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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Stock Market devider Converge pledges support to fight corruption in global business sector

Converge pledges support to fight corruption in global business sector

Published Dec 10, 2023 04:44 pm

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has sealed their commitment to fight corruption in the business community as it signed the Call-to-Action pledge from Business to Governments during the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). 

Converge Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer Benjamin Azada signed the commitment on behalf of the company in November, citing corruption as "one of the most harmful threats to sustainable development, causing crippling implications to industries and economies at large." 

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Converge Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer Benjamin Azada

The firm cited a study from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that indicated bribes amounting to $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion were paid annually in 2016, illustrating the pervasiveness of bribery as a form of corruption at a global scale. 

"Converge is one with the UN and the business community in the call for more immediate and aggressive steps to eradicate this and pave the way for businesses to thrive in good governance," said Azada.

The Call-to Action, which was developed during the 2023 UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in New York, affirms the support of business leaders and communities to cooperate with world governments to curb corruption and uphold social justice. 

Aligned with the principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the signatories called for better policies in terms of business integrity in supply chains, upholding transparency in public-private partnerships, utilizing technology to mitigate corruption, and integrating corporate sustainability in government decision-making processes. 

The signed commitment will become a significant foundation for policy decisions upon its submission at the 10th session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP10) from Dec. 11 to 15. 

Converge's pledge with UNCAC follows its membership in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in 2022, lauded as the "world's largest corporate social responsibility initiative (CSR)" aimed to enhance accountability, transparency, human rights, labor rights, environmental sustainability, and anti-corruption in the global business sector, in adherence to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

 

 

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