2011 Engaging Business Forum Conference

2011 ENGAGING BUSINESS: IMPLEMENTING RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Sponsored by the U.S. Council for International Business, the U.S Chamber of Commerce and the International Organization of Employers

Hosted by The Coca-Cola Company
One Coca-Cola Plaza Atlanta, Georgia

APRIL 28-29, 2011

Overview

Beginning in the mid-1990s, there has been a steady rise in the expectation of companies to meet their corporate responsibility to respect human rights. In June 2008, after extensive consultations with business, governments and civil society, Prof. John Ruggie, the UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, proposed the “Protect, Respect, Remedy” framework for managing business and human rights challenges:

• The State duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business enterprises;
• The corporate responsibility to respect human rights; and
• Access to remedy by victims of abuses.

The UN Human Rights Council unanimously welcomed the Framework and asked the Special Representative to develop “guiding principles” to help put it into practice. In November 2010, Prof. Ruggie issued the draft “Guiding Principles for the Implementation of the UN Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework,” which provides recommendations to States and enterprises on 29 areas that fall under the UN Framework. The final version of the Guiding Principles will be published in March 2011 and is expected to be adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011.

The meeting reviewed the Guiding Principles in order to better understand how to implement the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, and offered a unique opportunity to work through this important new set of recommendations with Professor Ruggie and other leaders in the field, as well as to learn from other companies from a range of sectors. Participants came away from the conference with a better understanding of how to help their companies implement a due diligence process that will prevent and avoid adverse human rights impacts.

28th April
Time
Agenda

8:00 - 8:30 AM

1

Continental Breakfast
  • Conference participants arrive at The Coca-Cola Company
  • Continental Breakfast

8:30 - 8:45 AM

2

Welcome and Meeting Objectives
  • Ed Potter, Director, Global Workplace Rights, The Coca-Cola Company
  • Brent Wilton, Deputy Secretary General, International Organization of Employers (IOE)

8:45 - 9:00 AM

3

Opening Remarks

To be confirmed

9:00 - 10:00 AM

4

Keynote Address

Moderator

  • Ed Potter, The Coca-Cola Company

Speaker

  • John Ruggie, UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights – “Human Rights in the Global Economy: The Impact of Human Rights Issues on Business”

10:00 - 10:15 AM

5

BREAK

10:15 - 11:15 AM

6

The Business Case for Human Rights: Values, Expectations and Risks

Moderator

  • Mike Eastman, Executive Director, Labor Law Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Speaker

  • John Morrison, Director, Institute for Human Rights and Business

12:00 - 1:30 PM

7

Lunch and Luncheon Address

Moderator

  • Brent Wilton, Deputy Secretary General, IOE

Speaker

  • Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (Invited) – “The United States Government View of Business and Human Rights”

1:30 - 3:30 PM

8

Human Rights Dilemmas – Process, Resolution & Business Integration

Moderator

  • Christine Bader, Advisor to the UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights

Speakers

  • Mark Nordstrom, Senior Corporate Counsel, Labor and Employment Law, General Electric
  • Stuart Kyle, Director, Workplace Accountability, The Coca-Cola Company
  • Andrew Vickers, Vice President, Policy and External Relations, Shell
  • Clifford Henry, Associate Director, Global Sustainability, Proctor & Gamble

3:30 - 3:45 PM

9

BREAK

3:45 - 4:30 PM

10

Human Rights Due Dilgience: Strategy, Mapping & Developing Policy

Moderator

  • Cindy Sawyer, Director, Work Environment and Workplace Rights, The Coca-Cola Company

Speaker

  • David Vermijs, Project Consultant, Business and Human Rights Initiative, Global Compact Network Netherlands

Commentator

  • Miguel Veiga, Pestana, Unilever

4:30 - 5:00 PM

11

Open Discussion on the Issue Raised During Day One

Moderator

  • Ed Potter, The Coca-Cola Company

Speaker

  • John Ruggie, UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights

5:00 - 7:00 PM

12

Networking Reception

Reception Hosted by The Coca-Cola Company

29th April 2022
Time
Agenda

8:00 - 8:30 AM

1

Continental Breakfast

Conference participants arrive at The Coca-Cola Company

8:30 - 9:00 AM

2

Assessing Human Rights Impacts

Topics: Understanding Impacts; Stakeholder Engagement; Conducting a Human Rights Mapping; Identifying Risks to Human Rights; & Prioritizing Actions to Mitigate Risks

Moderator

  • John Morrison, Director, Institute for Human Rights and Business

Speaker

  • Bernard Claude, President of the Ethics Committee, Total
  • John Sherman, Senior Fellow, Corporate Responsibility Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
  • Chris Jochnick, Director, Private Sector Engagement, Oxfam America
  • Caitlin Morris, Corporate Social Responsibility, Nike, Inc.

9:30 - 10:30 AM

3

Business Integration , Transparency and Tracking Impact

Moderator

  • Mark Hodge, Director, Global Business Initiative on Human Rights

Speaker

  • Amy Lehr, Associate, Foley Hoag
  • Monica Gorman, Senior Director, Corporate Social Responsibility & International Trade Compliance, American Eagle Outfitters
  • Bennett Freeman, Senior Vice President for Social Research and Policy, The Calvert Group
  • Marcella Manubens, Senior Vice President, Global Human Rights and Social Responsibility Programs, Philips-VanHeusen

10:30 -11:30 AM

4

Access to Remedies: Grievance Mechanisms

Moderator

  • Ronnie Goldberg, Executive Vice President, USCIB

Speaker

  • Caroline Rees, Program Director, CSR Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Jorge Perez, Lopez, Executive Director, Fair Labor Association
  • Kindley Walsh Lawlor, Vice President, Social and Environmental Responsibility, Gap, Inc.
  • Alexandra Guaqueta, Director, Social Standards, Cerrejon

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

5

Closing & Reflections on the Discussion

Moderator

  • Ed Potter, The Coca-Cola Company

Speaker

  • John Ruggie, UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights

12:00 - 1:00 PM

6

Networking Lunch

10 Min

Box Lunch Provided