Achieving a New Global Corporate Consciousness

Sep 5, 2013 6:00 PM ET

Achieving a new global corporate consciousness

By Georg Kell, Reuters, 5 September 2013

In this op-ed for Reuters, UN Global Compact Executive Director Georg Kell discusses key findings from the Global Compact's flaghship Global Corporate Sustainability Report 2013, as well as ways to close the gap between commitment and implementation on sustainability issues.

Read the full article on Reuters.

 

About the UN Global Compact 
The United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to voluntarily align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and to take action in support of UN goals and issues. The UN Global Compact is a leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible corporate policies and practices. Launched in 2000, it is the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative, with over 12,000 signatories from business and key stakeholder groups based in 145 countries. www.unglobalcompact.org

About the Global Corporate Sustainability Report 2013

The Global Corporate Sustainability Report 2013 looks at the state of corporate sustainability today – providing an in-depth review of the actions taken by companies around the world to embed responsible practices into their strategies, operations and culture. Based on responses to the Global Compact Annual Implementation Survey, the report provides a robust view on how businesses everywhere – and of all sizes – are adjusting their policies and practices to address today’s sustainability agenda.

The purpose of this report is to assess corporate action against the steps of the Global Compact Management Model – and look specifically at the range of elements considered critical to a comprehensive sustainability approach: management practices to embed sustainability throughout the organization and into the supply chain, and actions on the Global Compact principles. Companies’ efforts to contribute to global priorities through core business practices, philanthropy, advocacy and partnerships are also reviewed.