UN GLOBAL COMPACT

The United Nations Global Compact is a forum for dialogue and learning, primarily for companies. It promotes an exchange of views and experiences related to corporate social responsibility and encourages the commitment of all participating institutions; it also supports the development of networks.

The Global Compact was created in 1999 at the initiative of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Participation is voluntary and requires a written commitment to uphold the ten principles of the Global Compact. As of May 2008, 3,380 companies from 120 countries as well as more than 1,100 civil-society groups and employee organizations were participating in the Global Compact. Participating institutions are required to compile an annual progress report as evidence of their activities. Since 2005, the consequence of failing to meet this requirement has been removal from the Global Compact list after two years. The Learning Forum has been introduced as a means of optimizing credibility and transparency, while the Principles for Responsible Investments promote more detailed reporting.

The ten principles of the Global Compact are a set of universally accepted core values which call upon businesses to respect and promote:

• Human rights (1. Protection of internationally proclaimed human rights within their own sphere of influence, 2. Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses),
• Labor standards (3. Upholding the freedom of association and the recognition of the right to collective bargaining, 4. Elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor, 5. Effective elimination of child labor, 6. Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation),
• Environmental protection (7. A precautionary approach to environmental challenges, 8. Promoting greater environmental responsibility, 9. Encouraging the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies) and
• Anti-corruption (10. Working against corruption in all its form, including extortion and bribery).