March 16, 2007 – Yesterday a Belarus’ National Global Compact (GC) Participants Network was established in the settlement of Kolyadichi near Minsk. The managers of the participating companies adopted the Local Network Regulations developed by an initiative group, and elected a Coordinating Council (CC).

Representatives of a private commercial unitary enterprise Center of System Business Technologies SATIO, foreign enterprise Coca-Cola Beverages Byelorussia, OJSC Minsk City Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, Kuniavskiy Business Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, and CJSC Minsk Transit Bank were elected as the CC members. Coca-Cola Beverages Byelorussia Executive Director, Alexander Denisov, was elected as CC President.

“The Global Compact Network includes 100 countries,” Deputy UNDP Resident Representative, Levan Bouadze, pointed out. “The Belarusian companies joined the Network at the end of the last year. The period of declarations is over, now we start serious work in this sphere. Social problems in different countries cannot be solved without business participation and cooperation with other participants of the process, including governments, trade unions, public and international organizations.”

The hosts of the meeting, representatives of the Coca-Cola Beverages Byelorussia updated the participants on the corporate social responsibility projects, many of which have become more than just charity and sponsorship activities. Ludmila Istomina, UNDP Programme Associate, informed of the models and priority tasks of the Global Compact different local networks in the world.

Executive Director of the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum, Stamen Tasev, shared his successful experience of the Global Compact local network creation in Bulgaria, “Officially the Global Compact was launched in Bulgaria under the aegis of the President in 2003. We managed to involve into our group business enterprises, NGOs, trade unions, educational institutions, scientific-research organizations, and UN system agencies. We spent around there years on forming an optimum local network management structure. By the way, the structure was formalized at a similar event in a remote Bulgarian village…”

The meeting participants defined the goals of the National Network of Global Compact as follows:

• facilitating a wider application of the GC 10 principles by the participating companies;
• distributing knowledge and exchanging experience in corporate social responsibility;
• developing multilateral partnership and participating in implementation of inter-sectoral corporate social responsibility projects;
• developing and maintaining a dialogue with other interested parties: governments, local authorities, labor unions, and civil society organizations.

For reference: The United Nations Global Compact initiative was officially presented in Belarus in December 2006. Today it includes 27 Belarusian enterprises and business associations.

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