WCA hosts international congress on Lobbying & Compliance

The World Compliance Association (WCA), has organised an international congress on the topic of Lobbying and Compliance

The WCA has organised an international congress on Lobbying and Compliance. A number of speakers and moderators are participating in a series of roundtables during the event, held online, on the 22nd and 23rd of September.

Iberian Lawyer is proud to be a media partner of the WCA and Michael Heron, journalist for Portugal, moderated the following discussion on 22nd September “Lobbying in the Food Sector.”

The three speakers on the panel were Oscar Hernandez Prado, director of Public Affairs and communication at Grupo Pascual, Pilar Ayuso, a former MEP of 20 years and Ignacio Stepancic, global Compliance officer of Grupo Bimbo and head of International Business Relations of WCA’s Mexico Chapter.

The discussion started by analysing the dictionary definition of lobbying which is defined as a pressure group made up of people with the capacity to pressure a government or a company, especially in relation to political and economic decisions. All the speakers agreed that this definition was outdated, too aggressive and not accurate of the reality of ethical and effective lobbying, which relies on transparency, honest and effective communication with all parties involved. The following areas were also discussed:

The vision of lobbying “from the inside out”, and what the lobby receiver values ​​most at the level of communication and influence;

From “outside-in”, how the management of Public Affairs works in practical terms in Spain, what strengths and weaknesses it entails and the knowledge and skillset Lobby professionals should practice;

The awareness of the importance of Compliance as part of the Lobbying strategy;

Legislative changes applied to the food industry in Latin America and the role of businesses and organisations in promoting coordinated strategies.