VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGV #1032 3291239
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241239Z NOV 08
FM USMISSION GENEVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7621
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2876
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0411
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1990
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 4764
RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 1332

UNCLAS GENEVA 001032 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT for IO/EDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNCTAD ECON ETRD
SUBJECT:  UNCTAD: Corporate Social Responsibility Workshop on 
Responsible Investment 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held 
a Workshop on the Policy Context for Responsible Investment on 
November 7, 2008, where the investment community and policy-makers, 
representing about 50 countries, discussed ways to collaborate on 
socially responsible investment.  END SUMMARY 
 
Highlights of workshop on CSR 
----------------------------- 
¶2. At an UNCTAD workshop on the Policy Context for Responsible 
Investment held on November 7, Donald MacDonald, Chair of Principles 
for Responsible Investment, emphasized that governments and private 
industries must work to restore consumer confidence in world markets 
by undertaking corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects that 
focus on the environment, sustainable development, transparency, and 
responding to stakeholder demands.  McDonald stressed that 
corporations and government must coordinate to create a regulatory 
framework that supports common CSR targets.  Private industry can 
influence government policy-making by informing regulators about 
best practices in their industries; performing due diligence of 
their reporting; and sharing information on the policy environment 
necessary for a company to be both profitable and environmentally 
and socially responsible. 
 
¶3. Delegates from Egypt and Bangladesh stressed that the state 
should mandate corporate social responsibility through regulations, 
but noted that the United States opposes such efforts. Panelist 
James Gifford, Executive Director of the Principles for Responsible 
Investment, and Matt Christensen, Executive Director of Eurosif, 
opined that better government regulation and enforcement can improve 
the quality of investment.  However, Christensen warned governments 
against using the financial crisis as an excuse to create 
protectionist regulations.  According to Christensen, efficient 
markets and international cooperation on standards for investment 
must be the tools to bring about sustainable development and 
corporate responsibility. 
 
¶4. Maged Soural of the Egyptian Stock Exchange said investing will 
always have irresponsible aspects but that requiring greater 
transparency in corporate decision-making can reduce the risk of 
irresponsible investing.  Steve Waygood of Socially Responsible 
Investment Aviva, concurred that corporations resist openly 
reporting on internal activities, and that hard regulation and soft 
regulation tools can facilitate transparency. 
 
¶5. Victor Kjaer, of the Danish Government's Centre for Corporate 
Social Responsibility, outlined how Denmark combined soft and hard 
regulations to promote socially responsible investment.  Denmark 
uses private-public partnerships to enhance CSR; corporations view 
such partnerships as necessary to remain competitive in Denmark's 
socially progressive market.  The Danish National Action Plan is a 
soft regulatory tool that encourages corporations to report on 
strategically targeted issues such as supply chain management, 
carbon dioxide emissions and internal climate adaptation/mitigation 
strategies.  Corporations that voluntarily took part in the Action 
Plan saw a stock price increase of 25 percent.  The Danish 
government analyzes voluntary reports for similarities that will 
influence other regulatory reporting mechanisms. 
 
¶6. Michelle Joubert of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange said that 
voluntary corporate reporting encourages environmental-socially 
responsible investing.  Within South Africa, CSR investing is 
focused on local issues such as HIV/AIDS and race; sustainable 
development and issues concerning the environment are less 
prominent.  A workshop attendee questioned how issues become part of 
a socially responsible reporting framework; the panel responded that 
the concerns of society and commonalities among corporations 
determine the materiality of reporting.  Joubert referenced the 
largest socially responsible pension fund investor in South Africa 
as an example of aligning corporate reporting and investing 
structures with the concerns and demands of the private and public 
sector. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶7.  This UNCTAD workshop was well attended and topical, with a good 
balance between those who favored government regulation to mandate 
CSR and those who favored a more voluntary approach.  All 
participants agreed on the value of CSR and the positive role that 
greater transparency in corporate decision-making and greater 
disclosure of information such as carbon footprints, and supply 
chain reporting, can have in promoting better investment decisions 
by the private sector. 
 
TICHENOR#