AICC Newsletter

AICC Newsletter
December 2005 / January 2006 issue

Welcome to the eighth edition of the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC) newsletter. This newsletter is aimed at sharing Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Social Responsibility information, events and programmes happening at the AICC, across Africa and the globe.

ABOUT AICC

The African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC) is a non-governmental organisation committed to promoting responsible growth and competitiveness in Africa by changing the way companies do business, which benefits people, the economy and the environment. Core AICC programmes include ReportCom, the Centre for Sustainability Investing, Competitiveness and Innovation, and the African Corporate Sustainability Forum.

NEWS FROM AICC

Centre for Sustainability Investing (CSI): HIVAIDS Investors’ Guide
This Guide, being developed in collaboration with the South African Business’ Coalition on HIV/AIDS (SABCOHA), targets the national and international investment community, whose awareness and active engagement around HIV/AIDS is crucial to combating the epidemic and to contributing to short-, medium- and long-term economic growth and equity return in the Sub-Saharan region in particular. As such, the Guide is a set of questions and case studies developed with a team of HIV/AIDS experts, actuaries and investors, to ask and to answer questions around HIV/AIDS and investment in a way responsible both to the immediacy of the epidemic and to the future growth and stability of the region. The Guide will be showcased at the EU CSR Conference in London December 1st and 2nd.

CSI and CEO Briefings
The CEO Briefings are a series of country-specific events designed to highlight relevant challenges and opportunities in financial sector involvement in responsible growth and investment. In each case, the briefings are securing the support of the government and the central bank, as well as of the business community. Following an initial briefing in Malawi on the agriculture sector, briefings on pension reform in Nigeria, on access to finance in Botswana, are scheduled for the first quarter of 2006, and for Kenya and Senegal for later in the year.

National Treasury Roundtable in South Africa
The National Treasury Roundtable in South Africa, in planning with the support of Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, is set to take place in the first quarter of 2006. Building on the UN Environmental Programs’ Finance Initiative’s international roundtable held in New York, October 25th and 26th, the South African roundtable aims to address issues of access to finance and especially of bridging the gap between microfinance and commercial finance. A case study of the housing sector, and of the possible link between micro-loans and mortgages, is being discussed.

Socially Responsible Investment Campaign
The idea for the Socially Responsible Investment Campaign is to raise awareness of the powerful impact of responsible finance and investment to catalyse economic growth and political stability. Old Mutual Asset Management in South Africa is currently in negotiations to support the initiatives, but in order to be successful, broader financial, private industry and governmental involvement will be critical. The time is opportune.

ACSF attends the EU – Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) in Edinburgh from 19-24 November 2005
AICC/ACSF in collaboration with its founding members took part in the EU – Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (Scotland), from the 19-24 November 2005.

The exhibition was opened with cultural music from Africa and involved a display of case studies, photo montages, films and brochures showcasing best practices by ACSF founding members. The opening speech was delivered by Mokhethi Moshoeshoe (Director, AICC), and Ms G. Kinnock’s (Co-President of the EU-ACP JPA) following speech endorsed the endeavours of AICC/ACSF and invited participants to engage with AICC/ACSF

The policy seminar of the Assembly included ambassadors to the EU from Africa, EU, Caribbean and Pacific and business analysts. Panellists of the seminar were Mr D.J. Sithole (MP, South Africa), Mr John Bowis (MEP, UK), Dr Vincent Maphai (Chairman, BHP Billiton SA) and the panel was chaired by Mokhethi Moshoeshoe (Director, AICC).

Issues and outcomes of the policy seminar covered areas such as Africa’s success stories, corruption in Africa and the complicity of international parties, lack of a business voice for Africa and the role of AICC/ACSF in facilitating input from the private sector re EU-ACP JPA, REACH and its implications on Africa’s growth and competitiveness, opportunities within the African continent, benchmarks re responsible business practices in Africa and the need to strengthen NGO capacity, for example the ACSF.

A dinner was hosted by BHP Billiton and the South African Ambassador to the EU (H.E Jerry Matjila) at the Edinburgh Museum. Some 20 guests consisting of ambassadors to the EU from South Africa, Zambia and Namibia, parliamentarians from and AICC/ACSF personnel, business analysts, were in attendance. They included Michael McGowan, Thabo Bathoki (First Secretary, Botswana); Dumisani Sithole (South Africa MP and Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee and chairperson of the Sub-committee on African Union) and Mr John Bowis OBE MEP (Member of the European Parliament for London).

Discussions revolved around REACH, which is a draft policy framework called the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH), which is being considered for adoption by the EU presently. The policy is aimed at protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals while strengthening the competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry. The REACH legislation purports to create potential far reaching negative implications on the social and economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, the inclusion of mineral ores and concentrates in the current draft REACH could have significant negative ramifications for the mining industry of Sub-Saharan Africa, which will undermine the developmental role of the industry.

NEWS FROM AFRICA

Mbeki pushes ahead with anti-corruption campaign
South African President Thabo Mbeki has come out strongly against political opportunism in the African National Congress (ANC), saying ruling party members should remain vigilant against individuals seeking office for financial gain. Mbeki's rebuke - made in his weekly letter on the ANC website - came as the country gears up for local government polls. Read more …

Botswana least corrupt in the world
Transparency International has once more rated Botswana as among the worlds least corrupt countries, with an overall score and ranking. A statement from the Office of the President says this was confirmed Tuesday, at the launch of the Transparency International 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in London. Read more… In the survey, Botswana was listed among the top 20 percent of countries considered to be least corrupt.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

BCA fights social responsibility law
The Business Council of Australia has come out against Government plans to create legislation forcing directors to meet certain levels of corporate social responsibility (CSR). In a submission to the parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services, the BCA says problems will arise if the state tries to govern these areas and the greatest social contribution made by corporations is through employment, the goods and services they create and the wealth these produce. Read more…

AccountAbility Launches the Responsible Competitiveness: Reshaping Global Markets through Responsible Business Practices Report
This report, written in association with Fundação Dom Cabral, is a study into how corporate responsibility can be a driver for the competitiveness of nations, regions and sectors. It argues that responsible business practice is becoming an important driver of national and regional economic competitiveness.

Responsible Competitiveness’s findings are based on a wealth of sector and issue-specific cases from Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, Europe and South Africa, two new innovative country-level indexes, and findings emerging from a Global Policy Dialogue on Responsible Competitiveness conducted over two years in association with the UN Global Compact and partners from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

The Responsible Competitiveness Index is an innovative, country-level index that provides metrics and methodology for exploring the relationship between corporate responsibility and competitiveness, and includes the National Corporate Responsibility Index that measures the national state of corporate responsibility covering 80 countries across five continents.

Responsible Competitiveness predicts that governments worldwide, as well as businesses, will increasingly build responsibility issues into their strategies to develop and maintain their national competitiveness. It provides a robust policy framework for this purpose and proposals for both policy and research. Request the Report here…

McDonald's Earns Place in Ceres Social and Environmental Network
Citing the company's progress on sustainability reporting and commitment to continuous enhancement of its social and environmental performance, the Ceres board of directors has approved fast food giant McDonald's Corp. as a Ceres company. McDonald's is among 65 companies -- including nearly a dozen Fortune 500 companies -- to be accepted into the Ceres network of companies. Boston-based Ceres is a 16-year-old coalition of investors, environmental organizations, and other public interest groups working with companies to tackle sustainability challenges. Read more …

Hold Canadian firms responsible for conduct abroad, legal experts tell PM
A group of legal experts and prominent Canadians is calling on the prime minister to crack down on Canadian companies for environmental and human-rights abuses abroad. Read more …

China warns HIV cases may hit 10m by 2010
China could have as many as 10 million HIV carriers in five years if no effective preventive measures are taken, a health official said, echoing a grim UN warning. China says 840,000 HIV-AIDS cases have been reported among its 1.3 billion population, but experts say at least a million poor farmers were infected in botched blood-selling schemes in the central province of Henan alone. Read more …

RECENTLY RELEASED SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS

Ford Motor Company's first Sustainability Report

Proctor and Gamble Sustainability report 2005

FirstRand's Sustainability Report 2005

Bidvest Sustainability Report 2005

Scottish Power Corporate Responsibility report 2004 / 2005

Microsoft 2005 Citizenship Report

BAA Corporate Responsibility Report 2005

Guardian Unlimited Social, Ethical and Environmental Audit 2005

Severn Trent 2005 Corporate Responsibility Report

If you would like us to list your report or editorial, please contact rosemary@aiccafrica.org

EVENTS

CSR Asia Winter School, 11-14 January 2006, Hong Kong

Peter Drucker's Breakthrough Corporate Strategies, 16-20 January 2006, Swiss Stock Exchange, Zurich

Leadership and Management Studies in Sub-Sahara Africa 2006 Conference, 26-28 June 2006, Zanzibar, Tanzania

CONTACTS

If you have any queries regarding this newsletter or would like to supply news items or details of events, please contact julie@aiccafrica.org

African Corporate Sustainability Forum | Centre for Sustainability Investing | Competitiveness & Innovation | ReportCom