Projects of the Netherlands Network

Business & Human Rights Initiative: Publication and follow up

In June 2010 our Netherlands Network finalized a guidance book ⇒ How to Do Business with Respect for Human Rights: A Guidance Tool for Companies that was presented at the Global Compact Leaders Summit to Mrs. Mary Robinson (former UN High Commissionar on Human Rights), Mr. George Kell (director Global Compact) and Mr. Paul Polman (CEO Unilever).

Publication on Human Rights on June 2010 to Paul Polman (CEO Unilever), George Kell (director Global Compact), Mary Robinson (former UN commissioner on Human Rights ) and André van Heemstra (chairman Global Compact Netherlands)

The book is based on the general findings of a project we started in November 2008. This project had a dual purpose. First, to assist member companies in considering the framework for their individual efforts to integrate human rights into their business. Second, to make a contribution to the ongoing work of Special Representative Mr. John Ruggie. Ten Dutch multinational companies - AkzoNobel, Essent, Fortis Bank, KLM, Philips, Rabobank, Randstad, TNT, Shell and Unilever - took up this challenge with us.
All participants got an individual assessment and many workshops were organized, a.o. with NGOs.

John Ruggie and André van Heemstra

The book has been distributed widely to interested companies and networks, in the Netherlands and abroad. Our network was involved in many meetings and conferences where we presented and discussed the results of this project.

Partnering for Prosperity

In the fall of 2009 three leading CEO’s of participant companies Paul Polman of Unilever, Feike Sybesma of DSM, and Peter Bakker of TNT, made a strong appeal upon the private sector, government, public institutions and NGOs to contribute much more strongly to to realizing MDG1 (eradicating extreme poverty and hunger).
To that end Global Compact together with BoP Innovation Center started an initiative ‘Partnering for Prosperity’ which aims to give a significant impulse to reaching MDG1 by sharing knowledge, engaging companies and creating synergetic combinations between the Dutch private sector, public institutions and NGOs.

After a broad inventarisation of initiatives and projects the choice was made for a concrete pilot project in Sub-Saharan Africa for which the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs will give financial support in 2011.

Seven companies (besides the three above Friesland Campina, Heineken, Rabobank Foundation, Rijk Zwaan) signed a letter of intent to cooperate with IFDC (the International Fertilizer Development Center), a NGO that helps farmers in Africa improving products and services and getting access to markets and value chains.

⇒ See this document for more information about the project.

Forming an international network against child labour

In 2010 the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment took the initiative to launch an international network against child labour, and discussed with our network how to organize this network.

The network has been hosted by IDH (Initiative for Sustainable Trade), with the goal to set up a network and to hand it over by early 2012 to the Global Compact in New York.
A steering group has been formed which is chaired by the chairman of our network, Mr. André van Heemstra.

The underlying goal is to form a network of 10 companies for each of five risk sectors, adding up to a total of 50 companies.

⇒ See the website www.dutchsustainabletrade.com