Events

In our calendar, you can find all the events organised or sponsored by the EU-Japan Centre, as well as other events related to EU-Japan relations.

27/10/2010 - Tokyo, Japan

Re-thinking CSR: Perspectives and Experiences of Europe and Japan (Symposium)

On Wednesday, 27 October 2010, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation organised a Symposium on “Re-thinking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) : Perspectives and Experiences of Europe and Japan", with two keynote speeches by Mr. Yoshikatsu Nakayama, Vice Minister of Economy, Trade & Industry, Japan and by Mr. Richard Howitt, Member of the European Parliament, European Parliament’s Rapporteur on Corporate Social Responsibility, two interventions on the recent developments of CSR policy in the EU and Japan by Mr. Pedro Ortún, Director, Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, and by Mr. Kenyu Adachi, Director-General, Economic & Industrial Policy Bureau, METI, with the presentations of four European and Japanese private companies initiatives (Sony, Honda, Volkswagen and Ferrero), followed by a panel discussion.

The Symposium highlighted the growing importance of CSR in Europe and in Japan in public industrial policies as well as in corporate strategies. Several suggestions were made from the Japanese and the European sides in favour of an increased EU-Japan cooperation in CSR policy-making (e.g. better promote exchanges of best practices among companies, within their sector and with their whole supply chain), in international rule-making, in discussions on global standards, on ISO 26000 and in the organisation of a possible EU-Japan NGOs Dialogue on CSR, if useful. CSR should appear in the future framework for EU-Japan relations (successor to the 2001-2011 EU-Japan Action Plan) and could include its Human Rights dimension. Further discussions between the two regions should help identify a better way to promote a broader uptake of CSR policies by more companies, to underline the importance of the role of all stakeholders, from individual citizens to media, and encourage them to act in line with CSR principles. On 30 November, when METI and DG Enterprise and Industry hold their annual High Level Industrial Policy Dialogue, CSR policy will be included in the agenda of discussions, giving both sides an opportunity to discuss the various suggestions made during the Symposium.

This Symposium was attended by almost 250 people from the Japanese business sector, EU and Japanese public, industrial and academic organisations. The panel discussion gave the opportunity to the speakers to exchange their views on two topics: (1) the current issues surrounding ESG information disclosure and transparency, and (2) the importance of global aspects of CSR.

Programme:
14:00	Opening remarks, Mr. Julien Guerrier, General Manager, EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation
14:05	Keynote Speeches Speaker: Mr. Yoshikatsu Nakayama, Parliamentary Secretary for Economy, Trade & Industry, Japan “Europe and Japan: Twin Tracks and Joint Goals on CSR” Speaker: Mr. Richard Howitt, Member of the European Parliament, European Parliament’s Rapporteur on Corporate Social Responsibility Keynote speech
14:25	CSR Policy and Recent Developments in the EU and Japan “CSR policy in the EU – the state of play” Speaker: Mr. Pedro Ortún, Director, Directorate F – Tourism, CSR, Consumer Goods and International Regulatory Agreements, Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, European Commission “Current issues of CSR policy-making in Japan” Speaker: Mr. Kenyu Adachi, Director-General, Economic & Industrial Policy Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry 　 Presentation
15:30	Coffee Break
15:45	Initiatives by Japanese companies and issues in Japan Speakers: Mr. Hidemi Tomita, General Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility Department, Sony Corporation Presentation Mr. Hiroshi Murata, Manager, CSR Promotion Office, Legal Division, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Presentation
16:05	Initiatives by European companies and issues in Europe Speakers: Mr. Gerhard Prätorius, Head of Coordination CSR and Sustainability, Volkswagen　 Presentation Ms. Francesca Poggiali, EU Relations, Consumer Affairs and CSR Manager, Ferrero Group Presentation
16:30	Panel Discussion Moderator: Mr. Eiichiro Adachi, Research Chief, Head of ESG Research Center, Center for the Strategy of Emergence, Japan Research Institute, Ltd. Panelists: Mr. Pedro Ortun, European Commission Mr. Nobuyuki Hiratsuka, Director for Corporate System, Industrial Policy Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Mr. Gerhard Prätorius, Head of Coordination CSR and Sustainability, Volkswagen Mr. Tomita, Sony Corporation Topic 1: Current issues surrounding ESG information disclosure and transparency Today the number of companies disclosing ESG information has grown significantly base on a generally-shared view that disclosure and business reporting on sustainable capabilities of companies should become general practices to help stakeholders take informed and responsible decisions. In the first half of the panel discussion, we will exchange views between Europe and Japan on the need for a framework for such business reporting, on whether and how non-financial and financial reporting can be converged into an integrated reporting system (e.g. use of quantitative indicators to measure a company’s value creation potential and achievements), and whether the EU and Japan could cooperate to establish a global mechanism for promoting the benefits of integrated reporting while avoiding overlapping initiatives. Topic 2: Importance of global aspects of CSR (e.g. Business and human rights, international standards) For companies operating in a globalised economy, some of the most difficult CSR issues arise when operating in developing countries or in countries with poor standards of governance and law enforcement. What should enterprises do if local labour and environmental standards are inadequate or not enforced? How should enterprises operate in situations where corruption in endemic? What are the dangers of enterprises being complicit in human abuses? A number of globally recognised instruments provide some credible guidance on these issues, such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN Global Compact, the ILO Tripartite Declarations, the UN Framework on Business and Human Rights, and the new ISO 26000 guidance standard on social responsibility. Questions to be discussed include: how important are these international instruments to European and Japanese businesses? Which ones are most important and why? What are the policies of Japan and Europe towards these instruments? For example, how do Japan and Europe intend to implement the UN Framework on Business and Human Rights? What are their views on the process to update the OECD Guidelines?
17:20	Wrap up
17:30	Closing remark

keynote speech by MEP Richard Howitt Photo © EU-Japan Centre

Speech by Mr. Pedro Ortun, European Commission Photo © EU-Japan Centre

Panel discussion Photo © EU-Japan Centre

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