With the development of the Post-2015 agenda and discussion of the scope of potential sustainable development goals, the United Nations Global Compact has been asked to bring private sector perspectives and action to the global development agenda. As one of the priority areas designated by the UN Global Compact’s LEAD companies, Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality aims ensure that all sustainable development goals be inclusive and gender-sensitive to facilitate maximum impact and avoid increasing inequalities. This issue paper explores the responsible business community’s willingness to contribute to the creation of women’s empowerment goals as well as to inform government and policy makers in future implementation of efforts involving the private sector. In addition, gender is incorporated into all ten (10) Issue Briefs exploring a different priority issue area as identified through extensive consultations with LEAD companies and other stakeholders.

This paper explores the linkages between gender equality, corporate sustainability and sustainable development, and provides concrete examples of how companies are placing women's empowerment at the heart of croporate sustainability initiatives to ensure that they reach their intended mark

This brief explanatory note explains the relationship between the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs), the UN Global Compact and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

A collection of interviews with 30 leaders reflecting on sustainable business. The book presents a number of stories about the importance of corporate sustainability and what is next for businesses that seek to be active, engaged and responsible. The interviews offer key takeaways in relation to leadership, governance, transparency, metrics, sharing and inspiration.

Business In Society (BIS) reports on how the private sector can have an influential effect on our lives through sustainable and responsible business. This programme features the Women's Empowerment Principles and interviews with Ms. Anne-Marie Slaughter, President of The New America Foundation, Ms. Barbara Krumsiek, CEO of Calvert Investments, and Ursula Wynhoven, Chief, Governance and Social Sustainability and General Counsel of the United Nations Global Compact by John Paluszek of BIS. In these interviews, a spotlight is put on the Women's Empowerment Principles and the tipping point for women’s empowerment in business, government, civil society and other institutions

Principle 3 of the Women’s Empowerment Principles encourages companies to ensure the health, including sexual and reproductive health, of all workers. Investing in women’s health not only benefits employees and surrounding communities, but it can also have a positive social and economic effect on the private sector. In ensuring that workers have safe working conditions and available health services, companies establish healthier staff, better relationships, and in many cases higher Return-on-investment (ROI). This webinar highlights the benefits of investing in women's health, real life examples from Levi Strauss & Company and Merck, and strategies that businesses can implement to respect and support women’s health.

As global demand for food, fuel, forest, minerals and other products rises, more businesses are investing – and will continue to invest – in land. While potentially profitable and socially beneficial, these investments may involve substantial financial, legal, operational and reputational risks (including land tenure risk, the risk associated with acquiring rights to land). This webinar explored responsible business practices in regard to lands rights involving non-indigenous communities.

The UN Global Compact, in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), launched the Business Action Pledge in Response to the Refugee Crisis. The pledge is a call to companies and other stakeholders to take action to diminish the suffering of people forced to flee conflict and support solutions for the resulting widespread societal disruption. Companies with operations or supply chains in countries that are producing, transiting and receiving refugees are called upon to demonstrate leadership by taking action – as an individual company or in partnership with others. This webinar explores the ways that companies can best support efforts, based on their own assets and capabilities.

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.

Integrating human rights considerations into corporate crisis management is one way that companies can seek to identify, prevent and address adverse impacts. Some companies are broadening their crisis management policies and procedures to explicitly address adverse human rights impacts, consistent with the UN Global Compact Principles and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This Good Practice Note identifies five good practices for integrating human rights considerations into crisis planning, the first phase of effective crisis management. Note: Human rights considerations during the subsequent phases of crisis response and recovery are beyond the scope of this note.

This webinar introduces examples of innovative approaches to empowering women in the workplace, marketplace and community by focusing on women's health initiatives in the private sector. These inspirational examples illustrate some of the concrete ways in which companies can and are taking action to implement the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

Marking the UN Global Compact’s 15th anniversary, Global Compact +15 brought together 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 to be released later this year (the Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs). The 15th Anniversary Celebration Dinner was an opportunity to celebrate the Global Compact’s philosophy of shared responsibility for a better world and the progress made with business around the globe over 15 years. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered the keynote remarks.