Home / News & Events / Monthly Bulletin
March
Advancing Women’s Position in the Global Marketplace (5 March, New York)
3rd Working Conference of the CEO Water Mandate (16 – 18 March, Istanbul)
Workshop: Fighting Corruption through Collective Action (16 – 17 March, Lagos)
Conference on Collective Action to Combat Corruption (18 March, Lagos)
Regional Meeting for Global Compact Local Network Focal Points: Africa (19 March, Lagos)
April
2nd Alliance of Civilizations Forum (6 – 7 April, Istanbul)
International Cooperation Forum on Resource and Environment 2009 (17 – 18 April, Changsa,
China)
The Climate Imperative: Leadership, Innovation and Technology (22 – 23 April, Paris)
May
World Business Summit on Climate Change (24 – 26 May, Copenhagen)
June
VII Annual Local Networks Forum (9 – 10 June, Istanbul)
Meetings of issue specific working groups (climate, human rights and labour) will be held in
conjunction with the Annual Local Networks Forum.
September
2nd UN Private Sector Forum: Climate Change (Date TBD, New York)
November
3rd Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against
Corruption (9 – 13 November, Doha)
June 2010
2010 Global Compact Leaders Summit: 10th Anniversary of the UN Global Compact (24 – 25 June
2010, UN Headquarters New York)
Please visit the Event Calendar on our website to learn more about listed events, including intended audience and availability.
1.
2010 Global Compact Leaders Summit: 24 – 25 June 2010, New York
The UN Global Compact’s 2010 Leaders Summit will be held at UN Headquarters in New
York on 24 – 25 June 2010, under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General. The Summit will gather
chief executive officers, government ministers, and heads of civil society and labour organizations
from around the world to mark the 10th Anniversary of the UN Global Compact.
2.
Anti-Corruption Experts Convene to Advance 10
th Principle Implementation and Reporting
More than 50 anti-corruption experts from global business, civil society,
governments and the United Nations gathered at UN Headquarters (26 – 27 February) for the Fourth
Meeting of the UN Global Compact’s Working Group on Anti-Corruption. The two-day meeting is part of
an ongoing series of dialogues to advance implementation of the Tenth Principle by business. At the
meeting, several sub-working groups presented preliminary results on their work related to
anti-corruption reporting, supply chain management and multi-stakeholder dialogue. A meeting report
will be released shortly.
More.
3. PRI Board Urges Responsible Investment in Wake of Financial Crisis
In a joint statement released on 2 March, the Board of the UN-backed Principles for
Responsible Investment (PRI) said the world faces “the largest financial crisis in a generation”
and released an eight-point plan for institutional investors to respond to the crisis. PRI Board
members represent some of the world’s largest pension funds from five different continents.
Together they are urging fellow institutional investors to accept their share of responsibility for
the current crisis, work together to improve risk management practices and create a culture of “
active ownership”.
More.
4. Private Equity Council Members Adopt Guidelines for Responsible Investment
The Private Equity Council (PEC) announced on 10 February that its members have
adopted a set of comprehensive responsible investment guidelines to be applied prior to investing
in companies and during their period of ownership. Guidelines call for consideration of
environmental, health, safety, labour and governance issues, openness with stakeholders and respect
for human rights. The guidelines grew out of a dialogue between PEC members and a group of the
world’s major institutional investors, which took place under the umbrella of the UN-backed
Principles for Responsible Investment.
More.
5. The Business Contribution to Peace and the Global Compact’s Engagement in Sudan
Since 2001, the UN Global Compact has been leading efforts to foster constructive
dialogue between business and other stakeholders on how the private sector can be a valuable
partner in conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction efforts. The December 2008 launch
of a Global Compact Local Network in Sudan is the most recent development in this workstream,
providing a much-needed forum for businesses – domestic and international – operating in Sudan to
discuss the challenges and seek practical solutions.
More.
6. Global Compact Logo Request System Launched
Participants can now request the use of a Global Compact logo using a new online system to
efficiently handle inquiries. Use of the "We Support the Global Compact" logo is encouraged as a
way to further show commitment and raise awareness of the initiative, for example on corporate
websites and pertinent printed materials. Every use of a UN Global Compact logo requires permission
in advance from the UN Global Compact Office. Please become familiar with the
Logo
Policy before requesting permission.
To seek approval for use of a UN Global Compact logo:
7. Participant Status: New Signatories, COPs and Delistings
In February, 87 companies and 28 non-business stakeholders joined the UN Global
Compact. 168 Communications on Progress (COPs) were received, and 18 companies were delisted for
failing to communicate on progress.
Hitachi, Ltd. (Japan), China Hua Dian Corporation (China), ZTE Corporation (China) and Sol Melia
Hotels and Resorts (Spain) were among the largest companies to join during the month.
Total figures as of 28 February:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Engagement opportunities are intended for Global Compact stakeholders unless otherwise indicated *
1. Consultative Process on Businesses Empowerment and Advancement of Women
The UN Global Compact and the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) are launching a
four-month process designed to bring attention to how business can, in practical and concrete
terms, empower and advance women worldwide. In addition to global and local consultation on the
application of the Women’s Principles, the process will also seek to build on a compendium of good
practice examples that have been collected thus far.
More on the
consultative process.
Questions for
reflection.
For more information or to express interest, please contact Ursula Wynhoven (wynhoven@un.org).
2. Human Rights Working Group Seeks to Identify and Endorse Good Practices
In The UN Global Compact Human Rights Working Group is seeking to identify and endorse good
practices by companies and stakeholders in the implementation of the human rights principles. For
the purposes of this submission process, good practices should draw on the experiences of many
companies and should not be a case study on the experience of one particular company.
All UN Global Compact participants and stakeholders are invited to submit proposals, which
should include the following elements: (i) process for developing the proposal; (ii) demonstrate
how the proposed good practice has been tested and is supported by key affected stakeholder groups
(some stages may only involve one stakeholder group); (iii) clear linkages to human rights; (iv)
expected outcome and impacts.
For more information, please contact Ursula Wynhoven (wynhoven@un.org) or Lene Wendland (lwendland@ohchr.org).
3. More Opportunities: Caring for Climate, Assess TB and HIV/AIDs practices in the
workplace, and more
Many of the engagement opportunities announced in past issues of the Bulletin are
still open for interested parties, including the invitation to join Caring for Climate, Vote Human
Rights and an assessment tool for responsibly addressing TB and HIV/AIDS in the workplace.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
1. Invitation: 5
th Communication on Progress Workshop for Practitioners (10 June,
Istanbul): The next COP workshop for practitioners will be held during the Annual
Local Networks Forum in Istanbul on 10 June. The workshop will focus on recent COP guidance
material developed by the Global Compact Office and partner organizations. Participants will have
the opportunity to get issue-specific guidance – on human rights and anti-corruption, among other
issues – and learn from peers on their reporting experiences.
For more information or to register, please contact Oliver Johner (johner@un.org).
2. Invitation: B4E Business for Environment Global Summit 2009 (Paris 22–23 April
2009): The UN Global Compact and UNEP invite participants to attend B4E Business for
the Environment Global Summit (B4E09). Entitled “The Green Imperative: Leadership, Innovation and
Technology”, the Summit will address the most urgent environmental challenges and potential
solutions, including resource efficiency, renewable energies, new business models, and climate
policies and strategies. The event will bring together over 700 leaders from business, civil
society, international organizations and government.
Draft agenda.
3. Registration Reminder: World Business Summit on Climate Change (24 – 26 May, Copenhagen) : The chief executives of all Caring for Climate companies have been invited to attend the World Business Summit on Climate Change, taking place on 24-26 May 2009 in Copenhagen. Held six months prior to the UN climate conference (COP 15), this summit will bring business together with the world's top scientists, economists, civil society representatives, media leaders and government officials to put forward recommendations for the next international framework on climate change.
Caring for Climate participants are asked to register at the event website: http://www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com/world-business-summit.html
For a complete list of 2009 events, please visit the Event Calendar on our website.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Published by the United Nations Global Compact on 5 March 2009
