This document discusses the importance of responsible business conduct (RBC) in driving global economic growth. It notes that international investment has led to significant economic changes and opportunities. However, market integrity is essential to a healthy business environment for all stakeholders. The document outlines principles of RBC including accountability, transparency, ethical behavior, and respect for human rights. It argues that governments, businesses, and civil society all have roles to play in promoting RBC through areas like policymaking, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and intergovernmental cooperation.

1. RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS
CONDUCT (RBC)
MATTERS!
Prof.Dr.Aung Tun Thet

2. INTRODUCTION

7. INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT DRIVES
GLOBAL ECONOMY
▪ Significant structural changes over past three decades
▪ Governments opened markets
▪ Businesses embraced new opportunities
▪ Unprecedented period of economic growth and inter-
connectedness

8. INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT DRIVES
GLOBAL ECONOMY
▪ Multinational enterprises (MNEs)
▪ Job creation
▪ Human capital development
▪ Efficient capital distribution
▪ Technology, knowledge and skills transfers

9. INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT DRIVES
GLOBAL ECONOMY
▪ Contribute to development and economic growth
▪ Home and host countries

10. MARKET INTEGRITY ESSENTIAL
▪ Healthy business environment interest of all stakeholders
▪ Demands effort by all
▪ Government protect internationally recognised fundamental
rights
▪ Improve functioning of markets through good governance,
fair regulations and transparency

11. MARKET INTEGRITY ESSENTIAL
▪ Businesses adopt responsible business practices
▪ ‘Bottom line’ and impact of activities on society
▪ CSOs involved proactively and constructively
▪ International organisations provide forum for dialogue, peer
learning, standard setting, analysis, and best policy
recommendations

12. MARKET INTEGRITY: EFFORT BY ALL
GOVERNMENTS
• Good governance
• Fair regulations
• Transparency
• Protecting rights
CIVIL SOCIETY
• Proactive and constructive
engagement
• Ensuring accountability
BUSINESS
• Responsible
Business
Conduct

13. PROMOTING
RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS
CONDUCT (RBC)

17. PYRAMID OF CR

18. PRINCIPLES OF CORPORATE
RESPONSIBILITY
1. Accountability
2. Transparency
3. Ethical behaviour
4. Respect for Stakeholder’s interest
5. Respect for rule of law
6. Respect for international norms of
behaviour
7. Respect for human rights

19. RBC
▪ Essential part of open international investment climate
▪ Cultural, legal and regulatory environments
▪ Complexity and intensely competitive nature
▪ Unique and specific challenges

20. RBC
▪ Demonstrate respect for high standards of business conduct
▪ Promoting dialogue
▪ Engaging with stakeholders
▪ Addressing societal concerns
▪ Advancing enterprise interests
▪ Mutually supportive

21. RBC
▪ Compliance with laws
▪ Respecting human rights
▪ Environmental protection
▪ Labour relations
▪ Financial accountability

22. RBC
▪ Lasting benefits to employees, customers and societies
▪ Roles of government, business and CSO complementary and
interdependent
▪ Consultation and cooperation
▪ Government
▪ Companies
▪ Professional associations
▪ CSOs

23. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
▪ Fulfil distinctive role effectively
▪ Provide enabling legal environment
▪ Keep and attract high quality investors

24. GOVERNMENT
▪ Support RBC in three ways:
1. Facilitating – setting clear overall policy frameworks
2. Partnering – combining public resources with business and
other actors to leverage complementary skills and resources
3. Endorsing – showing public political support for RBC
practice

25. COMPANIES
▪ Three levels of behaviour:
1. Essential actions: minimum business standards defined by
national and international law
2. Expected actions: beyond legal requirement
3. Desirable actions: philanthropic or community-based
initiatives

26. ISSUES
Clear separation of government and business roles
Promoting effective two-way communication: law-making
and other dialogue
Providing adequate framework for corporate disclosure
Enlisting business as partner in legal and regulatory system
Strengthening business case for responsible conduct
Intergovernmental co-operation

27. CLEAR SEPARATION OF GOVERNMENT
AND BUSINESS ROLES
▪ Government and business roles distinct
▪ Cannot substitute for each other

28. CLEAR SEPARATION OF GOVERNMENT
AND BUSINESS ROLES
▪ Government
▪ Look after collective interests of citizens
▪ Work with companies and other civil society organisations to
create enabling environment

29. CLEAR SEPARATION OF GOVERNMENT
AND BUSINESS ROLES
▪ Facilitate, partner and endorse business initiatives
▪ Partner with companies and business associations in
promoting new environmental policies and practices
▪ Avoid ‘regime capture’

30. KEY CONSIDERATIONS
▪ Leadership and policy coordination
▪ Essential
▪ Support RBC principles
▪ Decide which branch of Government take lead

31. KEY CONSIDERATIONS
▪ Equitable enforcement
▪ Abide by international labour and environmental standards
▪ Cannot meet commercial targets undercut by competitors
reducing costs by paying unfair wages or skimping on safety
requirements

32. POLICY PRACTICES TO SCRUTINISE
▪ Human rights
▪ Employment and industrial relations

33. FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
▪ Government establish effective legal and administrative
framework to promote transparency and reduce corruption
▪ Companies compete on equal terms – ’level playing field’
▪ United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)

34. PROMOTING EFFECTIVE TWO-WAY
COMMUNICATION: LAW MAKING AND
OTHER FORMS OF DIALOGUE
▪ Law making - communication between governments and
business
▪ Effective legal system requires consultation both before laws
drafted and after promulgated
▪ Citizens’ right to information respected
▪ Grievance mechanisms

35. PROMOTING EFFECTIVE TWO-WAY
COMMUNICATION: LAW MAKING AND
OTHER FORMS OF DIALOGUE
▪ Government regulation
▪ Voluntary business standards
▪ Government facilitate and endorse business initiatives beyond
minimum legal threshold
▪ Bring companies and civil society organisations together
▪ Develop voluntary initiatives

36. KEY CONSIDERATIONS
▪ Understanding legitimate needs of private sector
▪ Business associations, chambers of commerce and multi-
stakeholder groups important dialogue partners
▪ Government consult with representatives of civil society and
business

37. KEY CONSIDERATIONS
▪ Advice on interpreting new laws
▪ Government provide channels of communication

38. KEY CONSIDERATIONS
▪ Freedom of information and rights of whistle blowers
▪ Local and international civil society organisations important
source of independent information on human rights, labour
and environmental issues
▪ Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration for Human Rights:
right to freedom of opinion and expression
▪ Rights of ‘whistle- blowers’

39. PROVIDING ADEQUATE FRAMEWORK
FOR CORPORATE DISCLOSURE
▪ Companies policies on ‘environmental, social and
governance’ (ESG) issues
▪ Socially Responsible Investment (SRI)
▪ Revenue management of oil, gas and mining industries

40. KEY CONSIDERATIONS
▪ Mandating role of government
▪ Role of stock exchange
▪ Corporate codes of business principles
▪ Disclosure
▪ Combating bribery

41. POLICY PRACTICES TO SCRUTINISE
▪ State-owned enterprises (SOEs) serve as model -
demonstrating best practice
▪ Fulfil Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR)
▪ State set example as investor
▪ Government procurement

42. ENLISTING BUSINESS AS PARTNER IN
LEGAL AND REGULATORY SYSTEM
▪ Creating costs for non-compliance (costs of investigations,
legal costs, fines, imprisonment and damage to reputation)
▪ Government facilitate and motivate by seeking out views on
laws and enforcement practices
▪ Provide conciliation and ombudsman facilities
▪ Government acknowledge and support private initiatives to
enhance compliance

43. KEY CONSIDERATIONS
▪ Need for management systems
▪ Training
▪ Monitoring
▪ Reporting
▪ Evaluation procedures

44. KEY CONSIDERATIONS
▪ Government take corporate culture into account when
enforcing law
▪ Effective and well-designed anti-bribery compliance
programme

45. STRENGTHENING BUSINESS CASE FOR
RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT
▪ Responsible companies more sustainable
▪ Retain social and legal ‘licence to operate’ from governments
and consumers
▪ Business and moral case go hand in hand

46. STRENGTHENING BUSINESS CASE FOR
RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT
▪ Commitment to ethical values attract and retain best
employees
▪ Strongest customer base
▪ Protecting value through risk and reputation management
▪ New value creation
▪ ‘First-mover’ advantages

47. STRENGTHENING BUSINESS CASE FOR
RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT
▪ UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI )
▪ Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

48. KEY CONSIDERATIONS
▪ Successful partnerships - skill, diplomacy and effort
▪ Three critical ingredients:
1. Equity
2. Transparency
3. Acceptance

49. KEY CONSIDERATIONS
▪ Balance between government, business and civil society
participants
▪ Government endorsement and publicity
▪ Develop business codes of conduct and standards

50. POLICY PRACTICES TO SCRUTINISE
▪ Government willing to engage with business and civil society
▪ Mechanisms for engagement

51. INTERGOVERNMENTAL CO-OPERATION
▪ RBC agenda international in scope: climate change and
challenge of reducing carbon emissions; fight against bribery
promotion of responsible labour standards among suppliers
of large international companies
▪ Search for solutions equally international: pooling
international expertise, sharing experience, and developing
common standards

52. INTERGOVERNMENTAL CO-OPERATION
▪ OECD, World Bank, ILO and other UN agencies
▪ Specialist expertise
▪ Forums to develop common standards and promote best
practice - discussing wider political and economic issues

53. POLICY PRACTICES TO SCRUTINISE
▪ Government participate in intergovernmental cooperation
▪ Promote international concepts and principles for
responsible business conduct
▪ OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
▪ ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles
▪ United Nations Global Compact

56. THANK YOU!