China-Japan-Korea Roundtable Reinforces Economic Ties to Foster Cooperation and Understanding

(Tokyo, 28 August 2014) – The sixth annual Global Compact China-Japan-Korea Roundtable (CJK Roundtable) – a joint platform that promotes collaboration, learning and dialogue among three Global Compact Local Networks – concluded today in Tokyo.

More than 200 UN Global Compact signatories from business and academic institutions convened to compare best practices on how to integrate the Global Compact ten principles into business strategy and operations, and to foster collaboration and innovation against the backdrop of the emerging Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Participants welcomed the opportunity to foster mutual understanding and cooperation, particularly given the current geopolitical uncertainty around the world. Participants formed many partnerships and highlighted the post-2015 development agenda and the emerging SDGs as an opportunity to scale up business engagement on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. 

Toshio Arima, UN Global Compact Board Member and Chairman of the Board of Global Compact Network Japan, which hosted the event, stressed the importance of the three country networks finding common ground and announced that all three had agreed to initiate a new round of CJK dialogue next year in Korea.

In addition to the post-2015 agenda, climate change emerged as a top issue among participants. Executives from major financial institutions shared best practices on how they integrate ESG issues, particularly climate priorities, into investment analysis and asset allocation. A major conclusion was that investors are already moving toward integrating the price of externalities, making a case for putting a price on pollution, specifically carbon emissions. Companies were called on to join Caring for Climate and to endorse the initiative’s Business Leadership Criteria on Carbon Pricing ahead of the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit on 23 September.

A new feature of the CJK roundtable was youth engagement. Nearly 50 selected youth representatives were invited to the event, who brought honest perspectives to the discussions regarding basic issues of fairness, balance and inclusion, with a strong emphasis on human rights.

• See full agenda
• Learn more about the Global Compact Local Networks of China, Japan and Korea

Contact

Ryo Kobayashi
Regional Networks Manager - Asia
UN Global Compact
kobayashi@unglobalcompact.org