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.

This guide offers baseline definitions and practical steps that SMEs can take toward effective management of the social, environmental and economic impacts of supply chains.

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.

This guide presents a brief introduction to the relevance of traceability for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) which are looking to adopt traceability in their supply chains and also assists them to link their initiative to the newly launched Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It illustrates the opportunities, challenges and practical steps for implementing traceability programmes within SMEs and features case examples for driving SME traceability.

Provides guidance on how to initiate and implement anti-corruption collective action initiatives while showcasing various examples from collective action projects worldwide.

Youth represent a quarter of the world's population and will continue to impact the economies and societies of the future, yet many will not realize this potential if denied opportunities to pursue decent work. Many entrepreneurial young people are starting their own business and creating jobs for themselves and others. This note calls on business to promote entrepreneurship among young people and to support and invest in youth-owned enterprises.

The Express Communication on Progress (COP) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will be available as of 1 April 2016. It contains three yes-or-no questions. This option is designed for companies with less than 250 employees who have minimal reporting capacity. It enables these companies to exhibit transparency within their means, and to focus on continuously improving their reporting.

This report helps companies navigate the business and social implications of automation and outlines how companies can prepare the workforce for the inevitable changes to come.

Business has much to gain from more inclusive economic prosperity, through access to new markets, unleashing more innovation, and greater social stability so necessary for markets to function. Conversely, business has much to lose from an economy that fails to capitalize fully on human capital, constricts markets, and experiences sluggish demand. This working paper introduces BSR’s perspective on the business role in creating inclusive prosperity.

The private sector plays an essential role in humanitarian preparedness, response, and recovery efforts, but large numbers of independent actors - no matter how well intentioned - can introduce complexity and potential duplication of efforts, particularly when companies react in an ad hoc or uncoordinated way.  To deliver maximum impact, many forward-thinking companies have begun to forge private-sector networks. These networks of companies and local businesses collaborate in a country or region to strengthen their own risk preparedness and to mobilize and coordinate the private-sector response to an emergency.  The paper discusses the role of the private sector in disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery efforts and introduces ideas how companies can collaborate better to become more resilient themselves and reduce duplication and deliver maximum impact supporting humanitarian efforts.

This guide assists companies in identifying and assessing potential risks in their supply chain.

Corporate-social enterprise collaboration holds potential to create resilient supply chains that support the development of vibrant communities. Yet there are several barriers, including size of procurement contracts, confidence of contract fulfilment and lack of awareness of opportunities in various tiers of the supply chain. This webinar aimed to uncover the opportunities, challenges, potential solutions and impacts of integrating social enterprises in corporate supply chains through presenting examples of how businesses have meaningfully engaged with social enterprises.