Mr Oldenziel has kindly made the slides which accompanied his talk available for download.
Abstract: The normative and operational framework outlining societal and governmental expectations are increasingly being developed and elaborated in international policy initiatives. The ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility will be finalised by the end of this year; the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are currently being updated; and the UN Special Representative on business and human rights, John Ruggie, will present its final recommendations in Spring 2011.
At this seminar, the most recent developments in these international forums will be presented, addressing the implications for globally operating business. Civil society organisations (CSOs), like NGOs and trade unions play a key role in identifying challenges and addressing corporate malpractices. What standards and instrument do CSOs use in their campaigns and engagements with business, how can business respond adequately to these (sometimes different) stakeholder concerns? What strategies do CSOs pursue and how effective are they? These and other questions will be touched upon in this seminar, drawing from practical experiences of the presenter with coordinating campaigns and networks on CSR.
Biography: Joris Oldenziel is currently working as a programme manager at the Dutch Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) in the Netherlands. He has a Masters degree in International Relations. His area of expertise is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Accountability. This includes researching and analysing corporate policies and practices, with a particular focus on labour and human rights issues in global supply chains. Subjects of the analysis also include the effectiveness of voluntary initiatives such as codes of conduct, multi-stakeholder initiatives and voluntary guidelines, as well as intergovernmental initiatives to influence corporate practices (ILO Conventions, OECD Guidelines, Global Compact). In addition to research and analysis, Joris is involved in coordination and advocacy work in cooperation with civil society organizations through various corporate accountability networks. He is: one of the founders and member of the Steering group of the Dutch CSR Platform, a network of 40 Dutch NGOs and trade unions; the European Coalition for Corporate Justice, a European wide network; and, OECD Watch, a global network of NGOs working to promote corporate accountability through the use of the OECD Guidelines.