The ‘5 x 5 stepping stones’ presented in this handbook have been developed based on the stories and strategies of NGOs, unions and child labour free zone members worldwide. The handbook shows that - in spite of poverty - it is really possible to get children out of work and into school. It can be used by community-based organisations, NGOs and unions, but is also insightful for companies and policymakers who want to learn about this innovative approach to stopping child labour.

Principle 3 of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles (CRBPs) indicates that all businesses should provide decent work for young workers, parents and caregivers. This webinar explored how companies can commit to supporting children’s rights by paying particular attention to the rights of young workers – who are above the minimum age of employment – as well as parents and caregivers. The discussion looked at what kind of support companies can provide to implement Principle 3, including provisions of safe working conditions for young workers, paid leave, breastfeeding and child care facilities, agile working hours, and the benefits of providing such support. The webinar also included specific examples from business.

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.

Learn how companies in the UN Global Compact are taking action to advance corporate sustainability around the world

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.

Explores how sustainability pressures are transforming the ways we all work, live, and compete. As a part of the annual study by MIT Sloan Management Review's Sustainability & Innovation project, the 2014 research focused on the critical role of sustainability collaborations that address systemic issues, and on the role of the board of directors in guiding their companies’ sustainability efforts. As a whole, the study finds progress in companies making the fundamental shift in how they organize themselves and how their boards of directors act to address the profound challenges and risks that issues of sustainability present. But it also indicates that many business leaders have some distance to go to understand that the path to sustainability success is best traveled with others.

Initially developed in 2000 as a common framework for UN-Business collaboration, the Guidelines apply to the UN Secretariat as well as separately administered organs, Funds and Programmes. The Guidelines, developed in 2000, revised and reissued in 2009, and further revised in 2015, provided a framework on a common and systemic approach to partnerships between the Organization and the business sector, placing greater emphasis on transparency, coherence, impact, accountability and due diligence.

Marking the UN Global Compact’s 15th anniversary, Global Compact +15 brought business and civil society to the United Nations to show how the private sector is taking action and partnering to advance societal priorities, with an emphasis on the United Nations global agenda for sustainable development (i.e. the Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs). The General Assembly Session was a unique gathering of all participants and special guests in the UN General Assembly Hall. Together participants aimed to demonstrate to Governments the private sector’s critical role in solving our world’s greatest challenges and show how the Global Compact’s work is at the heart of the United Nations agenda.

With less than a third of stock exchanges currently providing written guidance to companies on ESG reporting, an information gap has emerged, preventing investors and other stakeholders from being able to access all of the information necessary to effectively evaluate listed companies. This is a resource for exchanges to ensure all markets provide reporting guidance to companies on the inclusion of ESG factors.

This webinar presents the experiences of signatories of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a groundbreaking legally binding agreement signed in May 2013 to make garment factories safe. Ensuring that workers throughout global value chains can work in safe places is an important element of supply chain sustainability. This webinar addresses how companies can work together with trade unions and governments to contribute to occupational health and safety throughout their supply chains. Representatives of major brands and global trade unions presented their experiences.

ILO experts on skills and employability explore the contribution of enterprises to building a skilled workforce in their countries of operation. The discussion focuses on common challenges companies face in developing and implementing a skills and employability policy and practical examples of private sector engagement in skills systems.

Held over two days, the third annual Caring for Climate Business Forum at COP21/CMP11 provided a multi-stakeholder platform for dialogue and action among business, investors, civil society, the UN and Government officials. The first day of the Forum consisted of plenary and thematic sessions on the topics of carbon pricing, science-based target setting, responsible policy engagement, adaptation and finance. Sessions were organized by the UN Global Compact, UNEP and UNEP Finance Initiative, UNFCCC secretariat and in collaboration with Caring for Climate strategic partners, which include Global Compact Network France, CDP, The Climate Group, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), United Nations Foundation and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).