Republic of Moldova

Corporate Social Responsibility for Moldova

International Conference in Chisinau

Chisinau, Moldova, 9 November 2007 —The international conference Corporate Social Responsibility for Moldova brought together about one hundred representatives from national and international companies, central and local government, the diplomatic and donor communities and the media to discuss CSR as a concept and how it pertains to Moldova.

U.S. Ambassador Michael D. Kirby provided the opening remarks. “It is my belief that corporate social responsibility will be an integral part of Moldova’s future progress,” he said. “By incorporating socially responsible practices, your companies can act as agents of change by encouraging Moldovan businesses and government agencies to be ethical, to follow the rule of law, to be accountable to stakeholders and to strive for efficiency.”

UNDP’s Deputy Resident Representative, Ignacio Artaza, declared that private companies have a special role to play in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, in particular in reducing poverty, through income, wealth and job creation. “We believe that the Global Compact network that the UN launched in 2006 in Moldova can serve as a platform for dialogue and partnership to help Moldova meet its development goals.”

Union Fenosa Internacional Vice-President Silvia Radu provided examples of his company’s socially responsible activities: “We offer training and education opportunities abroad to over 400 employees, which has contributed to increasing the intellectual environment in the country. If we talk about environment protection, we try to attract companies which provide services for Union Fenosa in such activities as cleaning Ciocana Park.  Most importantly for us, however, is the decrease of the number of traumas and deaths caused by electrocutions, particularly among children, which is the result of training courses that we organized for professors and informational activities on energy security in the media.”

Eurasia Foundation’s regional vice-president for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, Andrew Wilson, explained that CSR encourages organizations to voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for the local community and society at large. “…companies are taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on communities, customers, employees, shareholders and the environment in all aspects of operations,” he said.

The conference was organized by the Eurasia Foundation Moldova Representative Office, United Nations Development Program in Moldova and the American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova and supported financially by XEROX Moldova (General Sponsor), SA Orange Moldova, EuroCredit Bank, KPMG Moldova, Coca-Cola Bottlers Chisinau Ltd., Rompetrol Moldova SA, BioProtect Ltd., Union Fenosa Internacional, Glass Container Company SA and the Leogrand Hotel and Convention Center.

About organizers:

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.  For more info on UNDP: http://www.undp.org

The Eurasia Foundation is a privately managed non-profit organization supported by the U.S. government and other public and private donors. Since 1992, the Eurasia Foundation has invested more than $290 million in US government funds and nearly $80 million in leveraged and raised non-US government funds through over 8,400 grants and technical assistance projects in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Fore more information, visit: www.eurasia.org and www.eurasia.md

The American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova, or AmCham,  was registered on September 4, 2006 as a private non-profit organization. As amember of the 105 AmChams worldwide, it joins businesses and business leaders to share the common goal of setting up an organization with the mission of bringing the entrepreneurial spirit and the cultures of Moldova and the United States closer together. For more information, visit: www.amcham.md