Elementos que influyen sobre la Inversión Extranjera Directa

adopt improved CSR policies,

support services and

infrastructure, evolving into

centres of excellence for

sustainable business.

landscape for EPZs is changing because of the WTO’s Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing

Measures which may limit financial incentives for

investing in EPZs in the future. Thus investment promotion policymakers may wish to expand the portfolio of services and infrastructure that EPZs offer. Providing the sustainable development services demanded by TNCs is one way of doing this.

Sustainable development support services and infrastructure would bring a number of potential benefits to firms in EPZs. The costs of such services would be shared, leading to economies of scale. Centralized services would lead to standardization and harmonization of practices. The number of on- site inspections, often a key issue in suppliers’ CSR compliance efforts (see WIR12), could be reduced. And public oversight might bring further benefits, including in terms of positive “branding” of zones. A survey of 100 EPZs conducted by UNCTAD in 2013 shows that, today, most provide very limited sustainability related services, if any.66 _{However, a} handful of pioneering EPZs offer services across multiple areas of sustainability.

Responsible labour practices. Some EPZs provide

assistance with labour issues to companies operating within their zone, ranging from policy (informing about national labour regulations including minimum wages and working hours), to support services (e.g. an on-site labour and human

resources bureau that assists in resolving labour disputes), to infrastructure (e.g. labour inspectors). The majority only state the legal obligations of employers towards their employees. Some EPZs maintain clear policies on labour practices, including minimum wage standards, regulations on working hours, and trade unions. In most cases these stated labour standards conform to local and national laws, however, in a few cases these standards are higher. Very few EPZs explicitly indicate the availability of services to assist companies in implementation, although some indicate that labour inspectors are present within the EPZ. The Zonamerica, in Uruguay, provides management assistance services through skills training for employees as well as training on business ethics.

Environmental sustainability. Sustainability policies

can include standards concerning land, air, and water pollution, waste, noise and the use of energy. Some zones have relatively well developed environmental reporting requirements under which companies are required to report their anticipated amounts of wastes, pollutants, and even the decibel level of noise that is expected to be produced. This is the case in approximately half of the zones in Turkey, two of the three zones in South Africa, several in India, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco, and to a degree in zones in Argentina and China. In addition to policies, some EPZs provide support services and infrastructure to assist companies and ensure standards are complied with. Most common is the availability of hazardous waste management systems, including methods for how waste should be disposed of properly, which can be found in EPZs in, for example, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the Republic of Korea and Turkey. Only a few EPZs provide recycling services (South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, and two in the Republic of Korea and Turkey). To complement standard energy services, a few EPZs offer alternative low-carbon energy services to the companies operating within their zone, including EPZs in Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the Republic of Korea and Turkey. Some EPZs located in China’s “low carbon cities” provide a broad package of environmental sustainability services including the development of alternative sources of energy, enhanced waste management systems, grey water recycling and waste recycling

systems. In addition, several EPZs around the world have been certified to the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard, including locations in China and India. The EPZ authority of Kenya has launched a strategic plan to achieve ISO 14001 certification for all of its zones.

Health and safety. Very few EPZs have stated

policies and regulations on employee occupational safety and health (OSH) and few, if any, EPZs provide services to assist companies in developing improved OSH practices. A notable exception is the Zonamerica, which offers labour risk prevention programs. Elsewhere, support is generally limited to infrastructure. Medical clinics or on site medical personnel are available in approximately half of all EPZs, offering assistance during medical emergencies as well as routine medical exams. The majority of EPZs offer firefighting services for all factories within the EPZ. Nearly all EPZs include 24 hour surveillance and security.

Good governance: combating corruption. Very few

EPZs offer any services to assist companies in combating corruption. One EPZ from South Africa has a clear no tolerance policy for corruption, and offers contact phone numbers for companies to raise complaints. However, the service is not explicitly geared towards corruption-related complaints. Very few EPZs make note of any structured system for curbing corruption, or advertise systems in place to assist companies.

Policymakers should consider broadening the availability of sustainable development related policies, services and infrastructure in EPZs to assist companies in meeting stakeholder demands for improved CSR practices and meeting the expectations of TNC CSR policies and standards. This should also strengthen the State’s ability to promote environmental best practices and meet its obligation to protect the human rights of workers. EPZs pursuing this path should also improve their reporting to better communicate the sustainable development services available for companies operating within zones.

International organizations can assist countries in transforming EPZs through the establishment of benchmarks, exchanges of best practices, and capacity-building programmes to assist the

management of EPZs and other relevant zones. UNCTAD could provide this assistance, working together with other UN bodies such as the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNEP and the ILO, international organizations such as the World Bank, and relevant bodies such as the World Economic Processing Zones Association (WEPZA) and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA).

c. Other concerns and good