19 February 2018

Bangladesh Employers' Federation members have sustainable business behaviour at the top of their agenda

The high turnout for the responsible business conduct workshop in Dhaka on 4-5 February sent a strong signal that sustainable corporate behaviour and reporting is a matter of priority for the Bangladesh Employers' Federation (BEF) and its membership.

Representatives of more than 40 domestic and international companies operating in the country attended the workshop, which was jointly hosted by the IOE and BEF, with presentations provided by IOE Secretary-General Linda Kromjong, as well as collaborating organisations such as Centro Vincular of Chile and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Mr Kamran T. Rahman, BEF President and a leading entrepreneur in his own right, spoke about the importance of continuing to foster an enabling business environment that encouraged the respect of labour standards and business reporting by both domestic and overseas companies. He added that BEF and its members feel that "best-in-class business practices" is the key to Bangladesh's future sustainability and competitiveness.

Following the format of previous workshops, the Dhaka event explored why responsible business conduct matters and how companies can get started on sustainable reporting.  An important component of the programme looked at how the behaviour of companies, large and small and in all geographies and sectors, can be supported by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as well as other global reporting initiatives. A special slot was dedicated to providing the South Asian perspective, with a focus on Bangladesh.

This was the fifth such workshop the IOE has conducted with its member on the ground, and the first of four to take place in 2018, with the support of the European Union.

Please refer to the links in the side panel for further information, and contact the IOE if you have any questions or comments.