What is the UN Global Compact (UNGC)?

 The UN Global Compact is:

•    the world's largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative; and

•    a commitment to an underlying universal set of principles to guide responsible business practice and connect with a global community.

Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact represents a Compact between business and United Nations agencies, labour, civil society and governments to advance ten universal principles in four key areas.

View the full ten principles here.

There are lots of examples of how businesses can go about doing this. Just in Australia, businesses have taken important action in the four key areas of:

    

    

Purpose 

The Global Compact has two key purposes:

  1. To encourage the integration of its ten principles into responsible business practice - corporate responsibility; and
  2. To garner collective action of the UNGC and its related UN initiatives.

With over 5000 participating companies and hundreds of other stakeholders from more than 120 countries, it is the world's largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative. More information can be found at www.unglobalcompact.org.

The UNGC is a purely voluntary initiative which relies on public accountability, transparency and the enlightened self-interest of all the relevant social actors: governments, who defined the principles on which the initiative is based; companies, whose actions it seeks to influence; labour, in whose hands the concrete process of global production takes place; and civil society organisations, representing the wider community of stakeholders.

What’s involved?

Businesses sign up to the ten universally accepted principles of the UNGC which form a framework from which to align operations and strategies with responsible and sustainable business practice.

The Communication on Progress (COP) is the mechanism through which businesses that are signatories to the UNGC demonstrate progress towards attainment of the ten UNGC Principles, on an annual basis. 

Benefits to participating in the UN Global Compact include: 

  • Leveraging the UN's global reach and convening power with government, business, civil society and other stakeholders
  • Sharing good practices and learnings
  • Accessing the UN's broad knowledge in development, environmental, humans rights and labour issues.
  • Improving corporate/brand management, employee morale and productivity, and operational efficiencies.
  • Linkages with the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Principles for Responsible Business Management Education (PRME) and the Business for Millennium Development goals (B4MD).
  •  Resources for SMEs to become signatories to the UNGC with the opportunity to demonstrate leadership by advancing responsible corporate citizenship.

The Australian Network

The Australian Network was launched in Parliament House Canberra by Minister Nick Sherry and Executive Director for the UN Global Compact Mr Georg Kell Canberra in May 2009.

Gateway to the UNGC Resources

You can find all of the UNGC resources on the UNGC website. 


Asia-Pacific Regional Network  of the UN Global Compact 

There are currently a number of regional partnerships being formed. The Australian Focal Point has already begun to play an active role in the recently formed. Read more here.

 
To subscribe to the HUB of Responsible Business Practice see below

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How to Become a Signatory

To become a signatory to the UN Global Compact , a company must write a letter from the Chief Executive Officer to the Secretary-General (currently Ban Ki-Moon) expressing interest in joining the UN Global Compact and following its principles. A company must then fill in an online registration form. 

Full details on how to become a signatory of the UN Global Compact can be found here. 

Subsidiaries

We encourage subsidiaries to check whether their parent company has signed up. Signatories can be searched from the UN Global Compact Website here. Keep in mind that the commitment to the principles of the UN Global Compact taken on by a parent company can also be applied to its subsidiaries.  

Become a Member of Global Compact Network Australia

Download the Membership Benefits and Fees document which outlines the 2 step process to

1. Become a signatory to the UN Global Compact (includes voluntary financial contribution to the UN Global Compact Foundation in New York) -see above,  and

2. Become a member of the Global Compact Network Australia. For further information contact the Secretariat Global Compact Network Australia: secretariat@unglobalcompact.org.au

Become a financial member of GCNA for the next financial year (2011/2012).  

This will allow your organisation to be able to participate in the governance of GCNA- including nominating for elected positions of the Network, and voting at the next AGM (to be held early in the second half of the year).

Contact the Secretariat for further information.  

 
Download the Global Compact
Network Australia brochure