Boyko Takov,  the Head of the Bulgarian NCP and Executive director of Bulgarian small and medium enterprises promotion agency,  took part in forum “Business Integrity and Sustainability”, which is organized by the Bulgarian Network of the UN Global Compact in partnership with the UN Global Compact and Transparency International Bulgaria.

Takov highlighted the role of the National Contact Point of Bulgaria for Responsible Business Conduct, which promotes the OECD Guidelines, both among small and medium-sized businesses and among all stakeholders. “The roadmap for joining the OECD is quite large and broad. It also includes the mechanism – the National Contact Point (NCP) for responsible business conduct. This is a mechanism that is implemented by all OECD member states and provides guidelines for responsible business conduct, and Bulgaria was welcomed as the 51st National Contact Point,” said Boyko Takov in the panel “Collective Action: Anti-Corruption and Transformative Governance”.

During the discussion, the directions of action by institutions, business and civil society were discussed so that joint efforts can lead to systematic, positive changes. Takov emphasized the Guidelines for building ethical business models and what measures BSMEPA and the NCP is taking in this direction.

“The National Contact Point also has another role – to handle signals of non-compliance with the Guidelines, called “specific cases”. In its structure, the NCP has a working group, which is composed of four types of organizations – non-governmental organizations, employers’ organizations, trade unions and representatives of the government institutions, where they are taking decisions consensus. One of the chapters in the Guidelines is related to bribery and corruption. They are absolutely incompatible with responsible business conduct. This issue concerns the entire society and there are many positive signals that we are moving in the right direction. As the last established NCP, we are in  constant communication with the OECD Secretariat and receive recommendations for taking certain actions in order to meet the requirements for joining the organization,” said Boyko Takov.

Boyko Takov pointed that the activities of BSMEPA are aimed at the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises, where corrupt practices are incompatible with responsible business conduct. “We also work purposefully with international organizations, such as the World Bank. The implementation of a project to support business in Northern Bulgaria is underway. Through the signed contract between BSMEPA and the World Bank, key activities will be implemented and the good practices will be shared,” said Boyko Takov.

The organizers of the forum defined 2025 as symbolic because it marks 15 years since the establishment of the Bulgarian Network of the UN Global Compact, 25 years since the establishment of the UN Global Compact and 80 years since the founding of the United Nations, in the context of serious global turbulence. Participants from various institutions, the non-governmental sector and business, united around the position that business integrity and strong governance are the foundations of building a sustainable future.