The Sustainability Learning Forum

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[...]

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Managing Corporate Legitimacy and the UN Global Compact

Prof. Andreas Georg Scherer, University of Zurich
Dr. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly, University of Zürich

In this article, we explain why managing legitimacy is vital for corporations and how business firms can employ strategies to maintain their legitimacy. We then discuss the organizational capacities that each legitimacy strategy implies and point out their inherent tensions. Based on the results of an empirical study, we show how two large corporations have handled these tensions and successfully introduced organizational prerequisites for managing legitimacy. In the final part of this article we elaborate on how participants of the UN Global Compact can use the initiative to strengthen their legitimacy. more[...]

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Road Safety – Fundamental Right and Everybody’s Responsibility

Natalia Gonchar, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company
Sakhalin Energy

We drive and bike, walk, and even run trying to catch the rhythm of modern life. For most of us, traffic has become an integral part of our everyday routines. We take it for granted and do not consider the road to be a source of constant danger – until suddenly a car accident happens and we are forced to reconsider … and think. Each year nearly 1.24 million people die as a result of road traffic accidents. It means that more than 3,300 are killed on the road every day. more[...]

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Road Safety – Fundamental Right and Everybody’s Responsibility

Natalia Gonchar, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company

We drive and bike, walk, and even run trying to catch the rhythm of modern life. For most of us, traffic has become an integral part of our everyday routines. We take it for granted and do not consider the road to be a source of constant danger – until suddenly a car accident happens and we are forced to reconsider … and think. Each year nearly 1.24 million people die as a result of road traffic accidents. It means that more than 3,300 are killed on the road every day. more[...]

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Comprehensive Ways of Communication on Anti-Corruption Measures and Compliance

Jenice Hartmann, Business Keeper
Business Keeper AG

Nowadays, there is agreement within companies and the public that neither corruption nor other contraventions of national and international regulations are acceptable. Corruption causes an estimated economic harm of up to $4 trillion per year; the number of unreported cases and not quantifiable social harm through the erosion of trust and the economic systems is much higher. As is publically known, companies such as Wal-Mart, Monsanto, and General Electric were strongly sanctioned by government and society for their corrupt business activities. In times of financial crisis, a sustainable business model is more important than ever to ensure the necessary social acceptance and “license to operate.” more[...]

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For a Financial Education Culture

Tita Berton, Bradesco
Banco Bradesco S.A.

Bradesco is committed to its stakeholders’ financial education and believes in social transformation through knowledge and awareness fostered by several actions. more[...]

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Ayeyarwady Bank’s Commitment to the Community

May Myat Thu, Ayeyarwady Bank
Ayeyarwady Bank

Ayeyarwady Bank commits to making the United Nations Global Compact’s Ten Principles part of its strategies and practices, focusing on fulfilling corporate social responsibility toward the communities it serves. more[...]

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Corporate Governance: The Way to Sustainable Finance

Perihan Abdel Ghaly, Arab African International Bank
Arab African International Bank

Arab African International Bank (AAIB) firmly believes that the road to impactful corporate governance entails values that achieve sustainable businesses as an end goal – AAIB seeks to maintain the balance between economic growth, profitability, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns. more[...]

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Corporate Governance: The Way to Sustainable Finance

Perihan Abdel Ghaly, Arab African International Bank
Arab African International Bank

Arab African International Bank (AAIB) firmly believes that the road to impactful corporate governance entails values that achieve sustainable businesses as an end goal – AAIB seeks to maintain the balance between economic growth, profitability, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns. more[...]

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What's your perspective on reporting?

Elaine Cohen, Beyond Business Ltd

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Employee Engagement is not Enough

Elaine Cohen, Beyond Business Ltd

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The Transparency Agenda: Section 1504 and Beyond

Amy K. Lehr, Foley Hoag

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The United Nations Global Compact: Retrospect and Prospect

Prof. Andreas Rasche, Copenhagen Business School

This article reviews the interdisciplinary literature on the UN Global Compact. The review identifies three research perspectives, which scholars have used to study the UN Global Compact so far: a historical perspective discussing the Global Compact in the context of UN-business relations, an operational perspective discussing the composition and impact of its participants, as well as a governance perspective discussing the constraints and opportunities of the initiative as an institutionalized arena for addressing global governance gaps. The authors contrast these three perspectives and identify key empirical as well as conceptual scholarly contributions. The remainder of this article contains focused summaries of the articles selected for this Special Issue. All articles are introduced and evaluated against the background of the three research perspectives. more[...]

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Should the UN Global Compact have sharper teeth?

Prof. Andrew Crane, Schulich School of Business

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Conflict Minerals

Resource conflict is one of several destabilizing phenomena commonly cited as defining many of the extractive economies of the global south. Our Tutorial discusses all aspects of the issue with a special focus on US laws, SEC and Dodd-Frank Act regulations. more[...]

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