UN Global Compact Strategy

One Global Compact: Uniting Business for A Better World

The United Nations Global Compact is uniquely positioned to support companies as they align their practices for a sustainable and inclusive future. With the broad-based support of all 193 participant countries of the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Global Compact remains the single, global normative authority and reference point for action and leadership within a growing global corporate sustainability movement.

Our strategy intends to leverage that position and elevate expectations of how businesses will embed all Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact into their operations. These Ten Principles — covering human rights, labour rights, the environment and anti-corruption — are intrinsic for the sustainability of business, people and the planet. They offer companies of all sizes a blueprint for contributing towards achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. 

We are confident that, through this strategy extension to 2025, the UN Global Compact will help the business community make the progress it needs to make so that it – and the rest of the world – will achieve the goals needed to ensure a better life for all.  

Together, we are the UN Global Compact, uniting business for a better world.

How we shaped our strategy

The 2024–2025 UN Global Compact Strategy is built upon a framework with five key elements. Each element represents a deliberate, specific set of choices on our ambition, on who we will engage on the issues and programmes we will focus upon, and on how we will operate.

To achieve our ambition in this Decade of Action, we will drive impact through two main paths: ambitious, accountable companies and enabling environments.

Ambitious, Accountable companies are businesses that are committed to accelerating their own individual company’s progress in upholding the Ten Principles and contributing to the Global Goals. Enabling Environments are global and local communities and networks that encourage, assist, and support collective action on the Ten Principles and the Global Goals.

What does this mean for our work?

Our global strategy for 2024–2025 includes five key shifts to accelerate the actions of business and expand the impact of their actions.

The five shifts are:

Ambitious, accountable companies: We will continue to support our participant companies as they move faster and farther to ensure corporate sustainability and responsible business practices with a focus on driving private-sector accountability, credibility and ambition.

Enabling environments: Beyond mobilising company action, the UN Global Compact recognises that it must participate in and influence the broader environment within which businesses operate to enable significant and long-lasting change

Measurable impact in prioritized areas: Delivering concrete, measurable impacts remains at the core of the UN Global Compact’s strategy, we will continue to advance meaningful change through focused, programmatic engagements across our environmental, social and governance portfolios

Further regionalization and localization of the UNGC’s portfolio and partnerships: Advance regionalization and localization across all areas of work including enhanced coordination with partners; convening platforms at all levels; and building opportunities and capacity for Local Networks and businesses to delivery relevant, compelling programming.

Investing in our digital transformation: Focus on an internal digital transformation for the organization to better deliver programming and impact at scale and ensure effective support for growing participant base

Together, we will be One Global Compact uniting business for a better world.

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