Mrs. Noble has over 25 years of work experience in the UN system. These include the UNDP and the Commonwealth Secretariat - Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-Operation in London, United Kingdom. In the Commonwealth Secretariat, she specialized on multi-sector engagement on international programs that focus on poverty reduction and sustainable human development.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts, with Honors, in Political Science and History from the University of Bombay, Mumbai, India. Mrs. Noble also has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Boston, USA.
The UN is a very important development partner of PBSP. PBSP’s poverty reduction, education, health, environment and corporate citizenship programs are aligned with the UN’s Millennium Development Goals or MDG. Through the MDG, the UN and PBSP contribute to the reduction of poverty and improvement of the Filipinos’ quality of life by year 2015.
The 20th VAMM, attended by over 200 officers from the business sector, government, civil society, academe and media, among others, was held last February 20, 2008, at the Casino Español de Cebu, Cebu City. The discussions that follow are culled from Mrs. Noble’s keynote address during the 20th VAMM:
On CSR vis-à-vis human rights, human development and good governance
Doing business on human terms is what Corporate Social Responsibility is all about. One cannot claim to be practicing CSR unless the traditional business concepts like enterprise, markets, shareholders and profits are properly contextualized within the larger concepts of human rights, human development and good governance.
FROM BUSINESS ENTERPRISES TO DUTY-BEARERS. Companies are no longer expected to shy away from their obligations to the people. The State does not have the monopoly of obligations. Companies are also expected to ensure that the people’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.
FROM MARKETS TO CLAIM HOLDERS. People are no longer expected to be viewed as mere consumers of goods, and production of goods is not based on needs alone, but based on fundamental human rights of people as claim-holders, especially the poor and marginalized.
FROM SHAREHOLDERS TO STAKEHOLDERS. Companies are no longer viewed as merely addressing needs of their shareholders alone. They form part of a bigger community of stakeholders. As such, companies are increasingly balancing the needs of all stakeholders, with the need to make a profit for their shareholders while ensuring environmental responsibility.
FROM CHARITY TO CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP. It is important to distinguish CSR from charitable donations and “good works”. CSR is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large.
FROM PROFIT TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. Companies do not live by profit alone. They are expected to do business that does not only generate profits for the company and their shareholders, but equally important it ensures that their workers and their families and the community they work in will benefit from it. The practice of CSR is not measured by the number projects or the resources they have invested but more importantly by their significant contribution to society’s social and economic progress.
MDG Updates
To date, over 1,000 companies have been reached by MDG advocacy and promotion activities particularly in Luzon and Visayas.
In the Mid-Term Progress Report of the Philippines on the MDGs released late last year, it was pointed out that halfway to the target year 2015 to achieve the MDGs, the Philippines has made considerable progress particularly in poverty reduction, nutrition, reducing child mortality, combating HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases and access to safe drinking water and sanitary toilet facility.
But the country needs to work harder on targets concerning universal access to education, maternal mortality and access to reproductive health services. Access to primary education worsened in School Year (SY) 2005-2006. This represented a decline in the net enrolment rate from the 2000 level of 96.8% to 84.4%, thereby setting back the 2015 target of universal access. The decline in number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births has slowed down, from 209 deaths in 1993 to 162 deaths in 2006. It is unlikely that the 2015 target of 52 deaths in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) will be met.
Access to reproductive health care improved at a modest rate for currently married women ages 15-49, from 49% in 2001 to 50.6% in 2006. At this rate, the 2015 target of 80% access is difficult to achieve.
On poverty reduction, while the national average shows that poverty has declined, comparison across regions shows uneven progress, inequity and wide disparities which are increasing. In all the goals and targets, existing indicators exhibit significant disparity by region. Only three (3) regions, namely, Ilocos Region (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2) and the National Capital Region (NCR) are consistently above national averages. The rest of the regions lag behind in most of the targets, with large pockets of poverty noted in these areas. This situation of disparity in the Philippines is actually a reflection of the global trend that indicates that the benefits of economic growth are not equitably shared.
On good governance
The MDG progress report made several recommendations on how to move forward and make 2015 a future within reach. Good governance is a cross cutting theme in all the recommendations. It means an effective government, a socially responsible private sector and an enlightened civil society that is able to forge public-private partnerships to address wide ranging issues.
In the Global Report on the MDGs released last July 2007, it was underscored that large-scale progress towards MDGs have been possible in some countries that had strong government leadership, policies and strategies combined with adequate financial and technical support; countries that have been able to mobilize additional resources and targeted public investment that benefit the poor; countries that used strategies that adopted a wide ranging approach to achieve inclusive growth including the creation of a large number of additional opportunities for decent work; countries that undertook programmes for human development, particularly education and health, as well as building productive capacity and improved physical infrastructure.
On business' strategic position
Business and private sector play an important role in the attainment of the MDGs because of its potential to contribute to development by capitalizing on its three (3) spheres of influence.
First, through core business activities in the workplace, the market place and along its supply chain.
Second, by social investment and philanthropic activities outside business operations towards helping communities.
And third, through private sector engagement in public policy dialogue and advocacy. These three areas of influence of the business and private sector must continue to be explored and up scaled to further enhance and intensify what can contributed to the attainment of the MDGs.
Continued.
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