Global Compact Board Convenes Second Meeting

(New York, 4 April 2007) – The Global Compact Board, a panel of 20 leaders from business, civil society and labour chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, came together at UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday for its second meeting.

 In his opening remarks, the Secretary-General emphasized the Board’s role in providing guidance, advocacy and stewardship to the initiative: “Your work is helping all of us to advance our shared mission – peace, human rights and development”. He went on to stress the importance of the Global Compact Leaders Summit, to be held in Geneva on 5-6 July: “This historic gathering in Geneva will be instrumental in bringing our joint vision for the future cooperation between business, the United Nations, governments, civil society and labour to full scale. It will also provide valuable inputs with respect to the future of the Global Compact”. He further called on Board members to support the preparation of the Summit, which will be the largest gathering ever convened by the United Nations on the issue of corporate citizenship.

The Secretary-General also appointed Sir Mark Moody-Stuart and Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh as co-chairs of the Global Compact Board, to conduct the Board’s business and chair the meeting during his absence.

Following an update on recent developments and the current activities of the initiative by Global Compact staff, the Board meeting focused largely on the Global Compact Leaders Summit and on ways in which Board members can contribute to the Summit’s success. After an initial briefing on the status of preparations for the two-day event, board members emphasized the high-level nature of the Summit, which is open only to top executives of Global Compact participants in good standing. Nearly 700 business leaders, as well as hundreds of top representatives from government, civil society and labour are expected to attend the Summit. Several board members stressed that the Summit represents a unique opportunity to recognize and showcase leading business practices and to initiate collective action around key challenges, from climate change to poverty reduction. Board members also pledged support for outreach and awareness-raising efforts prior to the Summit and to provide substantive input on several of the Summit’s key sessions. 

Further outcomes of the Board meeting include the following:  

• Discussing the further development of the Global Compact’s integrity measures, the Board decided that Global Compact participants listed as “inactive” for one year or more should be removed entirely from the Global Compact database of participants.
• The Board also agreed to undertake further efforts to ensure that the forthcoming ISO 26000 guidance on social responsibility will be consistent with and supportive of the Global Compact and its ten principles.
• The Board further encouraged that UN Member States, during the next session of the General Assembly, lend further political legitimacy to the Global Compact as a unique and global public-private partnership. 
• Individual Board members committed to undertake further activities in all regions of the world to strengthen Global Compact networks.
• Finally, board members discussed a number of activities business can undertake to advance practical solutions to seriously address climate change. The issue will play a prominent role at the Leaders Summit, and a Global Compact working group has been formed in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to present a comprehensive plan of business action at the event.