Calls upon Governments to bring down legal barriers restricting economic opportunities for women, and by doing so, help create an enabling environment for inclusive economic growth. Open for membership-based organizations to add their logo in support.

Various stakeholder groups are mounting calls for Boards of Directors to take sustainability into account while adhering to their legal duties to shareholders. This puts questions about fiduciary duty front and center. Careful legal analyses of such questions have been prepared over the past year by law firms all over the world. The collection of memoranda below will inform and enrich discussion among Board directors, and the lawyers who counsel them, about how changing circumstances near and far are affecting their ability to meet fiduciary duty requirements. 

 Prof. Robert G. Eccles and Tim Youmans of Harvard Business School have led this collaboration which included the UN Global Compact, the American Bar Association’s Task Force on Sustainable Development and PRI, Their aim was to gather legal perspectives from law firms in a wide range of countries. Each participating law firm used a standard research template developed by Linklaters in the UK to structure their respective legal memo. The legal memos are posted below with the permission of the participating firms. To further grow the research, enquiries from law firms in countries that do not already have a legal memo are welcome. If you do not see your country listed and want to know if one is being prepared, please contact Ingvild Soerensen (soerensen@unglobalcompact.org).

While data shows closing the gender gap would increase the GDP of countries around the world and advance sustainable development globally, there are still significant legal barriers to women's economic empowerment. To realistically achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, governments are encouraged to remove legal barriers restricting women’s participation in the global economy and to unlock the full potential of women and girls around the world. This webinar introduces the findings of the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2016 report which found that approximately 90% of 173 countries have at least one legal barrier restricting economic opportunities for women. The discussion highlights the business opportunity and imperative to promote good governance and the equal rights of women and men required to create an enabling environment for inclusive and sustainable business growth.

Internationally-accepted frameworks now exist that define the responsibility of all companies with respect to human rights. This also extends to investors, who increasingly are looking to integrate human rights effectively and consistently into investment decision–making and corporate engagement. The webinar focuses on a new report, Investing the Rights Way: A Guide for Investors on Business and Human Rights, which aims to assist investors in evaluating human rights–related issues across their portfolios.

Jointly hosted by the UN Global Compact and the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice, this webinar will examined the human dimensions of climate change. The webinar explored how climate change undermines human rights, including the right to adequate food, water and health, as well as the disproportionate impact climate change has on vulnerable groups such as women and children. This webinar provides an opportunity to discuss climate change through a human rights lens and will review various ways that business can respect human rights when taking action on climate change. (2015)

Learn how companies in the UN Global Compact are taking action to advance corporate sustainability around the world.

Helps businesses to learn more about the UN Global Compact Collection Action Project in partnership with five Global Compact Local Networks in Brazil, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt, improve anti-corruption practices within their individual organizations and to engage other businesses, Governments and civil society in anti-corruption Collective Action.

Provides an overview of the current and potential role of institutional investors, companies, banks and foundations in the design and implementation of a financing strategy for global sustainability.

Aims to inspire all business — regardless of size, sector or geography — to take leading action in support of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It illustrates how the five leadership qualities of Intentionality, Ambition, Consistency, Collaboration and Accountability can be applied to a business' strategy, business model, products, supply chain, partnerships, and operations to raise the bar and create impact at scale. The Blueprint is a tool for any business that is ready to advance its principled approach to SDG action to become a leader.

An online learning platform to obtain practical guidance on how to fight corruption in all forms through six interactive-video dilemma scenarios.

The Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) are a set of Principles for business offering guidance on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community.

Outlines ways in which business can help uphold children’s rights and support and promote their well-being during humanitarian crises. It highlights the urgency and need to reach children in humanitarian crises and outlines the positive and negative impacts of business on children. It also aims to inspire action and stimulate learning by providing examples of how business can support and advance children’s rights and well-being.