Global Expert Workshop "Collective Business Action and National Initiatives on Anti-corruption" (10-11 July 2006, Barcelona / Spain)

The Global Compact Office, the International Business Leaders Forum, Transparency International and the World Bank Institute with the support of the Barcelona Center for the Global Compact hosted a global expert workshop to discusss "Collective business action and national initiatives fighting corruption".

Business fighting corruption often requires collective solutions, with companies working together amongst themselves, with procurement agencies and other stakeholders. The objective of this workshop was to share experiences from different collective approaches, by bringing together facilitators, business representatives and other experts that have already been involved in some kind of collective solutions. Furthermore, the meeting aimed at a deeper understanding among participants about the success factors and frameworks of such initiatives.

There are a good number of examples from around the world where local businesses or business associations have got together to tackle particular aspects of corruption e.g. the China Business Leaders Forum, Transparency International Columbia’s work on integrity pacts, the Makati Business Club in the Philippines, and the World Economic Forum PACI. It may have seemed far-fetched to bring together persons that have worked on the local implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative with the Macati Business Club in Manila. However, we firmly believe that there are common features, dynamics that deserve to be explored further. It is based on the belief that although the local contexts vary there are valuable common lessons that can be extracted from these initiatives which are all examples of how collective efforts on the Global Compact’s 10th principle could look like.

Based on the outcome of this meeting, the Global Compact together with its partners will develop tools for assessing impact of corruption in concrete instances as well as a training tool for collective action.

Meeting report
Final Agenda
List of participants

Presentations:
Jonas Moberg - Collective Action
Andrew Wilson - Private Sector Responses to Corruption
Alma Rocio Balcazar Romero - Sectoral Anti-Corruption Agreements
Henry Parham - Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative
Francois Georges - How to implement global initiatives against corruption on the local level
Birgitta Nygren - Swedish Partnership for Global Responsibility
Jacques Marnewicke - The South African National Anti-Corruption Forum
Daisy Kambalame - Business Action Against Corruption, the Malawi Task Force
Joao Gilberto dos Santos - Brazilian Business Pact for Integrity and Against Corruption

For further information please contact Birgit Errath

(Last updated 20 December 2006)