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Civil society organizations (CSOs) are an important and integral part of the UN Global Compact and its goal of embedding economies with universal principles and values. Civil society organizations contribute much needed perspectives and expertise that can complement those of other participants and stakeholders.
Participating civil society organizations offer their knowledge in shaping special initiatives and workstreams; in the development of tools and research; in assisting business participants in the practical implementing the principles; in furthering partnership projects; and by helping to hold business accountable with respect to their commitments to the UN Global Compact and its ten principles. Currently almost 400 civil society organizations are involved at some level. In addition, four members of the UN Global Compact Board are representatives of civil society.
Global Compact participants pledge to support the ten principles within their organizations and sphere of influence. Unlike business participants, CSO’s are not required to report on implementation. The following outlines six ways in which CSOs can engage and participate.
As an initiative, the UN Global Compact has established more than 80 Country Networks throughout the world. These autonomous, business-led networks are designed as multi-stakeholder "chapters" to advance the UN Global Compact at the local level, through the implementation of the ten principles and partnership projects. CSOs are encouraged to contact the focal points of the relevant Country Network(s) to explore participation. The focal points and their contact information can be found under Networks Around the World .
One of the two goals of the UN Global Compact is to catalyze partnership projects in support of broad development objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals. Therefore, CSOs are encouraged to forge partnership projects with business participants and other supporting stakeholders of the UN Global Compact, including UN agencies and programs. Several important guides and partnership resources have been developed in this respect. These can be accessed under Partnerships for Development . This section also outlines the various types of partnerships and includes important links to the activities of the UN Development Programme and upcoming meetings and events related to the topic of partnerships.
In addition, CSOs are encouraged to invite companies within their Country Network(s) to join partnership projects (existing/new/proposed), and to offer their organizations as potential partners to business on specific projects.
The UN Global Compact has a number of topical initiatives and specialized workstreams that may be of interest to CSOs. These cover a spectrum of issues including: climate change, water, human rights, transparency and anti-corruption, responsible investment, zones of conflict, and management education. Opportunities may exist for enhanced civil society engagement in these initiatives and workstreams, and CSOs are encouraged to offer their participation and support. Information on these areas and related contact data can be found under Issues . In some cases, opportunity for greater CSO engagement may depend on the status of a given initiative and its current capacities.
As part of their commitment to the UN Global Compact, chief executive officers and their companies pledge to communicate annually on the ways in which they are implementing the ten principles and to provide links to these public disclosures on the UN Global Compact website. CSOs and other stakeholders are encouraged to analyze and review these Communications on Progress (COPs) and provide feedback directly to companies in the spirit of continuous improvement. Reviewing these public documents may also give CSOs key information on specific corporate activities and programs where greater CSO involvement may be needed.
As a registered stakeholder in the UN Global Compact, a supporting CSO will receive regular communications on global, regional and local events. CSOs are encourage, where possible and feasible, to participate in these activities – bringing their unique perspectives, expertise, and capacities.
Olajobi Makinwa
Senior Civil Society Coordinator
UN Global Compact
makinwa@un.org
