What
is the Global Compact?
In
an address to the World Economic
Forum on 31 January 1999, United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
challenged business leaders to join
an international initiative –
the Global Compact – that
would bring companies together with
UN agencies, labour and civil society
to support universal environmental
and social principles. The Global
Compact’s operational phase
was launched at UN Headquarters
in New York on 26 July 2000. Today,
thousands of companies from all
regions of the world, international
labour and civil society organizations
are engaged in the Global Compact,
working to advance ten universal
principles in the areas of human
rights, labour, the environment
and anti-corruption .
Through the power
of collective action, the Global Compact
seeks to promote responsible corporate
citizenship so that business can be
part of the solution to the challenges
of globalisation. In this way, the
private sector – in partnership
with other social actors – can
help realize the Secretary-General’s
vision: a more sustainable and inclusive
global economy.
 The
Global Compact is a purely voluntary
initiative with two objectives:
Mainstream the ten
principles in business activities
around the world
Catalyse actions in support of UN
goals
To achieve these objectives, the Global
Compact offers facilitation and engagement
through several mechanisms: Policy
Dialogues, Learning, Country/Regional
Networks, and Partnership Projects.
The Global Compact
is not a regulatory instrument –
it does not “ police”,
enforce or measure the behavior or
actions of companies. Rather, the
Global Compact relies on public accountability,
transparency and the enlightened self-interest
of companies, labour and civil society
to initiate and share substantive
action in pursuing the principles
upon which the Global Compact is based.
The Global Compact
is a network. At its core are the
Global Compact Office and six UN agencies:
Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Environment Programme
International Labour Organization
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Industrial Development
Organization
United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime
The Global Compact
involves all the relevant social actors:
governments, who defined the principles
on which the initiative is based;
companies, whose actions it seeks
to influence; labour, in whose hands
the concrete process of global production
takes place; civil society organizations,
representing the wider community of
stakeholders; and The United Nations,
the world's only truly global political
forum, as an authoritative convener
and facilitator.
Why Participate
 There
are numerous benefits to participating
in the Global Compact.
These include:
Demonstrating leadership
by advancing responsible corporate
citizenship.
Producing practical solutions to contemporary
problems related to globalisation,
sustainable development and corporate
responsibility in a multi-stakeholder
context.
Managing risks by taking a proactive
stance on critical issues.
Leveraging the UN's global reach and
convening power with governments,
business, civil society and other
stakeholders.
Sharing good practices and learnings.
Accessing the UN's broad knowledge
in development issues.
Improving corporate/brand management,
employee morale and productivity,
and operational efficiencies.
|
