Profiles how companies integrate voluntary sustainability commitments into their strategies and operations. The report presents the Sustainability Commitment Growth Curve (SCGC) – a framework to help companies navigate their engagement with and derive value from voluntary sustainability commitments.

The recent factory-building collapse in Bangladesh, claiming the lives of over 1,100 workers, provided a stark reminder that there is more to be done to ensure better and safer working conditions for workers in Bangladesh, as well as across other regions. This webinar reviews how companies can help prevent similar tragedies in the future. Panelists include representatives of Better Work (ILO/IFC), who share global experiences and solutions, and leading companies in the garment and mobile telecommunications sectors, who discussed some of the practical steps they have taken to improve worker standards in their supply chains.

Considered through the lens of social license methodology, panelists explored how companies can analyze operations and supplier relations to avoid contributing to negative impacts on human rights, such as child labour. Participants discussed the importance of meeting the minimum requirements to respect human rights as outlined by the Global Compact principles and the Guiding Principles and how doing so can help mitigate potential risks to a company’s reputation and bottom line. Business panelists share best practices and lessons learned about assessing human rights risks in their operations, and strategies they have used to prevent or respond to them.

Addresses how responsible businesses can mitigate the risk of association with human trafficking and forced labour in their operations or supply chains. The dilemma for business is how to detect, prevent and take corrective measures against these hidden forms of exploitation. The webinar also explores suggested best practices to help companies mitigate related risks.

Introduces examples of innovative approaches to empowering women in the workplace, marketplace and community, focusing on private sector women’s health initiatives. These inspirational examples illustrate some of the concrete ways in which companies can and are taking action to implement the Women’s Empowerment Principles.

Examines how responsible businesses, as well as suppliers and partners, can ensure a living wage for employees when the host country does not have a statutory minimum wage or when it fails to provide an adequate standard of living. It also explores the issue of working hours in the context of international standards, overtime and the pressure on some labourers to work excessive hours.

Helps companies engage in sport sponsorship and hospitality in a transparent and ethical manner and aims to enhance the potential for sports to be a powerful tool to support peace, human dignity, and a culture of ethics and fair-play. Developed by a special task force of the Anti-Corruption Working Group following a public consultation process.

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) are an extremely important facet of the global economy. This Good Practice Note seeks to provide guidance to corporate leaders and M&A practitioners at all levels across the corporate, finance, private equity and legal sectors on how the due diligence process within M&A is being utilized and can be utilized to enable companies to more effectively carry out their responsibility to respect human rights as contemplated by the UN Framework and Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights.

It contains business perspectives and recommendations in three areas: determining the core of a post-2015 agenda, including suggested sustainable development goals and targets; how to engage business and investors towards sustainable development goals; and recommending ways that Governments can advance inclusive and sustainable markets. It is the culmination of UN Global Compact consultations and surveys with thousands of businesses in all major regions.

Supply chains offer a unique opportunity and means for companies to promote human rights and have a positive impact on economic development by offering economically disadvantage groups an equal opportunity to compete for business. Principle 5 of the Women's Empowerment Principles call on companies to make inclusive sourcing a key pillar in their business strategy by expanding business relationship with women-owned enterprises. This resource provides an overview of considerations for companies to source from women-owned suppliers as well as examples of steps some companies are already undertaking.

Co-convened by the UN Global Compact, the International Trade Centre, WEConnect International and BPW International, this webinar explores the "why" and "how" of sourcing from women-owned businesses. The Women's Empowerment Principles, in part, encourages companies to expand their business relationships with women-owned businesses and provides the foundation to explore why inclusive sourcing makes good business sense and is a key pillar of sustainable procurement.

Companies and investors alike have been paying increasing attention to the business case for having robust diversity and gender equality policies and practices. This webinar brings together Global Compact participants and signatories of Principles for Responsible Investment to take stock of the growth and impact of the Women's Empowerment Principles initiative to date. To highlight the investment opportunity of gender equity, Catalyst, a leading nonporfit organization working to expand opportunities for women and business, presents research that supports the business case and Pax World Investments and Calvert Investments, investment management companies, discuss how the investor community can help advance gender equality and women's empowerment by encouraging companies to embrace the WEPs.