21. Responsible foreign investors:
protecting future generations through governance principles

June 24 Thursday

14-18

D
room, orange

English

The workshop is organized within the frame of the Healthy Planet Forum’s Civil Society and NGO Conference which is taking place parallel with the 4th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health: The Future for Our Children, June 23-25, 2004, Budapest, Hungary.

The present workshop will examine the Governance Principles for Foreign Direct Investment in Hazardous Activities that were launched in Johannesburg at WSSD, and considered as a Category II document at the Kyiv Ministerial Meeting "Environment for Europe" in 2003 within the context of the theme “Responsible Foreign Investors: Protecting Future Generations through Governance Principles”.

The event shall gather business leaders, governmental officials, NGOs representatives and other stakeholders with the aim to foster international dialogue on the issues of corporate governance and accountability.

The workshop will consist of a hour and a half panel session and discussion followed by a read-through of the text together with the comments already received where additional feedback and comments on the draft principles will be collected. 

Objectives of the workshop:

  1. Follow-up to the Johannesburg and Kyiv Conferences in the area of corporate social responsibility;
  2. Update participants on the progress made in developing Governance Principles;
  3. Review the comments to the draft principles and discuss their further development;
  4. Discuss strategies for endorsement and promotion of the principles as a voluntary instrument;
  5. Consider practical examples of the voluntary application of the Governance Principles.

Agenda:

Opening of the Workshop - Marc Trenteseau, Ambassador, Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium. His Excellency will be given the floor for opening of the event. 

Panel Session - Moderator: Stephen Stec, Head, Environmental Law Programme, REC

Panellists will make brief presentations on topics related to the “Governance Principles” followed by a half hour panel discussion.

Panellists:

  • Michel Marc Delcommune - Chief Financial Officer of MOL ,
  • Alex Mayhook-Walker, URS Corp. Corporate Governance (formerly Baia Mare Task Force): “Environmental Risk Management in International Investment into Eastern Europe”
  • Fritz Balkau – Chief, Production & Consumption, United Nations Environment Programme DTIE
  • Harald Egerer -Programme Officer, Natural Resources, United Nations Environment Programme – Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention. UNEP Vienna – ISCC
  • Hannes Descamps - Legal Counsel. Europe and Environment Division- Ministry of the Flemish Community
  • Alex Antypas - Central European University, Center for Environmental Policy and Law

Discussions on the Governance Principles

Review of the Governance principles paragraph by paragraph, the comments provided and discuss its further development; Core Group of commentors and workshop participants will take part in this session. - Moderators: Stephen Stec, Head, Environmental Law Programme, REC, Tsvetelina Borissova Filipova, Project Manager/Lawyer, Environmental Law Programme, REC

Presentation of the draft strategy for endorsement and promotion of the principles as a voluntary instrument; Alex Antypas, Central European University

A case study for voluntary application of the Governance Principles: Rosia Montana gold mining operation in Romania; John J. Aston, Environmental Manager- S.C. Rosia Montana Gold Corporation - Moderator: Alex Antypas, Central European University, Center for Environmental Policy and Law

Support for the Workshop is provided by the Ministry of the Flemish Community, Belgium

Contact:

Stephen STEC – The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) Environmental Law Programme * www.rec.org * elp@rec.org