Surveys and research, both within the UN Global Compact and externally, have shown that smaller and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face greater barriers than large companies in meeting sustainability standards, let alone taking actions to pursue and promote sustainability. SMEs often provide important services and products in the supply chain of larger companies and account for more than 50% of employment worldwide, and creating opportunities for SMEs is a key way to advance development and reduce poverty. This webinar explored various methods of how companies, Global Compact Local Networks and other stakeholders can support SMEs’ commitment to sustainability.

Better Work is a unique partnership programme which aims to improve both compliance with labour standards and promote competitiveness in global supply chains. The programme involves both the development of global tools and the implementation of country-level services. This webinar presents an overview of how Better Work engages managers and workers as part of factory-level assessment, advisory and training services, and will explain how national Project Advisory Committees promote local ownership of improvements in the industry.

Experts from the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour discuss research on global trends in the realization of this fundamental human right, including an analysis of important developments in the business contribution to the elimination of child labour.

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

Calls companies to take action and provides guidance on how companies can support their SME suppliers to incorporate sustainability into their strategies and operations. It offers good practices, the business case for action and further resources that may be of assistance to companies in this endeavour.

Explores how sustainability pressures are transforming the ways we all work, live, and compete. As a part of the annual study by MIT Sloan Management Review's Sustainability & Innovation project, the 2014 research focused on the critical role of sustainability collaborations that address systemic issues, and on the role of the board of directors in guiding their companies’ sustainability efforts. As a whole, the study finds progress in companies making the fundamental shift in how they organize themselves and how their boards of directors act to address the profound challenges and risks that issues of sustainability present. But it also indicates that many business leaders have some distance to go to understand that the path to sustainability success is best traveled with others.

This report charts the interaction of climate change with other key issues on the global agenda, and identifies the requirement this places on governments and international agencies to develop a new level of policy coherence.

Provides practical guidance to companies on how to use the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an inspiration for innovation and orient their innovation processes to better address the SDGs. Featuring step-by-step guidance and illustrative examples of companies leveraging new business models and disruptive technologies to advance the SDGs, the Framework is a toolkit for any company to leverage the SDGs to uncover new products, services and business model opportunities.  

The RELX SDG Resource Centre showcases the latest in science, law, business, events and more that can help drive forward the SDGs, drawing on content from across the whole of our company and from key partners as well. The aim is to support the UN in implementing the SDGs and to broaden awareness and understanding of the SDGS for our customers, governments, researchers, companies, NGOs and individuals.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a blueprint for significantly changing the world by 2030, and the Investor Relations community can play a key role in turning these aspirational goals into reality. Reports show the level of investment needed to achieve the SDGs is approximately $5 to $7 trillion globally per year from 2015 to 2030, and investor relations can be a driving force behind the incorporation of strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices into business strategies and operations. On this episode of Business of Tomorrow, we interview three experts on the obstacles and opportunities of engaging the investment community in achieving long-term, sustainable capital markets and the importance of investor relations leadership for the SDGs. You can listen to this episode below or search for United Nations Global Compact/Business of Tomorrow on your smartphone podcast app.

Initially developed in 2000 as a common framework for UN-Business collaboration, the Guidelines apply to the UN Secretariat as well as separately administered organs, Funds and Programmes. The Guidelines, developed in 2000, revised and reissued in 2009, and further revised in 2015, provided a framework on a common and systemic approach to partnerships between the Organization and the business sector, placing greater emphasis on transparency, coherence, impact, accountability and due diligence.

Aims to familiarize Global Compact Local Network representatives with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and provide an introduction to the National Human Rights Institutions as potential partners for advancing Human Rights at the local level. The first webinar features panelists from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Global Compact Network Germany, the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. The second webinar includes presentations from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Global Compact Network Australia and the Australian Human Rights Commission.