ICC News

30 September 2020 Genuine resilience in the recovery from Covid-19 will only be achieved if there is concerted action to reverse biodiversity loss, ICC Secretary John W.H. Denton AO has stated in a message to today’s United Nations Summit on Biodiversity. Underscoring that an inflection point had been reached in the relationship with the planet and its resources, Mr Denton asked Summit participants: “If now is not the time for us to act, when will it be?” As member states prepare to adopt a global biodiversity framework for the next decade, Mr Denton said today’s Summit presented an opportunity to signal commitment

30 September 2020 The World Tourism Organization of the United Nations (UNWTO), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and AOKpass have officially partnered to support coordinated global efforts to more safely and efficiently restart travel. Under the collaboration agreement, the partners will work closely to support the rebuilding of travel, tourism and related sectors, which have been profoundly devastated by the global pandemic. “Countries and workers reliant on tourism for jobs and economic survival have been hardest hit and conditions will only worsen without a safe and coordinated return to domestic and international tourism. Working with ICC and AOKpass, we are focused

29 September 2020 The International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Institute of World Business Law is pleased to announce the launch of the 10th edition of the ICC Institute Prize. This award recognises the best in class legal work in commercial law, including arbitration. The ICC institute Prize awards €10,000 to an exceptional thesis with the aim to acknowledge and contribute to the understanding and process in the field. Nayla Comair-Obeid, Jury member of the ICC Executive Board said: “Since 1979, the ICC Institute of World Business Law has been a pillar for the dissemination of knowledge in the fields of international business law

28 September 2020 ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO has outline three priorities for reviving the global economy as quickly and as safely as possible in the COVID-19 era. Speaking today at a conference jointly organised by ICC and the China Council for International Cooperation, Mr Denton underscored the imperative to keep markets open and enhance cooperation saying that getting the balance right could have huge dividends: “We cannot respond to COVID-19 based on fear, distrust and entrenched global isolationism. But rather we must build on creativity, connectivity and mutual benefit. That is how we achieve long-term gains for everyone, such

28 September 2020 Global business, workers, and civil society call on all governments to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 health tools. In an open letter issued today, ICC, ITUC, and Global Citizen called for all governments to intensify their political and financial commitments to the Access to COVID tools accelerator (ACT-A), an unprecedented collaboration between intergovernmental organisations, industry and civil society that would ensure the equitable access to, and allocation of, the most critical health tools to fight Covid-19: vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. With the world at a critical moment in the COVID-19 pandemic, the letter signed by John W.H. Denton

28 September 2020 In a major international broadcast, Maria Fernanda Garza – ICC First Vice-Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Orestia – became one of the first signatories of the UN-recognised “SME Climate Commitment”, which forms part of the SME Climate Hub initiative launched to provide small businesses with clear commercial incentives to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. In making the commitment, Orestia has pledged to halve its carbon emissions by 2030, achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and to regularly report on progress towards these aims. Orestia is the very first small business in Latin America to join the SME Climate

28 September 2020 ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO has joined forces with global leaders in a pledge to Reverse Biodiversity Loss by 2030 for Sustainable Development. Ahead of Wednesday’s United Nations Summit on Biodiversity Mr Denton has become a signatory of the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature which aims to ramp up long-term global ambition and commitment to take transformative actions for nature, climate and people. Announced today during a high level event, the pledge states: “Nature fundamentally underpins human health, wellbeing and prosperity. We need to appropriately value nature and the services it provides as we make decisions and recognize

23 September 2020 ICC, UNDP and UN Global Compact join forces with DHL, Microsoft and PwC to help communities recover better from the pandemic. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Global Compact (UN Global Compact) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have established the COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility, a global initiative and collaboration bringing together public and private sector partners to help local communities recover better from the pandemic. Deutsche Post DHL Group, Microsoft Corp. and the PwC network (“PwC”) have already joined the COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility and the initiative is open for other

21 September 2020 A new SME Climate Hub will support small- and medium-sized businesses to curb carbon emissions to increase competitiveness. A coalition of major organisations has announced the launch of  the ground breaking one-stop shop climate action platform for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to curb carbon emissions, build business resilience and gain a competitive advantage. The SME Climate Hub – co-hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the We Mean Business coalition and the United Nations Race to Zero campaign – launches today at the 2020-edition of New York Climate Week. The SME Climate

18 September 2020 In a letter published in the Financial Times today, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO calls on G20 leaders to heed warnings over the real-world consequences of banks retreating from financing commodity traders. Already threatening the livelihoods of small businesses who rely on funding and work on narrow margins, the worrying trend says Mr Denton, “could be a precursor to a much broader shortfall in the supply of trade credit once demand returns to the global economy.” Earlier this year, ICC warned that trade financing gaps risk hampering a global recovery – impacting the survival chances of small