The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. By doing so, business, as a primary agent driving globalization, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere.
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The United Nations and Transnational Corporations
Prof. Andreas Rasche, Copenhagen Business SchoolWhen former secretary-general Kofi Annan addressed business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 1999, he not only started to initiate the Global Compact, but also, at the same time, fundamentally redefined the relationship between the private sector and the United Nations (UN) system. After its operational launch in 2000, the Global Compact swiftly emerged as the world’s leading corporate responsibility initiative with currently close to 7,000 business and more than 3,000 nonbusiness participants in nearly 140 countries. more[...]
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From Global Compact to Global Leadership
Prof. V. Kasturi Rangan, Harvard Business SchoolThe global financial crisis of 2008 was a stark reminder of business’s role in society. When well governed and well led, the role of business transcends one of profitability for its owners and incentives for its managers. Its role is to create value for society. Profit is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Without profit, there is no growth, and without growth there is no development. But if business does not create value and instead divvies up the same pie over and over again for personal gains (remember the subprime mortgages, collateral debt obligations, and credit default swaps?), then it is bound to fail and cause havoc for society. more[...]
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The Strength of Loose Couplings – The UN Global Compact as a Multistakeholder Initiative
Prof. Andreas Rasche, Copenhagen Business SchoolMultistakeholder initiatives such as the UN Global Compact organize their participants in specific ways. Most importantly, they have to bridge global (universal) principles and local (contextualized) implementation practices. Some initiatives have responded to this need by creating a nested network structure – that is, local networks that are embedded into a wider global “network of networks.” The UN Global Compact, for instance, has more than 100 local networks, which are connected through regional hubs, the Annual Local Network Forum, and interactions with the Global Compact Office. Stakeholder dialogue and collective action are emerging both within and among such networks. more[...]
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People behind
By Editorial TeamThe UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. By doing so, business, as a primary driver of globalization, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere. more[...]
Visiting the Global Compact Office
By Dr. Elmer LenzenWhen I went to New York in March 2009, it was during the peak of the banking crisis and the self-doubts of the investment sector. There was a prevailing certainty that one economic era had come to an end, but ambiguity as to how the new era would look. Some of these elements are being intensively discussed and developed at the Global Compact Office: It is about lasting nature, transparency, responsible merchants, and the respectful handling of our planet. more[...]
Georg Kell about the Global Compact
By Georg Kell (United Nations Global Compact)Since the very beginning, Georg Kell has been Executive Director of the Global Compact. Due to his ongoing fervour the Global Compact today is fully integrated into the UN system. We spoke with Georg Kell about the economic crisis, the search for new confidence, and the renaissance of politics and ethics. His message is clear: We have to reward sustainable business models. And we have to take climate change much more seriously, or the future might be rough. more[...]
The Compact in the Regions
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Notable Shift Towards Holistic Understanding of CSR
Matthias Stausberg, United Nations Global CompactIt took its time but the Global Compact has become increasingly important in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) over the last couple of years. UNGC spokesperson Matthias Stausberg explains in our interview that the understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a value driver is typical for the whole region. more[...]
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Responsible Business Is the Key – The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Arab Economies
Walid Nagi, UN Global Compact
Habiba Al Marashi, Emirates Environmental Group (EEG)In this interview, Habiba Al Marashi, Chair of the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) and Board Member of the UN Global Compact, and Walid Nagi, Manager CSR and Corporate Communications at the Al-Mansour Holding and UNGC Regional Networks Manager MENA and Europe, talk about the drastic social changes, the examples companies can provide, and the importance of the business sector for sustainable development in the MENA region. more[...]
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Tools & Instruments
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The Global Compact International Yearbook
Dennis LohmannSince its launch in 2000, the United Nations Global Compact has emerged as perhaps the world’s most influential platform for corporate responsibility. Its structure as a global network uniquely positions the initiative to take a closer look at both global and regional developments and interpretations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). more[...]
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Joining the Dots
Teresa Fogelberg, Global Reporting InitiativeThe trend toward transparency on corporate non-financial performance is gaining momentum and there are a number of frameworks, systems, and principles that help companies disclose information. A key requirement for making sustainability disclosure standard practice for companies and other organizations worldwide is harmonization between these guidance sources. more[...]
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Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability
Dr. Elmer LenzenGlobal interconnectivity lets consumer markets constantly grow together. Modern communication technologies accelerate this phenomenon: The brand image as well as the self-perception of any company lies in the hands of millions of people using social media or their buying power. more[...]
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One Decade UNGC - Performing Record
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United Nations Global Compact Milestones
Matthias Stausberg, United Nations Global Compact
Dr. Elmer LenzenFollowing a call to action by then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the 1999 World Economic Forum in Davos, the operational phase of the UN Global Compact was launched on July 26, 2000, at UN Headquarters in New York. more[...]
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UN Global Compact Milestones
Dr. Elmer LenzenFollowing a call to action by then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the 1999 World Economic Forum in Davos, the operational phase of the UN Global Compact was launched on July 26, 2000, at UN Headquarters in New York. more[...]
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The Global Compact at 10: Review and Outlook
Georg Kell, United Nations Global CompactLooking back at the past 10 years, the United Nations Global Compact has left its mark in a variety of ways, helping shape the conversation about corporate responsibility and diffusing the concept of a principle-based approach to doing business across the glob more[...]
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