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.

Introduction
 

  • The United Nations and Transnational Corporations

    Prof. Andreas Rasche, Copenhagen Business School

    When 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[...]

    The Author
    Prof. Andreas Rasche, Copenhagen Business School 
     

  • From Global Compact to Global Leadership

    Prof. V. Kasturi Rangan, Harvard Business School

    The 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[...]

    The Author
    Prof. V. Kasturi Rangan, Harvard Business School 
     

  • The Strength of Loose Couplings – The UN Global Compact as a Multistakeholder Initiative

    Prof. Andreas Rasche, Copenhagen Business School

    Multistakeholder 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[...]

    The Author
    Prof. Andreas Rasche, Copenhagen Business School 
     
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Article

People behind

By Editorial Team

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 driver of globalization, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere.  more[...]

 
 
UN Gebäude-UN Photo/Mark Garten
People behind

Visiting the Global Compact Office

By Dr. Elmer Lenzen

When 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[...]

 
 
Management_Drei_Saeulen_Book
People behind

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

 

  • The UN Global Compact in the MENA Region

    Matthias Stausberg, United Nations Global Compact

    For a few years after the Global Compact’s launch in 2000, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remained uncharted territory for the initiative. This changed in 2003, when the first efforts were undertaken to promote the Global Compact in Egypt. A high-level launch took place in Cairo in February 2004, resulting in the participation of more than 50 companies, including many of Egypt’s leading corporations.  more[...]  login_required

    The Author
    Matthias Stausberg, United Nations Global Compact 
     

  • The UN Global Compact in Latin America – Trends and Topics

    Labor standards, human rights, environmental conservation, and transparency – the core issues of the United Nations Global Compact are especially vital in the developing economies. Latin America and the Caribbean are remarkable examples. “El Pacto Mundial en América Latina y el Caribe. Memorias 2011: Informe de Gestión,” a publication of the Global Compact Regional Center, gives a detailed view on the present situation of the Global Compact in Latin America and the Caribbean.  more[...]  login_required

    The Author
     

  • The Global Compact in the Emirates

    Habiba Al Marashi, Emirates Environmental Group (EEG)

    In just 20 years, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have transformed themselves from deeply traditional nations that depended largely on oil revenues to booming metropolises with rapidly growing and diversified economies. The transformation – especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been staggering; once home to a small and tight knit society, the UAE today boasts over 202 different nationalities, making it one of the most diverse nations in the world.  more[...]

    The Author
    Habiba Al Marashi, Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) 
     
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Tools & Instruments

Strategy
Tools & Instruments
 

  • The Global Compact International Yearbook

    Dennis Lohmann

    Since 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[...]

    The Author
    Dennis Lohmann
     

  • Joining the Dots

    Teresa Fogelberg, Global Reporting Initiative

    The 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[...]

    The Author
    Teresa Fogelberg, Global Reporting Initiative 
     

  • Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability

    Dr. Elmer Lenzen

    Global 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[...]  login_required

    The Author
    Dr. Elmer Lenzen
     
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One Decade UNGC - Performing Record

UNGC 10th Anniversary
 
Anniversary
 

  • United Nations Global Compact Milestones

    Matthias Stausberg, United Nations Global Compact
    Dr. Elmer Lenzen

    Following 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[...]

    The Author
     

  • UN Global Compact Milestones

    Dr. Elmer Lenzen

    Following 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[...]

    The Author
    Dr. Elmer Lenzen
     

  • The Global Compact at 10: Review and Outlook

    Georg Kell, United Nations Global Compact

    Looking 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[...]

    The Author
    Georg Kell, United Nations Global Compact 
     
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