* * * <st1:personname>EABIS</st1:personname> EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT * * *
Strategic choices on global sourcing from emerging markets –
Do codes of conduct do more harm than good?
Date: <st1:date year="2007" day="8" month="2">Thursday, 8 February 2007</st1:date>, <st1:time minute="30" hour="9">09:30 – 16:30</st1:time>
Location: <st1:place><st1:placename>Copenhagen</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Business</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>School</st1:placetype></st1:place>
Host and organizer: The Copenhagen Centre
Event background: Part of the CSR Platform project led by <st1:place><st1:placename>European</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Academy</st1:placetype></st1:place> of Business in Society (<st1:personname>EABIS</st1:personname>) undertaken with the financial support of the European Community under the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Union (FP6).
Programme information and registration: Click here
Relevant Audience: Business practitioners, academics, researchers, policy-makers, civil society and other stakeholder representatives
EABIS is pleased to invite you to participate in a multi-stakeholder meeting designed and convened by The Copenhagen Centre.
The focus of the day
Today companies face increasingly rigorous scrutiny of labour and environmental practices in their global supply chains. Many have implemented codes of conduct aimed at improving their performance – codes of conduct can be used to operationalise ethics and social responsibility and to communicate corporate values to supply chain partners. But are workers and their communities really benefiting from these codes?
Why attend?
This workshop challenges the idea that simply complying with codes of conduct in emerging markets will automatically bring about improvements in the social and environmental conditions of workers and communities. The focus is on assessment of the actual impacts, rather than the claimed impacts, of codes of conduct, an issue that has received limited attention to date. The goals of the workshop are (1) to provide useful insights on how globally sourcing companies can most effectively assess the impacts of their codes of conduct and (2) to identify key questions that new research could be constructively be designed to pursue to produce more effective application of codes of conduct in the future.
The keynote speaker will be Dr Stephanie Barrientos (<st1:place><st1:placetype>University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename>Sussex</st1:placename></st1:place>) senior author of the most comprehensive study to date of the impacts of a uniform code of conduct (the Ethical Trading Initiative). This study investigated 23 sites in <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region><st1:place>Vietnam</st1:place></st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region><st1:place>South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region><st1:place>Costa Rica</st1:place></st1:country-region> and the <st1:country-region><st1:place>UK</st1:place></st1:country-region> that supply 11 companies in the garment, footwear and food industries in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>UK</st1:place></st1:country-region> to determine whether the code of conduct used was achieving the desired results. Her presentation will provide a practical guide to improving the impacts of codes of labour practice for the intended beneficiaries. She will also draw attention to negative consequences that may eventuate from well-intended efforts. The workshop will also include a panel addressing the question "Do codes of conduct do more harm than good?" as well as several interactive sessions involving the participants and senior industry and academic commentators.
Who should attend?
· Business personnel who have an interest in the use of Codes of Conduct
· Government personnel including policy-makers who have an interest in the impacts of codes of conduct
· Representatives of civil society who are involved in corporate responsibility monitoring activities
· University faculty members/researchers who are interested in exploring the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of codes of conduct
· Others who have a research interest in corporate responsibility and specifically in codes of conduct
How do I register? Please fill in this form: click here
The meeting is free of charge because of financial support from the European
Community for the CSR Platform Project, but registration is essential. Travel and accommodation are not covered and participants are advised to make their own arrangements. Because numbers for this meeting are limited, please apply to participate as early as possible to avoid disappointment, but no later than <st1:date year="2007" day="26" month="1">Friday 26 January 2007</st1:date> if you wish to be assured a place.
For further inquiries, please contact:
Lis Andreasen
Administrative Coordinator, The <st1:city><st1:place>Copenhagen</st1:place></st1:city> Centre
Tel: +45 3815 2360
Fax: +45 3815 2370
e-mail: lan@copenhagencentre.org
Meeting website http://www.eabis.org/csrplatform/engagingstakeholders/WP4event08022007
The <st1:place><st1:placename>European</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Academy</st1:placetype></st1:place> of Business in Society (EABIS)
www.eabis.org