The Communication on Progress
The submission period for the mandatory 2024 Communication on Progress (CoP) opened on 1 April 2024 and closed on 5 August 2024.
The 2024 CoP is a mandatory requirement and must be completed by all UN Global Compact business participants. Please refer to the 2024 CoP Policy, 2024 CoP Frequently Asked Questions and resources at the bottom of this page for additional information.
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Benefits of the Communication on Progress
The CoP enables participating companies of the UN Global Compact to:
Measure and demonstrate progress to stakeholders and the public on the Ten Principles and the Sustainable Development Goals in a consistent and harmonized way
Build credibility and brand value by showing their commitment to the Ten Principles and the Sustainable Development Goals
Receive insights, learn and continuously improve performance by helping to identify gaps and inform goal-setting to improve sustainability performance year over year
Compare performance against peers through access to one of the largest sources of free, public and comparable corporate sustainability data
Prepare for the Communication on Progress
1
Understand your requirements
The Communication on Progress (CoP) consists of two elements* that must be submitted through the CoP digital platform:
- CEO Statement of Continued Support, publicly expressing your company’s ongoing commitment to the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact at the highest level. The statement is a standardized template that is signed electronically.
- CoP Questionnaire, reporting on corporate action and performance related to the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
*For the 2024 reporting year, a sustainability report uploaded through the digital platform can be submitted in lieu of the CoP Questionnaire. Please reference the Policy for the Communication on Progress for more information.
2
Know your deadlines
The 2024 CoP submission period is 1 April 2024 at 9 AM (ET) to 5 August 2024 at 5 PM (ET).
The CoP is a mandatory requirement for all business participants of the UN Global Compact.
New joiners do not need to submit a CoP until the year after joining. For example, participants joining the Global Compact in 2024 do not need to submit a CoP until 2025.
Participants, excluding new joiners, who fail to submit a 2024 CoP within the submission period will be listed as ‘Non-communicating’ on their participant profile.
‘Non-communicating’ participants who do not submit a late CoP by 31 December 2024 will be delisted from the Global Compact on 1 January 2025.
3
Prepare your report
- Confirm your CEO’s continued support of the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact.
- Review the CoP Questionnaire to understand the questions asked and data collection needs.
- Use the CoP Guidebook for support in answering the questionnaire, such as calculation guidance and a glossary of key terms.
- Begin your data collection process on time using CoP support materials on the CoP Academy page and the CoP Data Compilation Checklist (see p. 73).
- Ensure that you have access to the UN Global Compact dashboard. Refer to the User's Guide to learn how to request credentials.
4
Complete and submit your CoP
Participants must submit the annual CoP through the CoP digital platform, accessible from the participant dashboard.
Following the instructions on the digital platform, participants must submit a signed CEO Statement of Continued Support and the CoP Questionnaire and/or a sustainability report.
Participants are welcome to include supplementary materials in their CoP submission. Please note that such materials, along with the rest of the CoP, will be publicly available upon submission.
Once submitted, the CoP will be available to download as a PDF file by the participant through the digital platform. Additionally, the CoP will be publicly available to view on each respective participant profile.
Please note that all data, including supplemental documentation that was submitted by a participating company through the CoP digital platform, will be made publicly available on the UN Global Compact website. This data may be used by the UN Global Compact in aggregate form to present trends or included in reports about the status of corporate sustainability. The UN Global Compact does not have any responsibility on the accuracy of the data submitted by its participating companies nor on how this public data will be used by other stakeholders.
5
Visualize aggregated CoP data
We are excited to announce the public launch of the Communication on Progress (CoP) Data Visualization Tools. Composed of 2023 and 2024 CoP Questionnaire submissions, these publicly available dashboards offer insights into the progress of UN Global Compact business participants in advancing the Ten Principles.
167
countries
22,000+
Companies
This data is based on information reported by participating companies of the UN Global Compact through its Communication on Progress questionnaire. This data may be used freely without prior permission, provided that content is not used for commercial purposes and that clear reference is made to its source. The UN Global Compact does not have any responsibility on the accuracy of the data submitted by its participating companies nor on how this public data will be used by other stakeholders.
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