The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in Geneva is promoting an e-learning course on Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from 4 to 22 July 2016.
The course aims to introduce the participants to the concept of CSR, operationalizing the term and ensuring a cohesive definition of CSR and its applications for corporate sustainability. The learning materials and tools allow participants acquire relevant introductory knowledge that will help them and their organizations to better address social responsibility concerns through a United Nations perspective.
Full information about the course is available at https://www.unitar.org/event/full-catalog/introduction-corporate-social-responsibility-0.
Deadline for registration is 3 July 2016.
The International training Centre of the ILO is organizing a training course on International Labour Standards and Social Corporate Social Responsibility, taking place from 21-25 November 2016 in Italy, Turin.
The course aims to strengthen the capacity of participants to understand the principles of international labour standards as they relate to company operations and the implications for CSR policies and practices geared towards decent work and sustainable development.
For further information: http://www.itcilo.org/en/areas-of-expertise/enterprise-development/international-labour-standards-and-corporate?set_language=it
The Global Compact Network Italy Foundation participated, along with the CSR Manager Network and the Sodalitas Foundation, in a public consultation on the implementation of Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22nd October 2014 amending the Directive 2013/34/EU as regards the communication of non-financial information and of information about diversity on the part of certain companies and certain groups of large firms.
The joint contribution (download) produced by the three organizations mentioned above, was sent on 3rd June to Office IV - IV Directorate of the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
For any questions and/or further information, send an e-mail to:
The first Meeting in 2016 of the Founding Members of the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation was held on April 28th, at the Rome headquarters of ABI - Italian Banking Association. On the agenda, among other points, was the election of the new members of the Foundation's Board of Directors (who, after their own election, were called to appoint the Chairman and the Secretary General of the organization).
The Global Compact Network Italy Foundation’s Board of Directors met on 28th April and reviewed and accepted the requests for membership to the Global Compact’s Italian Network which were presented by the Etimos Foundation and Philip Morris Italy, who already participate in the initiative at international level (United Nations Global Compact). By joining, the two organizations have acquired the GCNI Foundation’s status of "Founding Member".
The Global Compact Network Italy Foundation (GCNI Foundation) has published its third activities report referring to the period 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2015. The Report is one of the main information and communication tools that the Foundation uses externally.
“Integrating sustainability as a critical success factor”: throughout the year, the CSR Manager Network is offering SMEs a full education and specialist consultancy program of workshops, webinars, sustainability reporting consultancy and laboratories, to help small businesses turn sustainability into a success factor.
The UNFCCC’s Kyoto Protocol (1997) strongly grasped itself, as one of its fundamental elements, to the development of a market for carbon emissions. From that moment on, governments around the world have been increasingly pursuing market-based mechanisms to reduce CO2 emissions.
Despite the growing and recognized role of market mechanisms in climate mitigation and the call for carbon pricing in the Paris agreement by both governments and businesses, the agreement ended up making reference to carbon pricing only in a non-binding political section of the text, stating that countries "recognize the important role of providing incentives for emission reduction activities, including tools such as domestic policies and carbon pricing".
On 8th February 2016, in line with the UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme initiative "UNEP Inquiry - Design a Sustainable Financial System" and the launch of the Working Group "Green Finance Study Group" co-chaired by Britain and China in the context of G-20; following up on what was signed at the Paris Agreement, the launch of the 2030 Agenda, and the growing focus on environmental and climatic risks that afflict the financial world as well as the real economy, Italy launched the "National Dialogue on Sustainable Finance" at a national level.
In Prague on 5th and 6th of May there was a meeting of the Local European Networks (LNs) of the United Nations Global Compact in which the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation (GCNI Foundation) participated with a delegation. The meeting resulted in an interesting and profitable opportunity to discuss and reflect together about actions and projects shared across Europe.
The first meeting in 2016 of the Founding Members of the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation was held on April 28th, at the Rome headquarters of ABI - the Italian Banking Association. On the agenda, among other points, was the election of the new members of the Foundation's Board of Directors (who, after their own election, were called to appoint the Chairman and the Secretary General of the organization).
As established by the Foundation’s Statute, the governing bodies of the organization operate with a 3-year mandate. Therefore, the Foundation’s new Board of Directors, as well as the two people occupying the positions of President and Secretary General, will remain in office until June 2019 (unless particular situations occur that may lead to a variation of their composition).
The Foundation’s new organizational chart is reported below.
| Board of Directors | Marco Frey, Director of the Management Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and founder of Ergo, an offshoot of the school (President)
Francesca Magliulo, Corporate Responsibility Manager, Edison S.p.A. (Vice-President) Angela Tanno, Office of Corporate Social Responsibility, ABI - Italian Banking Association (Vice-President) Alessandro Beda, Steering Councilor, Sodalitas Foundation (Councilor) Silvia Fortuna, Office of Corporate Social Responsibility, Acea S.p.A. (Councilor) Carlo Giupponi, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Dean of the Venice International University (Councilor) Patricia Navarra, Innovation and Sustainability Manager, Enel S.p.A. (Councilor) Sabina Ratti, Executive Director, FEEM - Eni Enrico Mattei Foundation (Councilor) Fulvio Rossi, CSR Manager, Terna S.p.A. (Councilor) |
| General Secretary | Alessia Sabbatino |
| Auditor |
Domenico Antonelli
|
For further information, please send an e-mail to:
On 15th March "The Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Conference: a new era for business?", conference was held in Milan, an event which was sponsored in partnership with Assolombarda, CSR Manager Network, the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation and the Sodalitas Foundation.
2015 was a pivotal year for sustainable development. The new Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in September by the United Nations, which aims to address the current economic, social and environmental challenges that are an obstacle to a green and inclusive economic growth for both the current and future generations. The agenda includes, among other things, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets to be achieved by 2030. It ended in December with the cd. Paris Agreement, the twenty-first meeting among the parties within the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (COP 21). The agreement provides for a very ambitious goal: to keep the increase of the planet’s global temperature far below 2 ° C, ideally pursuing the goal of + 1.5 ° C.
The Italian association of CSR and sustainability professionals produced the position paper "Quality and sustainability in public procurement" in view of the transposition into Italian law of 23/24/25 2014 EU Directives on concessions and procurement of Public Administration and "special sector" contracting
On March 8th, the "Anti-Corruption" Working Group’s 2016 work program was launched, which will focus on four main themes, previously identified by the Group as "potential areas of corporate risk". The first meeting of the year took place in Milan and focused on the topic of Anti-corruption management systems in firms.
As part of the last meeting of the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation Board, held on February 23rd, the applications for membership submitted to the Foundation by Acque S.p.A. (joining the Foundation as a "Participant") and VIU - Venice International University (joining as a "Founding Member") were evaluated and accepted.
The Foundation welcomes the new member organizations!
The UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2016 (22-23 June 2016, New York) will provide a dynamic stage to jump-start business action everywhere on the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs address the most important economic, social, environmental and governance challenges of our time, providing a clear and compelling direction for the future. Agreed by all UN Member States, these new global goals are set to be a major driver of the markets of tomorrow and can unleash a wave of sustainable products, services and business innovations.
On 4th May, the “GLOBAL COMPACT 2030: Looking into the future of Corporate Sustainability” conference will be held in Prague (at the National Gallery - Trade Fair Palace) promoted by the Global Compact Network Czech Republic one year after it was established. The initiative will mainly focus on the following themes: - The Power of Social Innovations; - Business and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); - Importance of Gender Equality in Business; - Climate Action.
Last February, Global Compact headquarters announced the launch of a multi-year Local Network SDG Action Plan – the centerpiece being a “Pioneers” Programme aimed to spur action and inspire business to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) locally. The overall Action Plan is designed to assist the Global Compact’s 80-plus Local Networks in developing and executing relevant SDG implementation strategies and link these, where possible, with national plans of action.
Following the XXI Conference of the Parties (COP21), held in Paris from 30th November to 11th December 2015 and which concluded with the approval of 196 States (195 States + the European Union) for a new universal and binding agreement on climate to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation organized the Meeting “COP21: And Then What?” for the benefit of both its adherents and non-adherents. This meeting was held on 17th December at the headquarters of Atlantia S.p.A. in Rome. The event was an important opportunity to study the outcomes of the Climate Summit in Paris and to discuss future scenarios.
After the welcome speech by Simonetta Giordani, Sustainability and Institutional Relations Manager – Atlantia S.p.A., the following experts on the topics spoke: Marco Frey, President - Global Compact Network Italy Foundation; Andrea Barbabella, Head of Energy, Strategy and Reporting - Foundation for Sustainable Development; Andrea Valcalda, Head of Sustainability - Enel S.p.A.; and Pierre Monnier, Climate Project Manager - Global Compact Network France.
CSR Manager Network renews in 2016 its cultural and educational path dedicated to SMEs on issues of sustainability.
The domestic sector which accounts for over 90% of the actors is extremely diverse. Corporate sustainability can be a strategic tool for positioning and penetration of new markets and jobs.
Even large companies are demanding more at their supply chains to review their processes and products but most of these issues are often, and wrongly, considered concepts next only to "big" industry or multinationals.