 12 | juillet 2011 3

][Axa, Crédit Agricole and L’Oréal topped the rankings which list brings together one hundred of the largest British businesses and the three hundred largest in Europe. Backed by Intesa San Paolo, one of the largest banking groups in Europe, the new in-dex aims, through its influence on investors, not only to encou-rage companies to reduce their emissions but also to improve their communication and environmental reporting practices.

Réseau Environnement Santé/ChemSec/Industrialists from the Chemicals sector | NGOs are currently exerting two types of pressu-re on businesses involved with the chemicals sector. On the one hand, a coalition of NGOs led by the European NGO Chem-Sec has added 22 new substances to a list called Immediate Need for Substitution (INS), to encourage manufacturers and distributors to act voluntarily in anticipation of possible European legislation. On the other hand, the Réseau Environnement Santé network is welcoming the proposal of a bill in France to ban all products containing phthalates, parabens and alkylphenols (which will go a lot further than the REACH reglementa-tion). Many industries use these substances - parabens are present in food products and cosmetics, phthalates in plastics and alkylphenols in detergents and disinfectants. In anticipation of the Senate’s votes, the Union of Chemical Industries and the Federation of Plastics have already expressed their «incomprehension» concerning this bill.

During this period of economic crisis and in a particularly agonizing national context, the structures of the Spanish Social Economy have distinguished themselves by creating jobs and strengthening their position in the national economy: they now account for 12.5% of jobs and 10% of GDP. In this light, the country has just passed the first European law on Social Economy, providing a framework for a sector that according to its Confederation (CEPES) already consists of more than 45,000 businesses and over two million workers. For its part, the French Council of Regional Chambers of Social Economy (CNCRES) also announced the preparation of a bill for the Social Solidarity Economy (ESS) in 2012, at the opening of the convention of the ESS in June. Prior to this «Parisian meeting», the organisation had «brought over 100 proposals»to the ESS, in consultation with the Movement for a Solidarity Economy and other French collectives. A European initiative to watch...

France

ChemSec www.chemsec.orgRéseau Environnement Santé reseau-environnement-sante.frwww.uic.fr

Spain & France

Spanish Law www.boe.esCNCRES www.cncres.org

Campaigning for Substitution

Institutional recognition

This section highlights the news of NGOnBusiness relationships and looks at working experiences, innovative initiatives and also the conflicts or disagreements we’ve identified around the world.

3

Conflict

Campaign

Collaboration

Patronage/philanthropy

Government Initiative

The complete URL links can be found in the

electronic version of B&C Brief (pdf file.)

4 B&Cbrief | n° 12 | juillet 2011

5newsfrom all continents

Reconciled for Lobbying

NGO and Wage Claims

« Urban and Green »

Australia

www.greenpeace.orgThe 11 points of the common platform:www.goodwoodguide.org.au

China

www.oxfam.org.hk

United States

www.corpsnetwork.orgwww.homefarming.comwww.urbanfarming.org

A S I A – O C E A N I A

Greenpeace/WWF/FSC/Kimberly Clark/Ikea/Bunnings | Once accused by Greenpeace of polluting the environment, the Aus-tralian subsidiary of KC, the hygienic tissue paper products company has decided to join forces with NGOs in combating the illegal timber trade. The Australian government wants to pass legislation that would propose a five year prison sen-tence for the illegal importing of timber and to promote a code of conduct for national and international suppliers. For Greenpeace, KC and other businesses such as Bunnings and Ikea who have rallied to the cause, the proposed bill falls short of what is needed. They have therefore launched a common platform consisting of eleven elements aimed at reinforcing the law. The mandatory inclusion of an ecological and proven traceability approach for timber industries is one of the points the group would like to see included.

Oxfam Hong Kong/Chinese Businesses | Oxfam Hong Kong has just released a public opinion survey on the creation of a legal minimum wage in China that was commissioned in the Centre for Social Policy Studies at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The survey included 868 Hong Kong residents and the study found the majority view of the population against cuts in benefits for workers. Specifically, 97.1% of respon-dents agreed with the statement that a company should pro-tect the rights and interests of its workers and 81.2% said they would be less likely to join a company that violates the rights of employees. Following the results, Oxfam issued a number of recommendations to the Chinese government to monitor the establishment of a minimum wage that takes into account the basic needs of working families, the wealth gap between populations, inflation and the cost of living index.

T H E A M E R I C A S

Kraft Foods/The Corps Network/Urban Farming | Kraft Foods has entered into strategic partnerships with NGOs via two of its snack brands. Planters has partnered with The Corps Network, which is a network of associations that mobilises over 255,000 volunteers throughout the United States. The partners are committed to revitalizing neglected urban districttransforming them into green areas and recreational facilities that are built and run by voluntary groups or local residents. For its part, the Triscuit brand has also created a partnership with Urban Farming, an NGO promoting the establishment of agriculture in the towns, particularly for the disadvantaged. Their project has two objectives: to create urban farm pro-jects and encourage «agriculture at home.» This partnership

4 B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011

B&Cbrief | n° 12 | juillet 2011 5

has been a success: 65 urban farms have sprung up in 20 U.S. cities (including 5 in social housing areas), and there are now approximately 33,000 «urbanfarmers» on the initiative’s website.

Ernst & Young/As You Sow | As part of the general meetings of shareholders of listed companies presenting their annual results, Ernst & Young has just published a report on the in-creased pressure from shareholder groups concerning social and environmental issues related to business enterprises: this year 2011, they represent 50% of the proposed resolutions. Indeed, in 2010, 83% of investors felt that environmental and social factors could have a significant long term impact on share values. Reflecting this trend, the advocacy NGO As You Sow is putting pressure on listed companies by introducing resolutions such as a demand for transparency concerning Coca-Cola’s use of Bisphenol A (supported by 26% of sha-reholders) or demands for solid commitments on packaging recycling from Procter & Gamble and General Mills.

A F R I C A

Glencore/ONG/OCDE | The NGOs Sherpa, Berne Declaration, CTPD, MiningWatch and Entraide Missionnaire have filed a complaint before the Swiss OECD point of contact against the multinational commodities trading company Glencore for vio-lation of the OECD guidelines. The charges against the Zam-bian subsidiary of the company, Mopani Copper Mines Plc, are of financial manipulations that allowed the company to evade taxation between 2003 and 2008 in Zambia, while maximizing the profits of the parent company. An audit, conducted in 2009 on request of the Zambian government and made public by the NGO Friends of the Earth highlights accounting anomalies such as a significant and unexplained increase in operating costs ($380 million) for the year 2007, along with production volumes of cobalt which were surprisingly low compared to the rest of the sector. The company and the subsidiary deny all the charges, stating they have been issued from a confidential and incomplete document.

United States

Ernst & Young www.ey.comAs You Sow www.asyousow.org

Zambia www.evb.ch

Annual Resolutions

Trade and Regulations

5

6 B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011

INTERvIEWS 6 to 14

Apple’s “Polluting and Poisoning” supply chain 6

Contractors ... How about social change? 8

Towards Social Responsibility for Businesses in Asia: a growing awareness 10

Putting used clothes to good use 12

NEWSFLASH SECTION The Logging Industry, a sector under the spotlight 14

PROJECTS&PARTNERSHIPS

From emergencies to prevention adapted partnerships 7

ECPAT and The Body Shop against Sex Trafficking 13

REFERENCES

Key figures, Links 8 -10

ChinA - Friends oF nAture Apple’s “Polluting and Poisoning” supply chain

Could you give us an introduction to Friends of Nature and the “Green Choice Alliance” (GCA) programme? Chang Cheng (CC) : Friends of Nature was founded in 1994. It’s one of the first environmental NGOs in China and one of the few that acts on a national scale. Our mission is to help create environmental awareness amongst citizens and we implement actions against pollution in order to help companies change their behaviour and limit their impacts. This is why we are part of the GCA programme, which was initiated in 2008 by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE). Its aim is to reduce pollution from production centres by integrating transparency amongst all the stakeholders and getting them involved in managing supply chains. In response to a law requiring listed Chinese companies to publish environmental information, the IPE has created a database by collecting public information on pollution linked with companies. It has also brought NGOs into the programme to participate in the process of auditing corporate polluters.

So this is how the “the hidden side of Apple” report came about? CC : The polluters that we identified thanks to the database are in fact suppliers to major technology product brands including Apple. That’s why we sent letters to them because they are a lot more concerned about their image and environmental performance than their Chinese suppliers. We asked them if they were aware of the environmental damage and what they were planning to do about it. We received responses from every company except one : Apple. In spite of our repeated reminders, this company’s silence forced us to make a report solely on them. This report, based on public information, interviews with employees on production sites conducted by the field NGO Green Beagle and analysis from the IPE, clearly shows that violations of social and environmental regulations are being committed by Apple’s suppliers.

What difficulties did you encounter in carrying out this report?CC : First, Apple didn’t want us to release information concerning its suppliers and since we’re not technical

experts, we struggled to find it. Second, we launched a website listing all the articles published in connection with the report and all the violations of social and environmental regulations by Apple’s suppliers. This site can no longer be accessed, and we’re wondering if Apple is responsible for blocking it. Finally, we are

under the impression that some people who are relaying the information we provide don’t really understand our

message. Our goal is not to blame Apple per se, but simply c o n t e n t s

Interview

80% of the ingredients of

the pharmaceutical industry

come from China and India

and 60% of clothing imports

to the United States are

manufactured in Asia, yet

less than a third of Asian

businesses address the is-

sue of ethics in their procu-

rement policies. However,

large international groups

and Asian companies can no

longer ignore the demands

for social responsibility that

thay are faced with.

Suicides at a major supplier, labour laws ignored, employees and communities poisoned... A damning report for the giant firm Apple was published this winter by a group of Chinese NGOs that intend to put pressure on companies by publishing information about their suppliers and the answers the large groups give concerning these alerts. This is a journey into Apple’s silence.

FEATURE REPORT ASIE

Chang Cheng, head of the «Public Policy Participation» for the Chinese environmental NGO Friends of Nature.

“The big brands are

more concerned about their image and their environmental

performance than their Chinese suppliers”

B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011 7

to ask the company to accept its responsibilities and take action to find appropriate solutions.

The report was published in January 2011. Six months on, have you noticed any impact on Apple?CC : Even though Apple has never given a direct reply (the company has preferred to communicate with the media) we believe the report has influenced the company as it released a report on its responsibility concerning its suppliers, shortly after ours. In this report it admits certain violations were iden-tified whilst denying others. We are not asking Apple to go against its strategy of «secrecy» surrounding its suppliers and the manufacturing of its products, we simply want the com-pany to recognise the abuses of regulations and to remedy them. However, we are continuing investigations with our par-tners and we’re finding that Apple is not doing everything it can to change the situation. Therefore we will soon publish a new report.

Has this had an impact on the public opinion and the suppliers in China?CC : I have to admit that influence on public opinion was a lot less: consumers have not changed their consumption ha-bits and Apple products are selling very well. Unfortunately in China consumers don’t realize how much power they have to change things, but this is the reason why Friends of Nature continues in its efforts to raise an awareness of what can be done.However the report had no direct impact on suppliers - espe-cially at Foxconn where accidents continue to take place and where many suicides and extortion cases have been repor-ted to us. This shows they’re not taking this issue seriously in managing their operations. We want to change that and not simply by putting pressure on Apple. We also plan to work di-

ChinA - Friends oF nAture Apple’s “Polluting and Poisoning” supply chain

rectly with local authorities and with the communities themsel-ves concerning the protection of their rights.

Will you work with these businesses to help them improve their environmental impact? Do you think they are ready to work with you?CC : Definitely! There are precedents that demonstrate this is possible: many companies have already turned to the IPE in the Green Choice Alliance programme, which has helped them to define and implement an action plan towards envi-ronmental improvements. In the same way that violations of environmental regulations are made public, we also publicise the progress made by companies. Those who go furthest in this process and get involved in a process that’s very strictly defined by the IPE (with NGOs in the GCA coalition having a right to observe) will see their data on environmental abuses removed from the database. There are several possible ways that companies can work with us, but I just think that currently there aren’t enough incentives for them to do this. We will therefore continue with more campaigns and reports to make companies understand that harming the environment is a pro-blem, and we’ll show them the possible paths to progress.n

Krisztina Tora

To find out more...Friends of Nature : www.fon.org.cn

Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs : www.ipe.org.cn

From emergencies to prevention – adapted partnerships The Indonesian branch of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which strongly mobilised the private sector to participate in the post-tsunami reconstruction, is now developing long-term partnerships to promote Millennium development goals. From traditional patronage to core business partnerships, as well as the sharing of products, the agency has diversified in its functions and its requests. Actions for specific sections of society have therefore been launched by the MTV Group of television channels and PT Indosat, the leader of prepaid calling cards, who have respectively created campaigns for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and for children’s education. Logistical emergency solutions and the reduction of disaster risks have been conceived by DHL, while in-kind contributions from major publishing groups such as Kepustakaan have promoted participation and education for children and students about democracy. Furthermore the partner programme ‘Growing Sustainable Business’ is developing socio-economic and technical research specifically for the implementation of sanitation and access to drinking water along the lines of a social business model, especially with the Yamaha Motors and Coca-Cola groups. Finally, this nation which has 70% forest cover and the third largest equatorial forest in the world, is one of the pilot countries for the global REDD * project concerning greenhouse gas emissions due to deforestation. Since March 2010, various UN agencies have been bringing together participants from civil society, the private sector and other institutions to act for this purpose. * See our Newsflash section p14 PIH on Indonesia’s REDD PNUD programme: http://un.or.id PNUD Indonésie : www.un.or.id

Proj

ECTS

& P

ArTN

ErSh

IPS

8 B&Cbrief | n° 12 | juillet 2011

How was the RHSF (Resources Humaines Sans Frontieres) created?

Martine Combemale (MC) : The idea originated with Jacques Igalens, who was my social auditing professor. Then as part of my career, I was approached by companies, NGOs and institutions in-volved in human rights and contracting issues such as USAID (for child traffic-king in the Ivory Coast’s cocoa produc-tion) and the Fair Labour Association (for working conditions with subcon-tractors in Asia.) These structures

had established audits which proved to be unsatis-factory and so they called on me to try to find out why. During these studies, I realised these audits aren’t particularly useful. Indeed, all the subcon-tractors have an incomplete understanding of the concept and in particular, many have no HR management system. So as soon as the sligh-test problem arises, often due to the contracting company itself, that shortens production time or makes late payments, everything collapses.

So how can the situation be improved?MC : We know that internal controls are absent or ineffective because suppliers end up struggling owing to the constraints

imposed by the contractor. They simply accumulate and be-come contradictory as the codes of conduct multiply. The result is a mutual misunderstanding, which leads to the per-sistence of fraud, safety issues and a lack of respect for hu-man rights. Suppliers focus on abstract audits rather than on the long-term improvement of management practices and the cost of all these social audits is as high for the contractor as it is for the supplier. Our conclusion was that the audit has to focus on the contracting client in order to analyze their poli-cies, processes, and plans of action with regards to the sup-plier. Creating levers of real change for setting up responsible purchasing policy encourages contractors to comply with the social and environmental regulations.

What does RHSF’s work involve?

MC : RHSF carries out a complete review of the purchasing process and tries to find where the organization’s deficiencies are in each sector for the implementation of responsible HR codes of conduct. Then it carries out auditing and consultan-cy with regard to local realities and maps. In order to enable large groups to develop truly responsible purchasing policies, we offer them a list of local stakeholders needed for identi-fying all the auditors that are already active in the countries where they outsource. They are listed according to criteria of

«Sustainable Development» and «Human Resources» and they deal predominantly with issues such as child

labour, forced labour, discrimination and freedom of association. They can be NGOs, institutions like the International Labour Organisation (ILO) or lobbying movements like Fairwage with real expertise on earnings in developing countries. It is in the interests of all concerned to work with

local resources and local experts. For example, we are currently working for a firm that we had ori-

ginally contacted to carry out an audit in Indonesia. We argued that it was first necessary to know about their

purchasing policy before a field audit was instigated. We have now highlighted shortcomings in the group’s strategy and we are currently helping them to see how best to develop their

FEATURE REPORT ASIA

Going beyond a social audit, integrating responsible procurement policies and improving human rights at work via the professional and fair management of human resources throughout the entire value chain is the ambition of the HR Without Borders association. It was founded by Martine Combemale, a former employee of the non-financial rating agency vigeo and an audit specialist for developing nations.

humAn resourCes without FrontiersContractors ... How about social change?

«Increasing constraints or audits for

suppliers can prove counter-productive

for sustainable development

policies.»

Martine Combemale, , Founding Director of RHSF.

Interview

RE

FE

RE

NC

ES

8 B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011

Key figuresAmongst other records Asia is the most vulnerable continent to natural hazards and the one with fastest growth in population (half of the world’s population) and urbanisation: 42% in South Asia, 56% for the South East and Oceania, 65% in the north-eastern areas and 71% in Central Asia.

The five largest cities in South Asia alone consist of 15,000 shantytowns which are home to over 20 million people. 60 million people depend on the Mekong River and its tributaries, which runs nearly 3700 miles across South East Asia. It has the third largest area of tropical forest in the world,

yet the forests of Southeast Asia now only exist in Indonesia and Malaysia. These two nations are also the world’s largest producers of palm oil with an output that has increased four and a half times in 25 years. Each year, China consumes more than 3 billion tons of coal (40% of global

B&Cbrief | n° 12 | juillet 2011 9

humAn resourCes without FrontiersContractors ... How about social change?

For Further Information...• RHSF : www.hrwithoutborders.org

• « Beyond social auditing»

Martine Combemale participated in a cross-sectional study for

the Human Rights Foundation work in partnership with the EU

on the work of auditors sent to examine subcontractors. This

completed and updated study has just been published: Beyond

social auditing - towards a social assessment. You can read it at www.fdht.org

strategy with their subcontractors in both Malaysia and Indone-sia, for example by making long term commitments with them. At the same time we help subcontracting businesses meet the challenges imposed on them by multinationals, such as, in this case, getting in line with ISO 26000 standard, so they can sell in other countries.

What about the unions?MC : This is of course an HR priority as far as human rights are concerned. Regarding work issues, it often suits companies to work with NGOs as it allows them to bypass the question of unions. But we should also recognize that large groups outsour-ce in countries where they have no knowledge of the realities of unions there, or of the tools that could enable them to identify such issues: for example national reports on implementation and development of treaties signed with the ILO. Trade unions and NGOs use these documents to challenge businesses. The ILO, for its part, has done the work of recognising active NGOs and trade unions in every country. So we suggest that companies rely on them. Whether it is in terms of choosing subcontractors or creating a subsidiary branch, companies tend not to have the initiative to consult these reports or meet with key stakeholders and that includes trade unions. However, they can - and should - learn about the realities of trade unions if they are serious about establishing a code of conduct that is in line with principles of sustainable development.

What is the reaction from the companies? MC : The large groups know from the audits that their relationships with subcontractors are neither satisfactory

B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011 9

consumption), and remains the world’s largest polluter with an increase of 32.5% in CO2 emissions between 2006 and 2009. 7% of babies born each year in China have deformities due to pollution from the coalfields.

Asia has the lowest occurrence of social issues in its reporting: 45%, against an

international average of 73%. Lastly, only 7% of Asian companies include CSR criteria in their invitations for ten-ders. 47% of Asian public opinion believes corruption has increased over the last three years, whilst the world average is well over 50%. However it is also the

region where people believe that efforts to fight against corruption are the least effective: Only 17% trust their government on this issue, this ratio falls to 10% for trust in the private sector and NGOs (34% for the media).

Sources: The Atlas of World Futures, Planetoscope, ORSE, China Daily, WWF, Transparency International

nor sustainable. They also know that NGOs consider the practice to be almost useless. It is actually quite logical to argue that it is extremely difficult for an audit to cover the entire chain of subcontracting and that is in fact best to start with the group itself.

Rather than simply audit a supplier according to risk X at time T, the contracting company receives an audit on the aspects relevant to its supply chain and its practices and a stakeholder map that corresponds to its code of conduct. This is a more efficient and integrated approach.It often boils down to encouraging them to ask themselves an unavoidable question: how can the suppliers who have deadline and cost criteria imposed on them, in practice, em-ploy codes of conduct while these two aspects create limita-tions on sustainable development policies as a whole? n Marie Antonelle Joubert

1/ Author of several books on CSR, published with Martine Combemale including “What do I know about Social Auditing?”

n A Social Enterprise against forced labour

The social enterprise Vérité has become a specia-list in studying the living conditions of workers in raw material mining industries. It aims to encoura-ge companies to integrate social responsibility into their business goals. It offers a number of services including social and societal audits, training and consulting for suppliers, NGOs and governments so as to improve working conditions for workers in supply chain companies. It has just launched an online atlas that identifies forced labour employ-ment for each raw material (palm oil, coffee, tim-ber, diamonds, cattle, fish etc.) Each one has its own data sheet showing the red, danger zone of its production line, the initiatives already undertaken to fight against its abuses, the implications for end users and complementary data (figures, videos, re-ports and studies).www.verite.org

10 B&Cbrief | n° 12 | juillet 2011

CSR Asia is a social enterprise in the middle ground between the private sector and civil society. Through consulting, research or training, it encourages companies to increase their involvement with NGOs with regard to crucial business issues. Richard Welford, President of CSR Asia, shares his insights on the state of social responsibility in Asia, a continent that has strategic significance in this domain.

ASIA

Csr AsiA

Towards Social Responsibility for Businesses in Asia: a growing awareness

ke concrete measures by requiring the reporting and pu-blishing of information about their activities. But these ef-forts are not only from the multinationals operating in Asia, local companies are now also working on the question of how they impact society.

Can you give examples of business-NGO partnerships that illustrate these trends?RW : As far as the environment is concerned, access to quality water is a central issue. The measures taken by Co-ca-Cola are interesting in this regard. In 2007 the company set the goal that by 2020 it will have a neutral impact on water resources in every country that it operates, which is also a means of safeguarding its supplies. For example in its RAKNAM (Love Water) initiative in Thailand, conservation efforts and water treatment at in-dustrial sites are coupled with public entities and local NGO partnerships that cover three other areas: improving access to water in areas of shortage, protecting of fragile watersheds and lastly raising awareness of these issues. This is a very comprehensive partnership.

Returning to the case of China: the relationship between multinational companies and their suppliers is seen as a key element of CSR, as shown in recent cases (Foxxcon and Apple, etc.)1. What are the main challenges in a country like China with respect to the issue of supply chains?RW : The main problem, which has lasted over thirty years, is that of the workforce and the way in which at times it is exploited. Labour shortages are increasingly common, so employers who wish to keep their employees, es-pecially if they are qualified,

Richard Welford, Chairman of CSR Asia

Interview

Can you explain in broad terms how the landscape of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Asia is structured?Richard Welford (RW) : First, it must be emphasized that there is no «Asian» CSR situation as such. The themes and incentives behind CSR differ according to

each country and depend very much on the structure of their economies. For example in China the importance of processing industries means there are numerous problems in the domain of subcontracting and supply chains. This is also increasingly true of Vietnam. In Indonesia and Malay-sia, where agriculture is more dominant, issues related to the environment and biodiversity are more apparent, but workers’ rights issues are also present in the plantations and in factories.In general, we can say that companies in Asia are changing very rapidly as far as CSR is concerned. Financial institu-tions such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (which has implemented the Hang Seng Sustainability Index) and the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange have greatly contributed to this change. They are forcing companies to underta-

FEATURE REPORT

RE

FE

RE

NC

ES

➜ Report on the state of the criminalisation of corruption in Asia: www.oecdbookshop.org

➜ Summaries of the Asian Development Bank: • Enterprises in Asia: Fostering Dynamism in SMEs• Asian Development Outlook 2011. South–South Economic Links• The Changing Role of Rice in Asia’s Food Security, C. Peter Timmer

• ADB Sustainable Development Working Paper Series, n°15, Sept. 2010• ADB & NGOs www.adb.org

➜ “CSR in Asia, The Real Picture”: www.csr-asia.com

➜ Sector studies from the International

Labour Organisation Asia-Pacific: www.ilo.org/asia

➜ Millennium Development goals for

the region: Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in an Era of Global Uncertainty www.mdgasiapacific.org

➜ Economic Commission for Asia: www.unescap.org

➜ The World Bank’s report “Winds of change: East Asia’s sustainable energy future”: www.worldbank.org

To investigate the Asian situation further...

10 B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011

B&Cbrief | n° 12 | juillet 2011 11

Csr AsiA

Towards Social Responsibility for Businesses in Asia: a growing awareness

B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011 11

must now raise salaries, pay overti-me or bonus pay for migrant wor-kers who recruit other potential workers in their village. This is a positive sign from a social viewpoint but could eventually weaken the competitiveness of the Chinese economy, which is no longer the cheapest in the world. In addition, direct suppliers of major brands, who can afford this kind of social policy, tend to dry up the labour market. This creates a vacuum effect whereby other companies end up returning to practices like child labour (often hidden or masked as after school part time work) or the exploitation of illegal immigrants from other parts of Asia, whose circumstances make them particularly vulnerable.Finally, I would say that the product itself has also become a component of corporate responsibility in China. Recent scandals concerning milk or the lead and toxic compounds used in the manufacturing of toys in China are signals that the trend is now to call for a company to take control of its entire supply chain. The challenge for Asian businesses will be having to respond to the pressure coming from consu-mers in the North and setting up systems for the complete traceability of products (at present problems can arise due to, say a fifth-tier supplier).

Implementing authentic traceability in China – isn’t this an almost impossible task?RW : It will be very complicated and very expensive, es-pecially since the approach of inspection and audit has so far proved unsuccessful. The country is currently experien-cing an auditing crisis: we know that many contractors fail to meet current standards and that the auditors are often biased. Of course not all the audits are corrupt, but a cer-tain number definitely are. A closer relationship, with the brand and the large subcontractors working hand in hand is probably the most appropriate strategy in this context. At least, that’s what we are observing to be taking shape in the field. The effect is that these first-tier suppliers are beginning to understand the dynamics of CSR and to take an interest in the practices of their own suppliers.

How do you see CSR developing in Asia in the coming years?RW : Asia is taking a path that’s quite similar to Europe. The major trends that we’re observing here now will arrive on the Asian continent in four or five years, except that the theme of climate change and its economic, environmental and social impacts is already very present. This is taken

«The theme of climate change and its

economic, environmental and social impacts is taken very seriously, to the extent

that the negative impacts will be much stronger in Asia

than in Europe.»

For Further Information…• CSR ASIA : www.csr-asia.com CSr Asia oxfam Corporate Social responsibility Survey of hang Seng Index Constituent Companies (2009)

very seriously in that the negative impacts will be much stronger in Asia than in Europe and this is already star-

ting to happen. The second issue in the coming years will concern access to natural resources and their prices, with important implications for issues of food safety. n Juliette van Wassenhove

1/ See our interview with Chang Cheng Friends of Nature, on pages 6 and 7.

n CSR Asia and Credit Suisse publish a report on strategic philanthropy

«A few years ago, CSR was often confused with philanth-

ropy, but today the situation is changing. The general message we wish to convey through this report is that the poorest people can achieve self-sufficiency by strengthening their abilities and being encouraged towards entrepreneurship and especially towards social entrepreneurship. Far from countering existing trends in countries like China and Malaysia, who are traditionally rooted in a strong philanthropic culture, the en-trepreneurial approach should help companies and institutions to understand that the poorest need skills above anything else.»

Strategic Philanthropy

Unlocking Entrepreneurial Potential (2010)

12 B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011

FEATURE REPORT ASIA

Once they’ve been designed, produced, sold and worn, clothes come to the end of their lifespan. Then they usually go to waste and discarded. In partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Uniqlo, the giant clothes retailer with a global network of over a thousand stores is offering an alternative to Japanese consumers a second life for the clothing they no longer wish to wear. Eiko Sherba explains the “All-product recycling” initiative.

Could you tell us what the “All-product recycling” initiative is?

Eiko Sherba (ES) : This initiative came from Uniqlo’s desire to maximise the impact and va-lue of a garment. In addition to sales and production, we are convinced that the collection and its second life are part of the life cycle of our products. We started the collection in 2001, first

with warm material products such as fleeces and parkas, then in 2006 we extended it to all of our clothes. We ini-tially thought we would recycle the clothing that was retur-

ned however we found that 90% of it was in good enough condition to be worn again. So we tried to find a way to give it a second usage. How does the partnership with UNHCR work?ES : Before we started, we didn’t have any preconceived ideas about how to maximise the value of our clothes. So we launched a consultation process to find the right partner to work with and build the project. We met over a dozen or-ganisations. However the Japanese charity model is prima-rily based on fundraising so their structures weren’t ready to engage with us in the donation of material supplies. With UNHCR, we started out with the premise that the distribu-tion of clothing was relegated to second priority compared to donations of medicines and food. This is why our second

hand clothes meet a real need and are now benefit-ting refugees and displaced people in camps run

by the UN agency. Their role in working with us is to identify the regions of the world that could benefit from this clothing. The selection process consists of three stages. Local requirements are

first identified by UNHCR through listing the po-pulations with the most urgent needs. A request is

then made to the Government of the selected area. Once authorized, the UNHCR selects the most appropriate clothing according to specific needs (season and people’s sizes and sex) and the cultures and religions in each group (e.g inappropriate colours are set aside.) To avoid problems of theft or resale of clothing during transportation to refu-gee camps, Uniqlo employees themselves go to the areas and participate directly in the distribution with UNHCR. This stage is very important because it gives them a chance to meet the local populations, to become aware of their needs and have a true understanding of the scope of Uniqlo’s ac-tivities. At the moment employees of Uniqlo’s CSR depart-ment carry out the distribution, however from September, employees of other departments will also participate.

What are the measurable positive impacts of this initiative?ES : Since 2006, over five million garments have been distri-buted in 17 countries. Areas receiving the largest donations are Afghanistan, with 460,000 items in January 2010, and in 2009 the displaced populations of Georgia with 280,000 items. With some thirty million refugees and displaced per-sons worldwide and more than 500 million items produced per year in our factories, we can expect to meet the needs of all these populations- with at least one item of clothing per person - over the next five years. To achieve this goal, in addition to the collections that we already make every year in March, June and September in our eight hundred

Eiko Sherba, Uniqlo’s CSR manager

JAPAn - uniQLo & the united nAtions AGenCY For reFuGees (unhCr) PUTTING USEd CLOTHES TO GOOd USE

«The collection and its

second life are part of the life cycle of

our products»

Once they are on site, the CSR team distributes the clothing, giving them to everyone in the camp.

Interview

B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011 13

JAPAn - uniQLo & the united nAtions AGenCY For reFuGees (unhCr) PUTTING USEd CLOTHES TO GOOd USE

shops, we are also setting up collecting stands in some of Tokyo’s high schools, in a shopping mall in the suburbs and at occasional events organised by UNHCR, on the Refu-gees Day for example.

After the catastrophe in March did you reproduce the initiative in Japan with other partners?ES : Yes, after the earthquake and tsunami, we responded immediately by providing material support to our country. In collaboration with three local NGOs specialising in hu-manitarian assistance, JEN, IVY and the Japanese Orga-nisation for International Cooperation in Family Planning, we organised a massive donation campaign. All in all, in the four cities of Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Ibaraki, we distributed 850,000 items to the population, which corres-ponds to about 8 million dollars’ worth. We also set up a partnership with the Japan Red Cross and the International Red Cross to send donations from our customers made in our stores throughout the world. Approximately 2.7 million dollars’ worth had been collected by the end of April.

The donations were organised very quickly during the month of March in Japan, particularly in Miyagi.

What are the future prospects of your partnership with the UNHCR?ES : Now that the project is working well in Japan, we hope to replicate it in other areas where Uniqlo is located. To maintain a local approach, we want to establish partnerships with organisations that are working directly in each country. In Britain, for example, we’re working on a partnership with Centre Point, a charity that acts in the UK to help young ho-meless people find housing, create a life plan and achieve financial independence. In France, we’re looking into the possibility of a partnership with the Samu Social de Paris (emergency medical services.) n Sarah Ertel

For Further Information…Uniqlo: www.uniqlo.com/fr/

UNhCr: www.unhcr.fr

The NGo - jEN: www.jen-npo.org

The NGo - joICFP: www.joicfp.or.jp

Centre Point: www.centrepoint.org.uk

ECPAT and The Body Shop against Sex TraffickingThe trafficking of human beings is the third largest worldwide criminal activity and UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked each year. To fight against the trafficking of children and young people for sexual purposes, the NGO ECPAT (End Child Pornography and Trafficking) and The Body Shop joined forces in August 2009 for the campaign «Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People”. The campaign has several objectives: the implementation of prevention programmes, the integration of international regulations of child protection in national legislation and the establishment of specialised public services for child victims of sex trafficking.At the local level, in countries where The Body Shop and ECPAT are represented and work together on the campaign, employees of ECPAT have trained personnel from The Body Shop to relay information about the sexual trafficking of minors, so as to inform their customers of the campaign. In 2009 The Body Shop also launched a cause-related scheme by which the majority of proceeds are donated to ECPAT. One of these products is sold every thirty seconds which has already raised over one million pounds which is invested in programmes for the struggle against sex trafficking. Since its launch in 2009, the campaign has spread to over forty countries. This summer, a petition will be sent to the governments of several countries to implement stricter laws against child sex trafficking, which will subsequently be presented to the United Nations.

CDF

The Body Shop: www.thebodyshop.com ECPAT: www.ecpat.net

Proj

ECTS

& P

ArTN

ErSh

IPS

14 B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011

FEATUREREPORT ASIA

In Asia, Africa, russia and even throughout the entire American continent, the logging industry is a controversial sector. Certain multinational companies have been involved in the illegal over-exploitation of often old-growth forests, with a high potential of carbon sequestration and an abundance of flora and fauna. The massive deforestation and degradation of these forests now accounts for about 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions placing the timber trade in the second to the energy sector for emissions.

e ach year, there is an increase in de-mand for the raw material of the fo-rest products industry (pulp, paper,

cardboard, engineered wood, packaging, firewood, etc.) In order to respond to this by offering competitive prices, some log-gers show no restraint in cutting down the primary forests. To reverse this trend, or-ganisations like the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) are working with compa-nies to guide the forest products market to-wards responsible sourcing and safeguar-ding the habitat of the species used. This network, created under the initiative of WWF which brings together NGOs, communities and institutions, acts on the upstream sec-tor in order to protect endangered forests and ensure their sustainability for the eco-systems and the populations that depend on them. The GFTN, which celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year, has deve-loped partnerships with companies such as Hewlett Packard, Kimberly-Clark, TetraPak, Faber-Castell and Dasso Industrial Group. Control of the supply chain is becoming increasingly necessary for the companies which are regularly targetted by the NGOs. They no longer simply denounce loggers; they also expose the companies that are supplied by them to create their products.

Mattel has recently been accused by Greenpeace of contributing towards the deforestation in Indonesia by making its packaging with cardboard supplied by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Group’s factories that have repeatedly been criticised for mas-sive deforestation. Within days of the cam-paign video entitled «Barbie, it’s over,» ap-pearing on Internet, the impact was huge with over a million viewings and with more than 200,000 messages of protest being sent to Mattel by users. In order to involve consumers in their choice of products some NGOs are relying on Internet campai-gns. One of these is WWF-France, whose sites include «Protect the forest», «WeWant Furni-ture», «No to illegal timber», etc. They give consumers a chance to learn about the origins of wood products and to make informed purchases. But conflict is fortunately not the only means of action utilised by NGos to in-teract with participants in the timber trade.

Greenpeace, who has historically been resistant to collaborating with busines-ses, has recently chosen to partner with Kimberly Clark, the world’s largest ma-nufacturer of tissue-based hygiene pro-ducts. After a conflict lasting five years,

in 2009 the NGO and the U.S. giant an-nounced their collaboration to ensure better protection of the boreal forest of Canada where the company had been logging before Greenpeace’s intervention. The massive exports from developing countries (DCs) to Western countries have also amplified the stakes concerning cli-mate disruption for exporting countries. In 2008 as a response, the UN launched a programme in developing countries for re-ducing emissions due to deforestation and

forest degradation (UN-REDD.) Via a system of compensation, Wes-

tern countries are looking to encourage developing nations to slow down the destruction of ecosystems by protecting existing forests and planting

new ones. As part of this pro-gramme signatory states are

required to take organisations re-presenting communities and civil society into account so as to implement effec-tive measures against deforestation. n Coline De Georges

LOGGING INDUSTRy

The Logging Industry,

a sector under the spotlight

Sector Focus . Sector Focus . Sector Focus . Sector Focus . Sector Focus .

Global Forest & Trade Network: www.gftn.panda.org

Planestoscope: www.planetoscope.com

Consoglobe: www.consoglobe.com

Greenpeace « Barbie It’s Over »: www.greenpeace.org

Protecting the Forests: www.protegelaforet.com

We Want Furniture: www.wewantfurniture.com

WWF: www.wwf.fr

Greenpeace / Kimberly Clark: www.greenpeace.org

UN-rEDD: www.un-redd.org

For Further Information…

Worldwide demand

for paper and cardboard will

increase on average by 2.2% until

2015

B&Cbrief | n° 12 | july 2011 15

readings & meetings

Things to read…

Contributions are welcome!

The second edition of the study on

outstanding CSR practices, conducted by the

American magazine CorporateResponsability

is online. Businesses can now contribute.

Results will be published in September.

www.crbp2011.questionpro.com/

Inspirations

The «Business Civic Leadership Center» of

the American Chamber of Commerce has just

published a report on successful partnerships

between companies and civil society

organisations. The report «Frontier markets,

Global partnerships, Local Solutions»

presents partnership case studies that

address problems in the water sector, food

safety, economic development and health.

www.clc.uschamber.com

DiaryJULY

Conference on new directions in the Wellness industry by the Statistics Directorate of the OECD.6th to 8th JulyPariswww.oecd.org

2nd Awards Giving for the Social Finance Sector Finansol - Le mondeApplication deadline: 15th July www.finansol.org

End of the consultancy on “Business principles on children’s rights”15th Julywww.business-humanrights.org

Launch of Forum “Human Rights and Business Dilemmas”Focus: Relocation of communities21st JulyOnlinewww.human-rights.unglobalcompact.org

European Forum of anti-globalization movementsFrom 18th to 24th JulyGenoa, Italywww.genova2011.org

AUGUST

Summer University for the Network of Social MovementsFrom 9th to 14th AugustFreiburg, Germanwww.ena2011.eu

9th Homeless World Cup From 21st to 28th AugustParis, Francewww.remisenjeu.org

OECD for multinationals, upgraded The scope of the recommendations provided by

the OECD has been enlarged and now includes a new chapter on human rights.

Other chapters have also been updated such as «Employment and Industrial Relations», which

is now aligned with the ILO Tripartite Declaration on Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy.

Finally, the role of national contact points, regarded as key institutions for effective implementation

of guidelines will be strengthened.

www.business-humanrights.org

Outcome of six years of research The UN’s Council of Human Rights approved the

recommendations submitted in June by John Ruggie, Special Representative on the UN Secretary

General human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. The

framework set out in the report by Mr. Ruggie, «Protect, Respect and Remedy», defines the guiding

principles for the identification, prevention and redressing of human rights abuses of in economic

activities by companies and now has a guideline for implementation.

www.ohchr.org

To

be

no

ted

…

To be noted…

TO follow…

SEPTEMBERContest “Women Creators of the Future”, Women Entrepreneurs in the Ile-de-France Submission of application before 9th

September www.iledefranceactive.fr

Sao Paulo Social ForumFrom 2nd to 4th SeptemberSao Paulo, Brazilwww.forumsocialsp.org.br

1st International Conference on “Marine Resources and Beyond”From 5th to 7th SeptemberBremerhaven, Germanywww.mrb2011.org

UN Private sector Forum20th septemberUN, New Yorkwww.unglobalcompact.org

Impact Investing Summit20th and 21th septemberWashington DC, USAwww.impactinvesting-usa.com

Global Conference of the Planet Workshops 2011: “What revolutions to govern a vulnerable world together.”From 26th to 28th September Evian, Francewww.planetworkshops.org

CSR Asia Summit: “Asian growth, global responsibility”27th and 28th SeptemberKuala Lumpur, Malaysiawww.csr-asia.com

Qualitative leap

Companies that become aware of improving

their performance through motivating

their employees demonstrate a global

opportunity. LeapCR offers to English people

a online platform, paid for by companies

and free for associations, that links staff

(of companies with a voluntary outlook)

and local associations that are looking for

volunteers.

www.leapcr.com

New focussed interface Coordination SUD is launching a website

that facilitates searching for NGO partners

in the field of international solidarity. In

addition to a presentation of the partnership

approach, news from the sector and a

page of information resources, you will find

information on NGOs as well as a search

engine for businesses classified by areas,

missions and the implicated groups.

www.coordinationsud.org

WHAt’S NEW @ BE-LINKEd ?

&Business CommunityBRIEF

S U B S C R I P T I O N F O R M F O R T H E N G O n B U S I N E S S R E L A T I O N S J O U R N A LEvery two months, the Journal of relations between NGOs and Businesses provides you with keys to understanding issues surrounding the relationship between businesses and Civil Society organisations - news, analysis, research, interpreting the issues – with cross-disciplinary and international perspectives.

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ABOUT USBe-linked, Business & Community Intelligence is a consulting agency in strategy and management which is completely dedicated to relations between NGOs and Business. Our mission is to integrate relations with Civil Society into the very heart of Business strategy so that sustainable economic, social and environmental value is created through innovative enterprise. To find out more about our activities and references: www.be-linked.net

HOW ABOUT YOU?Are you involved in or the founder of an innovative partnership involving NGOs and business a new social enterprise? If you’d like to let us know about a project in this domain that you feel is particularly innovative please get in touch! [email protected]

NOUS CONTACTER Tél: +33 (0)1 56 03 12 42E-mail: [email protected] Site : www.be-linked.net

n HUMANITECH

On 20th May for the second year running, Be-linked has sponsored one of the student teams participating in the third Humanitech Challenge, organised by the Red Caps Foundation, to fundraise for an innovative project that facilitates humanitarian action.www.challenge-humanitech.com

n STUDYMining operations raise multiple and important issues - in terms of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) and potential consequences on reputation and license to operate. Large extractive companies are also increasingly called to account by NGOs.Be-linked and Novethic are publishing a study analyzing the strategies and means of action of NGOs concerning the mining sector and bringing to light the communication of 20 + mining groups listed on European markets. Publication : 8th September. English translation forthcoming www.be-linked.fr

n ASHOKA CHANGEMAKERS’ WEEKAs part of the 30 years anniversary event of Ashoka, Be-linked an «expertise» partner of the event, gave a presentation on 21st June in the «Changing scale: a reality for everyone?» workshop www.ashoka-changemakersweek.com

F O R M AT I O N S

n SUMMER FASHION UNIvERSITYAs part of the summer session of Lyon’s Fashion University training was given by Be-linked on ethical fashion as well as the economic, social and environmental issues of the textile sector on 27th June 2011.Further information: www.universite-mode.org

n Two TRAINING opportunities that were due to take place in the spring have been postponed until the autumn

• 14th & 15th SeptemberBe-linked is running a training course with Coordination SUD called“Becoming a partner with a business” www.coordinationsud.org

• As part of the launch of the WWF’s Univers-Cité Be-linked revisits its two training modules on managing NGO-Business relationships: one is for professionals from the charitable and organisations background and the other one is for a business audience. The training sessions will be held at the WWF offices on 15th & 16th November.www.wwf.fr

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based inkss

B&Cbrief | Publishing Director: Jérôme Auriac | Head Editor: Marie Antonelle Joubert I Editors: Jérôme Auriac, Coline de Georges, Cécilia de Foucaucourt, Sarah Ertel, Cécilia Germain, Marie Antonelle Joubert, Krisztina Tora, Juliette Van Wassenhove. | Graphic Design: Delphine Miserey | Printing: Pure Impression |

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