9th May 2018
Subject: Invitation to a Workshop on Responsible Sourcing at Mega-Sporting Events(Bangkok, Thailand, 5th June 2018)
As chairs of the Mega-Sporting Events Platform for Human Rights (‘MSE Platform’) and Caux
Round Table Japan, we are pleased to invite you to attend a workshop to be held at The
Amari Watergate Hotel on 5th June 2018, titled ‘Responsible Sourcing at Mega-Sporting
Events’.
This workshop will bring together existing and potential suppliers and sponsors of the Tokyo
2020 Olympic & Paralympic Games to better understand the requirements of the Tokyo 2020Sourcing Code and good practices for meeting those expectations, including in key
commodity areas including timber, paper, palm oil, and fisheries. Having taken into accountthat the Sourcing Code applies to TOCOG’s entire supply chains of sponsor companies andsuppliers, and their own business operations, spread across widely in Asia (mainly in Thailand,China, and elsewhere), we have decided to host the event in Thailand aiming to encourage
the attendance of many subsidiaries and suppliers outside of Japan (as well as headquarteredin Japan) that are within the scope of TOCOG’s Sourcing Code.
NOTE: This event does not form part of Tokyo 2020’s official tendering process; participationin this event does not automatically qualify any company for partnering or working with theTokyo 2020 organisers.

Background to the Workshop
Over the past decade, expectations have heightened for organisers of mega-sporting events
such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic & Paralympic Games (TOCOG) to implement robust
standards to prevent and address adverse impacts to people, including throughout their
supply chains. Given this, TOCOG published in March 2017 a Sourcing Code that includes
human rights requirements. Now, actors are scrutinising how TOCOG is implementing theCode, and how it realises its aim of respecting human rights at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
The MSE Platform and Caux Round Table Japan aim to help the collective efforts between
TOCOG, supplier and sponsor companies to respect human rights by specifically focussing
on three subjects of significance: human rights risks, best practices, and grievancemechanisms. On 13 September 2017, the MSE Platform and Caux Round Table Japan hosted1

an initial workshop to share good practices in respecting human rights within both companies’
own operations and sourcing practices and shared some ideas on grievance mechanisms
between TOCOG and its sponsors and suppliers.1“The Olympic and Paralympic Games are the world's largest sports events, and thedelivery of the Games has a much wider-ranging impact than most people can imagine.
This impact is not limited to sport, but also on society, the economy and the environment.
We aim to ensure that the influence of the Tokyo 2020 Games will extend far beyond theparameters of Tokyo, the Host City, to encompass the whole of Japan and the widerworld. Given the growing global focus on sustainability, it is vital that these concerns are
fully addressed in the preparations for the delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic Gamesby implementing the Tokyo 2020 Sustainability Plan.”- Tokyo 2020 website

Registration
Please complete the registration form before Monday 28th May 2018, available at this link:
https://www.ihrb.org/msesupplierworkshop. We remind you that 2 representatives maximum
per company can be registered to the workshop. If you wish to send more than 2
representatives,
pleasecheckseat
availabilitywithHaleySt.
Dennis(haley.st.dennis@ihrb.org).
Please note participation is free, and translation will be provided. The workshop is limited to40 participants. This is an invitation-only event (not open to the public). Participants will
include representatives from the department of CSR, Human Rights, and Procurement ofcompanies supplying goods, products, or services as part of the Tokyo 2020 Games, as wellas and sponsor companies including Worldwide Olympic Partners, Gold, and Official partnercompanies.
Please feel free to share this invitation with your subsidiaries and suppliers in/outside ofJapan, that you think would be interested in attending.
For any questions, please feel free to send an email to Haley St. Dennis(haley.st.dennis@ihrb.org).

Read the meeting report, available in Japanese and English, here:
https://www.ihrb.org/focus-areas/mega-sporting-events/tokyo2020-meeting-report-sep-2017

1

2

I hope that you will find the event of interest and we look forward to welcoming you.
Yours sincerely,

John Morrison,
Secretariat, MSE Platform

Hironori Yano,
Chair of Caux Round Table Japan

About Caux Round Table Japan
Caux Round Table (CRT) is a global network of business leaders working to realize a fair, freeand transparent society through sustainable and socially responsible business. As a founding
member of CRT, CRT Japan has been providing a unique service that helps companies
implement human rights.
About the Mega-Sporting Events Platform for Human Rights
The MSE Platform is a multi-stakeholder coalition of international and intergovernmentalorganisations, governments, sports governing bodies, athletes, unions, sponsors
broadcasters, and civil society groups.
The MSE Platform works to develop more comprehensive, consistent, and accountableapproaches to managing social risks and adverse human rights impacts arising frommega-sporting events, and overcome the barriers to better knowledge transfer and goodpractice within and between sport traditions and events.
Previous MSE Platform events in Japan, Qatar, Switzerland, and USA have included theattendance of the Event Organising Committees and sponsor companies.

3

Tentative Programme

Responsible Sourcing at Mega-Sporting Events (Workshop)
Organisers: The MSE Platform for Human Rights & Caux Round Table Japan
Venue: Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand
Date: 5 June 2018, 09.00-16.00

09.00-09.30

REGISTRATION

09.30-10.00

WELCOMES

10.30-11.00

PERSPECTIVES FROM TOKYO 202010.00-10.30

INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

10.30-11.30

RISKS TO PEOPLE IN KEY MEGA-SPORTING EVENT SUPPLY CHAINS:TIMBER, PAPER, PALM OIL, FISHING

11.30-12.30

GOOD EXAMPLES OF IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES

12.30-13.30

LUNCH

13.30-15.00

THE SUPPLIER PERSPECTIVE

15.00-15.30

REFLECTIONS FROM MEGA-SPORTING EVENT ORGANISERS

15.30-16.00

NEXT STEPS AND CLOSING REMARKS

16.00

CLOSE4