Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development maintains a regular dialogue with the business community on entrepreneurial activities that are relevant to development policy. The Ministry supports national multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the "Roundtable Codes of Conduct". The initiative, which was founded in 2001, aims to improve workers' living and working conditions, particularly in developing countries, by introducing social standards.
The Ministry participates in international initiatives such as the Global Compact (GC). It supports the GC Secretariat in New York, the GC "Regional Learning Forum" in Southern Africa, and the GC Network in Germany.
Roughly 2,500 public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been supported since 1999 in the context of the "Development partnerships with the business community" programme. Many of these projects have a direct connection with CSR, such as in the field of social and ecological standards. The project entitled "Cotton made in Africa", which is implemented together with the Otto Group in the pilot countries Burkina Faso, Zambia and Benin, provides an example of this.
The Ministry is actively promoting fair trade, for instance via the nationwide "fair feels good" information campaign of the consumers' initiative, in cooperation with TransFair and the Federal Association of World Shops. The goal of the campaign was to educate consumers and hence to increase the sale of fair traded products in Germany.
Contact:
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Dahlmannstraße 45
1113 Bonn
Internet: www.bmz.bund.de
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GTZ)
E-Mail: ppp-buero@gtz.de
Postfach 5180
65726 Eschborn
Internet: www.gtz.de/ppp
Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG)
E-Mail: ppp@deginvest.de
Postfach 45 03 40
50878 Köln
Internet: www.deginvest.de
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Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology
The German National Contact Point (NCA) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises is located in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The task of the NCA is to publicise the OECD Guidelines and to promote their application. Furthermore, it is the agency for hearing grievances with regard to violations against the OECD Guidelines, and operates as an intermediary in case of conflicts. The stakeholder working party on "OECD Guidelines" comes together regularly on the initiative of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.
The Ministry undertakes the management, within the Federal Government, of the "Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative" (EITI) in the G8 process. EITI is to create greater transparency with regard to state income from the extraction of raw materials by introducing a duty of accountability.
Contact:
Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology - Investment abroad
E-Mail: Buerovc3@bmwi.bund.de
Scharnhorststraße 34-37
10115 Berlin
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Federal Foreign Office
The Federal Foreign Office and the diplomatic representations abroad promote activities of corporate responsibility abroad in the context of their cooperation with the business community. There is a number of exemplary projects by German enterprises in threshold and developing countries in which social and ecological interests, as well as the principle of good management, are observed on a voluntary basis and beyond and above compliance with statutory provisions. The Federal Foreign Office works with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in the steering group of the German Global Compact Network and alternates with it in regularly attending the Global Compact meetings.
Together with the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Federal Foreign Office will be placing online an information portal on the CSR activities of German enterprises abroad in July 2008. This platform is intended to strengthen commitment and make it more visible. Essential content of the portal will be contributed by the German diplomatic representations abroad.
In order to collate and coordinate the CSR activities of German enterprises and institutions in a host country, a number of embassies and Consulates-General have set up discussion circles for CSR stakeholders. The goal in 2008 is to expand the discussion groups and to include further diplomatic representations abroad.
Contact:
Federal Foreign Office
E-Mail: business@diplo.de
Werderscher Markt 1
10117 Berlin
Internet: www.diplo.de
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