INTERNATIONAL AGENDA

Accession to the OECD

In May 2017, Brazil officially expressed its interest in becoming a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Since then, it has been increasing the convergence of its norms with the organization's standards. The country has already adhered to 103 instruments out of 251, which represents 41% of convergence.

About 40% of the OECD's normative acquis is related to environment and sustainability, such as specific recommendations for the management of water resources, the use of economic instruments in environmental policies, the need for comprehensive waste management policies, the reduction of environmental impacts in the production and use of energy, the integrated pollution prevention and control, among others. The Organization's recommendations stress the importance for countries to guarantee economic and social development associated with the sustainable use of natural resources.

CNI's Executive Management of Environment and Sustainability (Gemas) takes part in Business at OECD, which is considered the voice of the private sector in the Organization and aims to establish public policy standards for member and non-member countries. It also participates in the Environment and Energy Committee, as well as in the Expert Groups on Nanotechnology and Water.

Participation in the G20 | B20

The G20 is the international forum that brings together the world's leading economies. Its members account for more than 80% of the world's GDP, 75% of global trade, and 60% of the planet’s population.

CNI's Executive Management of Environment and Sustainability (Gemas) participates in the Business 20 (B20), a coalition that brings together the leading independent business associations from the G20 economies to propose recommendations to the group's policymakers. In this forum, Gemas seeks to influence the discussions on issues of interest to the Brazilian industry related to energy and resource efficiency.

Participation in the UN Global Compact

The United Nations Global Compact is a group of companies and organizations that promote, adopt, and incorporate essential, internationally-accepted principles and values in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption in their operations in Brazil.

Brazil has the third largest local network of the Compact. CNI is a signatory and has been increasingly seeking to align its actions with the Compact’s 10 principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption, and based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also supports and participates in the initiatives of platforms coordinated by the Compact to implement actions toward the SDGs with regards to climate, human rights, agriculture, water use, and anti-corruption, in addition to being part of the Brazilian Network Advisory Board (CORB, in Portuguese) committee.
 

COE

As a signatory of the Global Compact, CNI reports, through the Communication on Engagement (COE), some of the practices adopted by the Confederation in line with the 10 principles of the Global Compact.

Ratification of the Mercosur - EU Agreement

After 20 years of negotiations, the Mercosur-European Union Agreement was finally signed in 2019, being the second largest agreement in the world in terms of the combined GDP of its participants, second only to the GDP of the Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Japan. The agreement is currently in the process of ratification by its member states, both in the EU and in Mercosur.

The Mercosur-European Union Agreement comprises 21 chapters, one of which is dedicated to “Trade and Sustainable Development”. According to this chapter, among other things, countries are expected to promote the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, the sustainable forest management, and the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, in particular the Paris Agreement.

CNI monitors the negotiations related to the Agreement, specifically regarding this chapter, raises the industry’s awareness, promotes discussions with the Brazilian and European public and private sectors, and defines a position in defense of the Brazilian industry.

Aiming at boosting the achievement of national goals under the Paris Agreement, CNI drafted a proposal for a Strategy to Consolidate a Low-Carbon Economy.

Participation in the ICC

ICC Brazil brings together the Brazilian members of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the world's largest business organization, comprising a network of about 45 million companies and business associations in more than 100 countries.

CNI’s Executive Management of Environment and Sustainability monitors and participates in the discussions of the ICC Global Commission on Environment and Energy dealing with environmental protection and sustainable use, management of climate change, biodiversity and bioeconomy, among other important topics on this agenda.