Dutch gov't wants EU to follow its "example" in sustainability of value chains

Representatives of EU member states committed themselves to more sustainable trade and getting a common agenda for international corporate social responsibility during the international conference "EU and Global Value Chains" on Monday in Amsterdam.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs had organized the meeting, in the run-up to the Netherlands' Presidency of the European Union, from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2016. The focus of the conference was on implementing sustainable business practices through aid and trade.

Several Dutch business sectors are already working on covenants on corporate social responsibility and Dutch companies and civil society organizations have launched dialogues with the government on fair gold and combating land grabs in developing countries. As a future EU president the Dutch government wants Europe to follow this Dutch approach.

Dutch Minister Lilianne Ploumen of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation made a plea for a leading role for Europe. "With the EU's economic strength, we are strong enough to ensure that all those supply chains become more sustainable and more fair," she said. "500 million Europeans who demand genuine products, still make more noise than 17 million Dutch people."

"A common European approach would have enormous positive impact on the environment and the lives of millions of people in developing countries," said Ploumen. "But European policymakers, business and social organizations do not manage to find each other easily. With our Dutch model we give a very good example of how things can be different."

Besides international civil society organizations, companies and EU policy makers among others Cecilia Malmstrom, Trade Commissioner at the European Commission, and Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, were present at the conference.

Commissioner Malmstrom highlighted the broad impact on workers and the environment in mostly developing countries of the products European consumers purchase. She outlined the actions the European Union is taking to address the consequences, including intensified work in multilateral institutions, anti-corruption provisions in EU FTAs, and better implementation of sustainability commitments in FTAs.

Finally, she emphasized that the EU needed to do more. "I believe these new efforts will make a significant contribution to improving the sustainability of the supply chain we depend on every day," she added.

"But it is not government action alone that will produce results," she said. "Businesses, trade unions and civil society representatives all have to play their role. So do consumers. We all need to understand the potential of our spending power to support the better world we all want to see. And then we need to act on that information. There is no doubt that this is a major challenge."

"This is a first step, which shows that we can lift our Dutch aid and trade policy to the European level," Ploumen concluded. "The EU has committed itself today to the sustainability of global production chains. Important now is to move on and achieve concrete results."

During a joint meeting of EU Ministers for Trade and Development, scheduled for Feb. 2 next year, Ploumen will present all outcomes of the conference. Endit