UN Secretary-General Opens Historic Leaders Summit on Corporate Citizenship
05 Jul 2007Special to Ag-IP-news Agency
GENEVA – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon officially opened the Global Compact Leaders Summit on Thursday, announcing that the UN has successfully created an international movement of companies dedicated to advancing responsible business practices.
Speaking before an international audience of 1000 chief executive officers, government ministers, and the heads of civil society and labor organizations, the Secretary-General said that more than 4000 companies and stakeholders in 116 countries have committed to the Global Compact’s ten principles related to human rights, working conditions, the environment and anti-corruption.
“In the beginning, some voiced skepticism about the UN working together with business. Today, I think we can say that the Global Compact has lived up to its promise – bringing business together with other stakeholders, and infusing markets and economies with universal values”, the Secretary-General said.
The Secretary-General said that groundbreaking reports released at the Summit show that more than 90 per cent of companies have expanded the integration of the Global Compact’s principles during the past five years, and that corporate citizenship leaders generate superior stock-market returns.
During the the two-day Summit – the largest event the UN has ever convened on the topic of corporate citizenship – a range of new initiatives and projects will be announced, including a Business Leadership Platform on climate change; a set of Principles for Responsible Management Education, and a CEO Water Mandate.
The Secretary-General said that while the Global Compact has achieved significant progress, the business community is still too often linked to serious problems, including exploitative practices, corruption, and income equality.
“Power cannot be separated from responsibility. For markets to expand in a sustainable way, we must provide those currently excluded with better and more opportunities to improve their livelihoods”, he said.
The first comprehensive Annual Review of the Global Compact was presented at the Summit, showing wide adoption of the ten principles by companies around the world. In addition, the review showed that companies, in increasing numbers, are following the initiative’s new reporting policy, whereby signatories are expected to disclose annually how they are implementing the principles – or risk being delisted.
Meanwhile, Vice Chair, UN Global Compact Talal Abu-Ghazaleh said, "Business can constitute an enormous force for goodness in society. Through its commitments to corporate citizenship and to the principles of the UNGC, the global business community can continue to create and deliver value to society and, at the same time, continue to better position their operations and in the communities in which they do business."
"Governments can put in place the necessary conditions for the development of Responsible Corporate citizenship through the creation of an enabling environment as a promoter, convener, mediator and partner for CSR initiatives," he added.
He pointed out "the Declaration in your hands was studied and approved by the UNGC board. Its adoption by you will send a strong signal to the global community."
Georg Kell, Executive Director of the Global Compact, said that while companies are accelerating implementation efforts, there are notable “performance gaps”.
“For multinationals and other large companies, it is clear that more work needs to be done to embed the principles into subsidiaries and supply chains. By doing, so companies will realize the full benefits of engagement”, he said.
A research report presented at the Leaders Summit by Goldman Sachs, one the world’s largest investment companies, showed that among six sectors covered – energy, mining, steel, food, beverages, and media – companies that are considered leaders in implementing environmental, social and governance policies have outperformed the general stock market by 25 per cent since August 2005. In addition, 72 per cent of these companies have outperformed their peers over the same period.
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