FOUNDATION FOR THE GLOBAL COMPACT

At the UN Global Compact, we believe it's possible to create a sustainable and inclusive global economy that delivers lasting benefits to people, communities and markets. It is our belief that by building public-private partnerships, business, government, the UN and civil society can work together to address the most pressing global problems. By raising awareness of the UN Global Compact's mission, assisting corporations in implementing the UN Global Compact's Ten Principles, and promoting best practices for sustainable, responsible business, we hope to change the way business is done around the world.

When working with companies, we utilize a five step approach to ensure meaningful engagement with the UN Global Compact and true commitment to implementing sustainable practices at all levels of business. First, companies must operate in alignment with the Ten Principles, second, they must take action to support society, third, they must engage with the local communities where they operate, forth, they must report on their efforts annually and, finally, they must show commitment to sustainable practices at the highest level of their organization. In addition, the UN Global Compact has created initiatives to engage companies on specific areas of sustainability. Through projects like Caring for Climate, the Women's Empowerment Principles, and CEO Water Mandate, companies make stronger commitments to projects that have a greater impact on the most pressing sustainability issues.

To help implement the five steps, the UN Global Compact acts as a resource for companies at all points in their process of becoming a sustainable business. Through events, the creation of best practices, and our published resources we hope to not only lend support to our established partners, but cultivate new ones. The use of Local Networks also helps us accomplish our goal by serving as a resource for our business partners. Local Networks help contextualize sustainability at a regional or national level so companies of all sizes can better understand what responsible business looks like locally. Additionally, the UN Global Compact has issue area teams that provide specialized resources and convene events to engage companies on specific issues of sustainability. Finally, our ability to bring business, civil society, and government leaders together is key to our success. Our relationship with the UN provides our organization with the unique opportunity to bring high-level stakeholders together to discuss global problems and find solutions.

To date, the UN Global Compact has a network of 8,371 companies in over 162 countries. We work across a broad range of issue areas and help support over eighty five Local Networks that provide specialized regional or national guidance to our corporate partners. Our LEAD program has identified and engaged fifty companies, who serve as leaders in corporate responsibility and work with us to inform our projects. We have over eight hundred signatories on the Women's Empowerment Principles and over four hundred endorsements for the Caring for Climate initiative. But most importantly, we have seen an increase in the number of companies moving form recognizing changes that need to be made to become more sustainable businesses, to actually implementing these changes. These accomplishments have helped push sustainability forward in the private sector and fortified a strong relationship between our private partners and the UN. But clearly, there is still more to be done. We are still working to address the unique challenges small and medium companies face in becoming more sustainable. We are also continuing our efforts to integrate sustainability at all levels and in all aspects of business; from getting senior management and the board of directors involved in sustainability programs, to promoting sustainability practices throughout the supply chain. We have achieved so much since we were founded and we are excited to continue our good work into the future.