The United Nations Global Compact

Origin.   United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed the Global Compact at the World Economic Forum on January 31, 1999. He challenged world business leaders to help build the social and environmental pillars required to sustain the new global economy and make globalization work for all the world's people.

Purpose.   The Global Compact is not a regulatory instrument, but a tool designed to promote institutional learning. It seeks to use the power of transparency and dialogue to identify and disseminate good practices that are rooted in globally-acknowledged principles.

Critical Content .   The Compact encompasses nine principles, drawn from the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the International Labor Organization’s Fundamental Principles on Rights at Work and the Rio Principles on Environment and Development .   These are:

• Principle One :     Protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.
• Principle Two :         Non-complicity in human rights abuses
• Principle Three :   Support for freedom of association
• Principle Four :    Elimination of forced and compulsory labor
• Principle Five :     Effective abolition of child labor
• Principle Six :       Elimination of employment and workplace discrimination
• Principle Seven :   Support for a precautionary approach to environmental challenges
• Principle Eight :    Initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility
• Principle Nine :     Development and diffusion of environmentally-friendly technologies

Implementation . To engage in the Compact, companies are asked to have their chief executive officer send a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, expressing a clear commitment to the Compact.   Engagement includes (1) taking concrete steps within the organization to act on the nine principles, (2) sharing these experiences on the Global Compact website, to contribute toward the development of a “comprehensive learning bank”, and (3) advocating publicly for the Global Compact.  

To view this code in its entirety, please visit: http://www.unglobalcompact.org/Portal/Default.asp

29. January 2002