After the crisis that started in 2008 the good ethics for the companies are essential. The private sector represents 70% of the economy therefore following the guidelines of the OECD edited in 2011 is key. Angel Gurría started the conference highlighting the guidelines like the way to follow. The tragedy in Bangladesh last year opened the eyes of companies to understand the importance of a Responsible Conduct giving great importance of having Corporate Responsibility in the core business.
In the first panel the CEO of Coca Cola remarked the importance of finding the equilibrium between better for the world and better for the business and the importance of partnerships (businesses, governments and civil societies) to run your business. A hot topic in this panel was the good governance as a way of doing business.
In the second panel transparency was the word most heard as a way of going forward and the relevance of the National Contact Points. The representative of OECD Watch pointed out the importance of having the right standards and a good implementation of the OECD guidelines.
In the third panel International Cooperation in this issue and the efficiency of the OECD guidelines in particular in the supply change was the main topic. Marie D´Huart from Belgium underlined Colruyt as an example of a company that works because of the long term relations with their suppliers. It is essential to understand that sustainability is a competitive advantage in a company.
In the last panel the topic was the financial sector that was the origin of the crisis therefore the first one that we need to repair. The hot topic was to give the citizens financial education before they invest in this sector due to the danger of speculation in the financial world. Due diligence is the key in this sector to avoid big catastrophes like the one in 2008.
The CR reporter of the EU Richard Howitt closed the conference stressing the importance of stakeholder engagement and the importance of sharing risk instead of sharing value. He remarked as well the importance of been able to report progress in CR implementing OCDE guidelines and the importance of the interrelations between hard law and soft law. To ended his speech he underlined that the OECD is the right place for exchange of views between governments and businesses and encourage everyone to continue working in this direction.
