UN Global Compact Reporting

United Nations Global Compact

Communication on Progress 2015-2016


In 2015, the Chambers Federation joined the United Nations Global Compact. The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. The table below shows how we are communicating on progress for the Ten Principles.

Global Compact Principles

Human Rights

Principle 1          Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.

Principle 2          Business should make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

The Chambers Federation works in collaboration with several development agencies, primarily the UN, and NGOs that focus, in part, on both the protection of human rights but also to ensure the Company is not directly or indirectly involved in human rights violations in any way.  Due to the Company’s investments into former conflict zones, this is one of the most important due diligence standards the Company focuses on. This requires constant internal monitoring and audit of our partners and suppliers.

Labor Standards

Principle 3          Business should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

Principle 4          Business should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor.

Through a combination of detailed contractual obligations to consistent site monitoring, the Company does everything possible to ensure any groups, typically cooperatives, that the Company invests into/works with are compliant with both local and international forced labor, child labor, discrimination and collective

Principle 5          Business should uphold the effective abolition of child labor.

Principle 6          Business should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Bargaining laws.

This is further monitored by yearly audits to ensure the Company’s efforts are effective.  The Company further invests into rural communities to provide women and youth empowerment opportunities to further the Company’s investment focus on social impact.

Environment

Principle 7          Business should support a precautionary approach to environmental responsibility.

Principle 8          Business should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.

Principle 9          Business should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

The Chambers Federation incorporates environmental protection into its supplier contracts, monitors environmental impact of its investments and actively invests in new technologies to reduce the ‘footprint’ of its projects. The Company finds many opportunities, specifically in the ASM community, to substantially reduce, even eliminate the usage of Mercury(Hg), Cyanide(NaCN) and Nitric Acid(HNO3).

Anti-Corruption

Principle 10        Business should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

The Chambers Federation is a US company, subject to FCPA regulations. All of the Company’s accounts are restricted in use to limit the possibilities of corruption and all accounts are audited in countries where corruption is widely prevalent.

Measurement of Outcomes

For the 2015-2016 reporting period, the Chambers Federation has invested into a woman owned Kenyan social enterprise, Recycle Tribe, training women to be carpenters, how to recycle wood from the shipping and construction industries to make furniture and other household items. To date, this enterprise has, within a very short period of time, impacted over 70 people. Additionally, the Company has renewed its investment into the woman owned construction company, Empowerment Lighthouse Ltd, impacting over 200 women every year and operating in 3 African countries. The Company’s most significant investments, made between 2013 to 2016, into projects in the former conflict zones of eastern Congo, are expected to commence before year’s end, 2016. The impact from these investments are expected to reach nearly 1.5 million people, removing thousands from abject poverty by increasing ASM incomes by 80%, improving health and safety standards in ASM communities, collecting over $1.8 million in additional taxes and nearly $2 million in profit reinvestment into the local communities.

United Nations Global Compact

Communication on Progress 2016-2017


In 2015, the Chambers Federation joined the United Nations Global Compact. The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. The table below shows how we are communicating on progress for the Ten Principles.

Global Compact Principles

Human Rights

Principle 1          Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.

Principle 2          Business should make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

The Federation invests into several initiatives which help to promote and develop basic human rights. Investing into rural and undeveloped regions, initiatives like Fair Congo and the Fair Congo Foundation work with stakeholders to manage and monitor high risk supply chains to ensure that the sale of natural resource based products from these areas does not go to support armed conflict. These initiatives go even further to develop these supply chains by establishing fair-trade standards and adherence to OECD guidelines.

Labor Standards

Principle 3          Business should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

Principle 4          Business should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor.

The Federation’s initiatives focus heavily on the implementation of all OECD guidelines including the worst forms of child labor in its supply chains and fair-trade standards as detailed by the World Fair Trade Organization. The largest direct recipients of investment are cooperatives and disadvantaged groups, typically women.

Principle 5          Business should uphold the effective abolition of child labor.

Principle 6          Business should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

This is further monitored by yearly audits to ensure the Company’s efforts are effective. Federation management and workforce, including contract workers, is made up in excess of 90% women and youth (35 years or younger).

Environment

Principle 7          Business should support a precautionary approach to environmental responsibility.

Principle 8          Business should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.

Principle 9          Business should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

The Federation incorporates environmental protection into all of its supplier contracts, monitors environmental impact of its investments and actively invests in new technologies to reduce the ‘footprint’ of its projects. The Federation is currently developing new opportunities, specifically in the ASM community, to eliminate the usage of Mercury(Hg), Cyanide(NaCN) and Nitric Acid(HNO3) in scale from its supply chains and is currently implementing an eco-friendly standard in its Fair Congo ASM gold supply chain.

Anti-Corruption

Principle 10        Business should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

The Chambers Federation is a US company, subject to FCPA regulations. All of the Federation accounts are restricted in use to limit the possibilities of corruption and all accounts are audited yearly, at minimum, in countries where corruption is widely prevalent.

Measurement of Outcomes

For the 2016-2017 reporting period, the Federation has initiated its investment into the Democratic Republic of Congo, focusing on the former conflict zones in the Kivu region. The Fair Congo initiatives are working with other stakeholders in the region, including USAID, to develop sustainable supply chains, focusing initially on conflict-free ASM gold. The Federation also began developing a new women empowerment project called Ukweli Jewelry, a woman owned and operated jewelry business based off of the Fair Congo gold supply chain. The Recycle Tribe initiative is also expanding from Kenya to DRC, creating new empowerment opportunities for women in the region. While measurement of these initiatives is limited at this time, we expect to begin to measure results, impact figures, with more accuracy in the beginning of 2018.

United Nations Global Compact

Communication on Progress 2017-2018


In 2015, the Chambers Federation joined the United Nations Global Compact. The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. The table below shows how we are communicating on progress for the Ten Principles.

Global Compact Principles

Human Rights

Principle 1        Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.

Principle 2        Business should make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

The Chambers Federation works in collaboration with several development agencies, primarily USAID, the UN, and NGOs that focus, in part, on both the protection of human rights but also to ensure the Company is not directly or indirectly involved in human rights violations in any way.  Due to the Company’s investments into CAHRAs, this is one of the most important due diligence standards the Company focuses on.  A full-time compliance officer and intern team manage this internally and audit of our partners and suppliers.

Labor Standards

Principle 3        Business should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

Principle 4        Business should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor.

Through a combination of detailed contractual obligations to consistent site monitoring, the Company does everything possible to ensure any organized groups, typically cooperatives, that the Company invests into/works with are compliant with both local and international forced labor, child labor, discrimination and collective

Principle 5        Business should uphold the effective abolition of child labor.

Principle 6        Business should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Bargaining laws.

This is further monitored by yearly audits to ensure the Company’s efforts are effective.  The Company also invests into rural communities to provide women and youth empowerment opportunities to further the Company’s investment focus on social impact.

Environment

Principle 7        Business should support a precautionary approach to environmental responsibility.

Principle 8        Business should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.

Principle 9        Business should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

The Chambers Federation incorporates environmental protection into its supplier contracts, monitors environmental impact of its investments and actively invests in new technologies to create a ‘net positive’ environmental impact from all of its projects. The Company finds many opportunities, specifically in the ASM community, to substantially reduce, even eliminate the usage of Mercury(Hg), Cyanide(NaCN) and Nitric Acid(HNO3).

Anti-Corruption

Principle 10      Business should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

The Chambers Federation is a US company, subject to FCPA regulations. All of the Company’s accounts are restricted in use to limit the possibilities of corruption All accounts are audited in countries where corruption is known to exist.

Measurement of Outcomes

For the 2017-2018 reporting period, the Chambers Federation has successfully invested into the Fair Congo initiatives, working in collaboration with USAID, which recently completed the first conflict-free, OECD compliant ASM gold exports from a CAHRA(DRC) into an LBMA supply chain, ever! This initiative also successfully piloted the ITOA program, a multi-stakeholder traceability system implemented by the government of DRC. The Federation expanded the Recycle Tribe initiative into DRC which within its first month had already recycled 1.5 tons of waste material into furniture and household goods. The new Federation initiative, Cocoa Congo, partnered with the DFID funded ELAN RDC, has launched the first ever value addition into the DRC cocoa sector. This initiative has already completed the first ever domestic purchase of cocoa beans as well as manufactured numerous value-added cocoa products including a variety of chocolate bars.  The Ukweli Jewelry initiative has also continued to develop, creating the first rings in country from ASM gold from the Fair Congo supply chain.

United Nations Global Compact

Communication on Progress 2018-2019


In 2015, the Chambers Federation joined the United Nations Global Compact. The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. The table below shows how we are communicating on progress for the Ten Principles.

Global Compact Principles

Human Rights

Principle 1        Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.

Principle 2        Business should make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

The Chambers Federation works in collaboration with several development stakeholders that focus, in part, on both the protection of human rights but also to assist the Company in ensuring is does not directly or indirectly engage in human rights violations.  Due to the Company’s investments into CAHRAs, this is one of the most important due diligence standards the Company focuses on.  A full-time compliance officer and intern team manage this internally and audit on a regular basis.

Labor Standards

Principle 3        Business should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

Principle 4        Business should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor.

The Company regularly inspects its upstream partners farms/mine sites/offices and does everything possible to ensure any organized groups, typically cooperatives, that the Company invests into/works with are compliant with both local and international forced labor, child labor, discrimination and collective

Principle 5        Business should uphold the effective abolition of child labor.

Principle 6        Business should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Bargaining laws.

This is further monitored by internal audits to ensure the Company’s efforts are effective.  The Company also invests into rural communities to provide women and youth empowerment opportunities to further the Company’s investment focus on social impact.

Environment

Principle 7        Business should support a precautionary approach to environmental responsibility.

Principle 8        Business should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.

Principle 9        Business should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

The Chambers Federation incorporates environmental protection into its supplier contracts, monitors environmental impact of its investments and actively invests in new technologies to create a ‘net positive’ environmental impact from all of its projects. The Company finds many opportunities, specifically in the ASM community, to substantially reduce, even eliminate the usage of Mercury(Hg), Cyanide(NaCN) and Nitric Acid(HNO3).

Anti-Corruption

Principle 10      Business should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

The Chambers Federation is a US company, subject to FCPA regulations. All of the Company’s accounts are restricted in use to limit the possibilities of corruption. All accounts are audited yearly.

Measurement of Outcomes

For the 2018-2019 reporting period, the Chambers Federation has successfully continued to invest into the women-led organization, the Fair Congo Initiatives, and begun to research its entry into several new CAHRAs to expand its social impact model. To date, the Fair Congo Initiatives have: recycled over 7 tons of wood waste to produce office and home furniture; produce and export the DRC’s first premium chocolate and confectionary ingredients also grown and produced entirely by women; export the first responsible gold from a CAHRA to the US and European markets; begun producing the first woman-made jewelry in-country from responsible gold.

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