B20 & anti-corruption
B20 and anti-corruption
B20-G20 dialogues on integrity and anti-corruption over the years, and how to enhance their effectiveness
The Business 20 (B20) represents the voice of business in the G20, an intergovernmental forum representing the world's major economies. It acts as a platform for dialogue between businesses and the G20 presidency, which rotates each year, with input from civil society and international organisations.
As a multi-stakeholder forum for international economic cooperation, the B20 concentrates on topical high-priority issues that affect the stability and strength of the global economy and the ability of companies to compete on a level playing field.
Given the B20's influence on both government policies and the private sector, it is crucial that issues of business ethics and integrity are central to B20 recommendations.
This open online resource is designed for policymakers and practitioners from any sector involved in B20-G20 anti-corruption dialogues. It provides:
- Frequently asked questions on the B20 process and how different B20 presidencies have dealt with topics of integrity and anti-corruption.
- Country pages with excerpts on anti-corruption from the official B20 policy documents and downloads of the original sources. The excerpts are particularly focused on Collective Action tools and approaches.
- Recommended reading on the B20, G20 and anti-corruption.
We hope it will support the continuity and effectiveness of each new B20 cycle, giving stakeholders the information they need to understand past cycles and extract lessons learned.
Visit the UNODC G20 Anti-Corruption Resource page to find out more about the anti-corruption work at the G20.
Key publications
Policy paper
B20 Indonesia 2022 Integrity and Compliance Task Force
2022 | B20 Anti-Corruption Working Group
Report
B20 Integrity and Compliance Task Force: Key Reflections and Suggestions from Members
2021 | The B Team; World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption Initiative
FAQs on the B20 process and anti-corruption
When and why was the B20 established?
The B20 was initiated by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (renamed Business Council of Canada in 2016) during the 2010 Toronto Summit. It was initially referred to as the G20 Business Summits.
Its establishment followed the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, which highlighted the need for the structured and inclusive involvement of business in the G20 process.
More generally, the B20 aims to promote and enable dialogue among policymakers, civil society and business at the international level.
How does the B20 process work?
The leadership of the B20 rotates every year together with the G20 presidency. There is no standing Secretariat.
Each hosting country decides on the structure and format of its B20 process. Although there are no hard requirements for how the process is managed, some “soft” working structures have evolved over the years.
Typically, the B20 Secretariat establishes a series of taskforces (working groups) focused on priority topics. The focus areas and topics are usually determined through surveys of stakeholders participating in previous B20 cycles.
After convening a series of discussions, the taskforces generate recommendations on their focus areas.
In four of the cycles since 2010, the B20 Secretariat has not established dedicated taskforces. Instead, the process has revolved around a single private-sector summit.
The so-called B20 Sherpa, who is responsible for the operational management of the Secretariat, consolidates recommendations into one public policy document. This is presented to the G20 Leaders at the B20 Summit, for consideration to be included in the G20 Leaders’ Communiqué.