UN Global Compact marks 15th year of corporate sustainability

The UN Global Compact, the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, kicked off Tuesday a three-day series of events to mark its 15th birthday, drawing 1,000 participants to review its role in boosting a global corporate sustainability movement.

"The event, Global Compact+15: Business as a Force for Good, will bring together 1,000 participants to assess the impact of corporate sustainability over the past 15 years, the role of the UN Global Compact in growing a global corporate sustainability movement, and pathways for the future on issues from climate to human rights to anti-corruption," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"The series of events will culminate in a session at the UN General Assembly (Hall) on Thursday, bringing together business, government and civil society leaders to demonstrate the private sector's role in advancing global priorities," he said.

At a related Business for Peace event on Tuesday, Deputy UN Secretary-General Jan Eliasson reminded the participants that while the primary responsibility for peace lies with governments and the UN Security Council, business has a critical role to play.

A company's decisions -- on investment and employment, on relations with local communities, on protection of the environment, and on inclusive recruitment and training -- can help a country overcome conflict, reduce tensions and build peaceful societies, Eliasson said.

The UN Global Compact works with business to transform our world, aiming to create a sustainable and inclusive global economy that delivers lasting benefits to all people, communities and markets.

The United Nations Global Compact is a United Nations initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. The UN Global Compact is a principle-based framework for businesses, stating ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption.

Under the Global Compact, companies are brought together with UN agencies, labor groups and civil society. Cities can join the Global Compact through the Cities Program.

The UN Global Compact was announced by then UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan in an address to the World Economic Forum on Jan. 31, 1999, and was officially launched at UN Headquarters in New York on July 26, 2000. Endite